Romero-Cardenas 1

Jaylene Romero-Cardenas

Professor Moore

HED 044

February 8,2018

Project 3: Case Study Analysis

Stress has been around for as long as mankind has been in existence. This has become a

norm in our society due to its high standards in academia, work force, and social class. Now in

the most current times, there has been new found ways to de-stress yourself in order to better

your health.

Before we continue into the various ways we could take the time to de-stress ourselves,

let us get into the case study scenario we are provided. We are first introduced to a college

freshman by the name of Katya. As a college student, she has been faced with academic anxiety

in which it has affected her performance, her self-esteem, and her mental health. With the

pressures of keeping her scholarship, she has resulted in over extending her mentally to retain

information for her chemistry test. Which evidently resulted in her having a panic attack. This

type of stress-induced reaction is actually quite common among college students with a heavy

load.

As a young girl in elementary, I was diagnosed with severe anxiety due to living in a

stressful home environment. There was always something going on due to my father’s

alcohol/drug addiction that was created when he did his service in the military. My anxiety had

gotten worse for the fears I had of my father becoming angry or his PTSD episodes occurring in

the middle of the night. Once my mother decided to leave my father, I decided it was best for me
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to go talk to someone about my never-ending chest tightening panic attacks. My doctor later

diagnosed me with anxiety and prescribed medication to help lower the chances of my pains

attacks but I do not take them, for the fear of being addicted like my father. My mother and

father got back together later on during my senior year of high school since he is now clean,

sober, and going PTSD course meetings. When I reached college, my panic attacks began to

happen again and again. I felt the exact same way as Katya. The overwhelming sense of getting

perfect grades consumes your well-being.

If we were to explore the many ways we can reduce stress in our busy college lives, we

are able to see the various ways we could potentially prevent panic attacks. A good example of a

stress reducer is adult coloring. In a recent study made by professors at the International Islamic

University in Islamabad Pakistan, they conducted a case study in which they sampled university

students to see what they do as a therapeutic anxiety reducer. They have defined color-therapy as

a popular method to reduce anxiety. In the academic journal, they state ”this form of color

therapy could be used in both children and adults.” (Arouj,Azmat, Noor, Saleem, P1) Which is

astonishing since a young child could experience stressful situations themselves. Another

fantastic recommendation is to sing. Singing has always been a good stress reducer for myself.

My mother likes to say it’s just like screaming but just beautifully. In a recent article on

upliftconnect.com, they state that “People who sing have reduced levels of cortisol, indicating

lower stress.” (upliftconnect.com) I find this to be significantly true because I feel so much

better after I sing my heart out. My final recommendation of stress relievers in the arts

department would be participating in ceramics. According to Alison Feller a writer for

wellandgood.com, she claims that “ceramics is as close to reducing stress. She likes to compare
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this to a lazy persons Pilates.” (Feller, Allison. Article) Ceramics has been known to be

distracting for real life problems due to its intricate use of clay techniques.

In conclusion, there are various ways to participate in stress reducers. We can recall how

different types of art activities have been proven to be successful in stress reducing. Hence the

famous stigma in which college students are faced with stressful assignments and tests that I

believe it is essential to find the best stress reducer for you. So, before you over extend mental

capability, think back to Katya’s story and my own personal experience. Take the time to reflect

and find your stress reducer. If you find yourself not being able to reduce your panic attacks in

this method, a doctors opinion is highly recommended.

Works Cited:

Noor, S. M., Saleem, T., Azmat, J., & Arouj, K. (2017). MANDALA-COLORING AS A
THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION FOR ANXIETY REDUCTION IN UNIVERSITY
STUDENTS. Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal, 67(6), 904-907.

Feller, A. (2017, December 06). Could clay be the secret to reducing your stress? Retrieved
February 09, 2018, from https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/clay-pottery-ceramics-
stress-relief/

The Neuroscience of Singing. (2017, December 01). Retrieved February 09, 2018, from
http://upliftconnect.com/neuroscience-of-singing/