Students Dealing with Stress:
Being under pressure and learning how to cope

-- Robert E. Willis

As another semester begins, students once again are faced with the continual stress of papers, tests and projects inherent to a college student’s existence. Some have found ways to beat the stress. For others, the stress can be so unbearable it can lead to poor grades, dropping out of school and, in some extreme cases, suicide.

According to a survey conducted in 2000 by the American College Health Association, 10.3 percent of students reported being diagnosed with depression. In 2004 that number rose to 14.9 percent, which indicated a 4.6 percent increase in stress levels among students.

Stress can be a deciding factor when it comes to performance on school exams. Learning to handle stress can make a major difference for many students who have a hard time during final exams.

Students in the United Kingdom were asked to complete two questionnaires during their first school year: One conducted at the beginning of the school year, and another conducted midyear. The survey that students took was The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, created by Dr. A.S. Zigmond and Dr. Philip Snaith, in 1983.

"The results show that by midyear, nine percent of the symptom-free students became depressed and 20 percent became anxious at a clinically significant level. Of those previous anxious or depressed, 36 percent had recovered," wrote Bernice Andrews and John M. Wilding for Psychology Today.

"Depression and financial difficulties mid-course predicted a decrease in exam performance from first to second year.

Stress is also caused by students acquiring a "sleep debt," or not getting enough sleep over the course of a few days.

According to the National Commission on Sleep Disorders, 40 million Americans have a chronic sleep disorder that reduces productivity and affects the quality of life. Students operating on little sleep tend to experience higher levels of stress in their day-to-day life.

According to McKesson Health Solutions, stress has a number of symptoms a student can look for to determine if he or she is under the pressure of too much stress:

• You feel tired all of the time;
• You eat more or less than normal;
• You drink more alcohol, smoke more, or use drugs more often;
• You have to go to the bathroom more often or less often than normal;
• You have aches and pains not caused by exercise;
• Your sleep habits have changed;
• You see other changes in the way you act or feel;
• You feel nervous or more angry than normal.

Students face a wide variety of life problems that can lead to anxiety throughout their high school and college career. Today’s college student can range anywhere from a student fresh out of high school to a retiree searching for a new vocation.

And for a college student completing a four-year degree, academia is only one part of a student’s life. Additional factors that can cause stress in a student’s life range from relocation, illness, divorce, financial problems, rape, anorexia, pregnancy, career-change to a death in the family. What one student considers a stressful circumstance, another student might easily manage.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow created a system of basic requirements people undergo as they travel through life, commonly referred to as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Students leaving home and/or starting a new college career are beginning life again; they undergo a series of levels before they become successful students.

The first level is ensuring simple basic needs. "When we are confident that we have sufficient food and drink and a place to sleep, we turn to ensuring protection against danger," wrote Marjorie Savage, author of You’re On Your Own (But I’m Here When You Need Me): Mentoring Your Child During the College Years.

"With a sense of security, we’re ready to seek friendship and a sense of belonging, then self-respect and self-esteem, and finally self-actualization and an outlet for creativity."

Other students may be dealing with a different type of study habit. Most college professors demand more from a student in regard to homework.

"You should spend two hours out of class for every hour you are in class," wrote Debbie Longman and Rhonda Atkinson in their book College Learning and Study Skills. For 15 credit hours a student should spend 30 hours in study. Some students find themselves handling school, homework, a full-time job and a baby.

There are many students who experience an emotional event during their school career and find themselves choosing between their studies and dealing with a personal crisis.

Ann Gaasch, Minnesota Health and Suicide Prevention coordinator at the Minnesota Board of Health, said, "We just got our official numbers last week. There were 529 suicides in 2004 with 510 of them stress-related."

Denise Dumas, a manager at Suicide Awareness Voice of Education, said when people are in a depressed mood, there’s a lack of connectedness.

"We all have stress, but college students are under a special kind of stress. Society has changed. Students are more involved now, trying to achieve more. Not enough down-time causes depression."

When asked why students become too stressed Dumas said, "Some students don’t have a coping mechanism. Be productive with stress. Create a stress reducing plan. Do something daily."

"When a person in under too much stress the body reacts in a variety of ways," explained Dumas. "Some people, they get ulcers; for others, the brain suffers an illness, which actually alters their brain chemistry."

Dumas said that doing something proactive is the best way to beat depression. "I use humor. I have certain movies to watch for that reason," she said.

Here are a few ways to deal with stress, according to McKesson Health Solutions:

• Exercise for 20–30 minutes at least three times a week;
• Do something just for yourself. Get a new haircut or a massage;
• Look at what upsets you. Is there a way to avoid these things? If not, try to find ways to change how you think about them;
• Learn ways to relax. Talk with people who support you. Listen to music. Watch movies. Take walks. Breathe deeply. Picture pleasant things in your mind;
• Get enough sleep (six to 10 hours a night);
• Eat a healthy diet. Eat three to six small, balanced meals a day;
• Drink four to eight glasses of water a day;
• Drink less coffee and alcohol;
• Use positive thoughts and humor;
• Get professional help with the really stressful events in your life.

Learning to see the signs of stress will help anyone experiencing stress deal with it more effectively.