Stressed Out: The true plight of college students

Stressed Out: The true plight of college students

 April is the month where spring  blossoms. A month full of fresh flowers, afternoon showers, and sunny days in the park.  However to college students around the country it is crunch time. Spring break is over and finals are coming. Students are constantly running around trying study, kiss up to professors for a little extra help, find jobs for the summer and get their schedules ready for the upcoming year.  Procrastination and frustration spread around the campus with an unrecognizable   force. 

Naturally, trying to balance all of these things at once can cause a lot of stress. Everyone knows  that college students are stressed out, what  most people fail to realize are the damaging sides effects of stress to the body and mind.
Students all over the country are trying to figure out how to deal with stress. Shomik Gibson is finishing up her sophomore year at Wake Forrest University in Winston Salem, NC. Gibson explains that stress is never ending for her and at sometimes is a combination of worry and paranoia.

" Its like as soon as you finish one thing there is something else due. Even when I am doing work; I'm constantly thinking about other work and its exhausting.", Gibson said. 

Stress is defined as "Any outside force or event that causes mental or bodily tension." (definitionofstress.com) There are a lot of stressful factors that college students have to deal with.  Going to college is a big change. Students are bombarded with multiple responsibilities at once. 

Finances- Students are now living on their own as well as having to figure out a way to finance their own education. They have to find jobs, scholarships, and loans to get by.

Academic performance- Worrying about  grades can cause students to experience stress anxiety, insomnia and unhealthy changes in appetite. The never ending pile of papers, projects, and presentations is overwhelming.

Relationships- New friendships and dating can cause a lot of stress. Arguments with friends or significant others can cause anxiety as well. While strong social support can be a way of relieving stress finding the right balance and the right people is not an easy task.

Poor Nutrition- Sometimes with limited time and unlimited responsibilities and obligations. Students fit eating into there schedule instead of scheduling time to eat. The access to fast food, convenience stores, and snacks  makes it easier to submit to those finance friendly golden arches or the almighty ramen.

An ongoing state of stress can affect students bodies physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Students may experience aches and pains, changes in weight, sleep issues, compromised immune system, and heart issues.

"I feel like its never going to end; like I'm trapped in a maze and I cant find my way out.", said junior Kourtland Hale.  

According to a survey conducted by the Associated Press and MTV 1 in 5 undergraduate students are constantly stressed. The students explained that they always feel agitated or stress. The survey also found that 1 in 6 students have had friends in the past year who considered suicide and 1 in 10 said they have considered it themselves. 13 percent said that they have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression. With millions of students enrolled in colleges and universities throughout the country this statistic is frightening.

At times it can seem like professors are unreasonable and seem to forget that students have other classes, work and lives outside of school but there are professors who understand. Dr. Darren Ritzer is a psychology professor at Winthrop University. In his classes he tries to lighten the mood and boost morale with jokes and sarcasm. Ritzer talks to students about what anxiety and stress can do to the body as well as ways to try and reduce stress. Getting enough sleep is one of the most important morsels of advice he gives. Ritzer explains that while most people think that you have to have the 8 hours of sleep a night that what really helps your body out is getting the same amount of sleep every night.  Ritzer reminds his students that school is hard work and that hard work is inevitable and life is not always fair. He jokingly reminds his students that "Life is a crap sandwich eat it or starve".

 The future for college students does not look much better.  With a troubled economy students are worried about finding a decent job and living on their own.  The stress is not going any where all we can do is try to relieve as much stress as possible.

Many universities have health and wellness centers where students can go and talk to counselors or see a doctor on campus.  Winthrop students can go to the Winthrop website or Crawford to set up an appointment with health and counseling services The University of Georgia has a whole website dedicated to helping students figure out how to manage stress as well as Dartmouth whose website includes information on stress, anxiety, and test taking tips  Some other common ways to relieve stress are to exercise and practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing.  You can also listen to music or find a hobby just find something that makes you happy and calm.