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Nakia Cornelius Susan Ingram English 1103-036 8 November 2012 Stress among College Students Its no secret that many college students spend most of their time on campus stressed out. Balancing classes, tests, projects, extra-curricular activities and work is enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed; especially with final exams coming up. College life can be very stressful. The competition for grades, relationships, career choices, and many other aspects of the college environment cause stress. Although researchers may believe stress is bad for you. College students may argue that they do their best work under stress. As a college student I know how stressful college can be. It is almost impossible to not have some type of stress while in college. For me personally, there are 2 important classifications of stress. These two types of stress are academic stress, and social stress. Starting college is a major life transition. Some studies even suggest that the college years may be the most stressful time in peoples life (Teague). This is believable because youre away from home and your parents arent there to tell you to do your homework or to make sure that you are in by curfew. Youre basically responsible for yourself and that is a lot of pressure to put on an eighteen year old fresh out of high school. What is Stress? Stress affects everyone in different ways; there are two major types of stress. Stress thats motivating, good stress and stress that causes health problems, bad stress. Stress is a way of life. Stress usually describes a negative

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concept that can have an impact on your mental and physical well-being (Carpi). We usually think of stress as a negative experience, but from a biological point of view, stress can be a neutral, negative, or a positive experience (Stoppler). Although just enough stress can be a good thing, too much stress isn't good for anyone. For example, feeling a little stress about a test that's coming up can motivate you to study hard. But stressing out too much over the test can make it hard to concentrate on the material you need to learn. One thing that causes stress for college students is the cramming for exams caused by procrastination. Most students have anxiety about quizzes and some students do a lot of studying at the last minute believing they will know all the materials in one night; even staying up all night studying not getting enough sleep. Students are always worried about if they have studied hard enough for the test. They think that they will fail the test. If a student fails a course, they might give up trying and not be able to not focus on their other courses (Dallas). As college students we experience episodic stress when getting ready for an important exam or when we have to write an important paper. However, a continuous state of stress should not become the way of life. We know that stress over a long period of time can increase certain health risks. Studies have shown that excessive stress during the teen years can have a negative impact upon both physical and mental health later in life (Stoppler). For many young adults, college is the best time of their lives. These important years can be the cause of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and eating disorders.

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At colleges nationwide large percentages of college students are feeling overwhelmed, sad, hopeless, and so depressed that they are unable to function (Carpi). So if stress can be so bad for you, how can there be good or positive stress? Without some stress, people would not get a lot done. The stress response also known as the fight or flight response is critical during emergency situations like when a driver has to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident (Carnegie). The stress response is the bodys way of protecting you. When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. It can also be activated in a milder form at a time when the pressure's on but there's no actual danger (Smith). When the brain perceives some kind of stress, it starts flooding the body with chemicals like epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol. This creates a variety of reactions such as an increase in blood pressure and heart rate (Scott).That extra burst of adrenaline helps you finish your final paper, perform well in sports, or meet any challenge. Should you strive to keep stress out of your life completely? The answer is no! Stress could be very useful in our lives. your goal is to keep the stress level at a moderate level, neither so low that you are bored or so high that you are overwhelmed. Your ability to tolerate stress depends on many factors, including the quality of your relationships, your general outlook on life, your emotional intelligence, and genetics (Smith). Many college students adopt habits to deal with stress that are ineffective, counterproductive, and unhealthy. Students may turn to the use of tobacco, use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs (Teague). All of these strategies can bring short-term

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relief but at a high cost to both the mind and body. Suicide is the top cause of death among college students. About one in six students say they have friends who in the past year have discussed committing suicide, and about one in ten say they have seriously considered it themselves (Prevention). One of the least effective strategies is to do nothing about a problem, thinking it will go away. Of course, it rarely does. Other approaches to stress management popular with college students are listening to music, socializing with friends, going to movies, and reading. One of the healthiest ways to manage stress is to plan for stressful times, like course registration, midterms, and the end of the semester (Landino). Colleges usually offer resources to help students deal with stress. Many students are not aware of the programs available to them on campus. At UNC Charlotte we have a counseling center. The UNC Charlotte Counseling Center offers individual counseling to assist students with concerns of a personal nature by helping them develop better coping strategies, resolve conflicts and handle crisis situations. Typical concerns are depression, anxiety and stress, relationship issues, identity development, substance use problems, eating and body image issues. When I asked Tyler Thorpe, freshman at North Carolina Central University, how stress affected him he said I dont handle stress well at all, I shut down, I am not able to function and I get constant migraines. I asked Marisa Hicklen, freshmen at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, how stress affects her she said Everyone calls me crazy because I like being stressed! I feel like I do my best work when I am under pressure. I do get headaches but I dont feel overwhelmed or that I need help.

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These are perfect examples that show both sides of stress. The bad side that causes migraines and the good side that gives you the push to do your best. After all, college students have a lot of stress. There's no denying that! But college is what we make of it. If we stay focused and balance our life, we'll feel much more relaxed and healthier when it's time to put on our cap and gown! I think that we will all agree that anything in large proportions is bad for you. There are many academic stressors that always come with college life. Trying to stay up late to study, getting up early for practice and class, trying to cram in all my homework, writing papers, and doing projects to maintain my grades can cause stress very quickly. With the help of family, friends, and campus stress-management resources, many students are able to keep their stress levels relatively under control. At times it seems impossible to find balance between school, friends, family, and relationships. These are just a few of the many areas of my life that demand so much of my time. It can be really difficult to keep a healthy state of mind when you are constantly pushing yourself to the limit without a break here and there.