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Stress among college students
Introduction about college students and stress
Stress among college students
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Stress Among College Students
Leaving home for the first time and going away for school can be very difficult for some people. In many cases for college freshmen this is their first time being away from their home and parents. Many times they get home sick and want to isolate themselves. They have to get into a new routine of going to school, and change can be very difficult. It is definitely hard to get into the swing of college. They have to navigate through classes in a new format while living away from all the comforts of parents. A college student’s life usually consists of attending classes, long hours of studying, working at a job (sometimes), and having a social life. Some students work at a job or study harder than others, but they are all trying to get degrees so maybe one day they will have meaningful and significant lives. It is a constant struggle for everyone who is trying desperately to make him or herself into a success. And every college student wants to be involved with something in order to further their education, or just have fun. There are lots of new opportunities out there. The struggle consists of demands on time, financial pressures, parental pressure and conflicts, interpersonal conflicts, managing freedom, peer and academic pressure and the transitional period to a new academic environment (Stanford University 4). All of these factors combined can cause emotional disturbances and one of the most common is stress.
Stress is what you feel when you are worried or uncomfortable about something. This worry in your mind can make your body feel bad. You may feel angry, frustrated, scared, or afraid. These feeling can also lead to you having a stomachache or a headache. When you're stressed you may not feel like sleeping or eating. You also may feel cranky or have trouble paying attention at school and remembering things. Having a little stress can be good sometimes, but when you’re in college that is defiantly something you want to keep under control. Another reason for stress is the financial strain a person can experience when trying to progress in school. Learning to budget money is one of the most realistic lessons of attending college. This is one more way a student may feel vulnerable. Financial pressure is the number one reason why students drop out. A college student may become distracted with work in order to live comfo...
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... distress is providing students with a feeling of control over their education, information about what to expect, and feedback regarding what can be done to improve their performance. Students who do not feel helpless will adopt their own coping strategies. Students shouldn’t let their college years distress you. Recognize situations that may cause stress, develop effective ways to manage stress and seek help if you need it.
Works Citied
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Hudd, Suzanne S. “Stress at College Effects on Health Habits, Health Status and
Self-Esteem.” College Student Journal. June (2000). Vol. 34, Issue 2
Ross, Shannon E. “Sources of Stress Among College Students.” College Student Journal
June (1999). Vol. 33, Issue 2
Stanford University. “Coping With Stress.”
http://www.Ieland.Standford.edu/group/cawell/srticles/stressarticle.html
Struthers, C. Ward. “An Examination of the Relationship Among Academic Stress,
Coping, Motivation, and Performance in College.” Research in Higher
Education. Oct (2000). Vol. 41 Issue 5, p581.
Students entering college for the first time become concern with their college life. The students are on their own once they enter college. There are no parents or guardians telling them when to do homework, when to go to bed, or how to eat healthy. These student are now responsible on how they are going to succeed in school and meet their own needs. From the beginning, these students wonder what their experience is going to be like and are they going to handle the demands from college. Students are becoming more stressful due to academic demands, social life, and work. First-year college students should receive more help from school to learn how to help themselves and become independent.
A first-generation college student is someone whose folks didn’t attend or graduated from college. Many times, students face this reality and have no one to rely on. Some of the challenges this students face are unique psychological challenges. Although there is upportive staff in college, one of the most important roles of a family is support. Their family may see their entry to college as an insult or misunderstood their reason for wanting to have a major. In families, role are assign to each member such as working, cleaning or taking care of others. When one of the family members decides to interference with this system to attend to college, this one leading the student to a loss of personality.
Everyone has experienced some type of stress in their life. Whether it has been from work, school, or trouble at home, stress is stress. If anyone had played sports in high school, you know the challenge of balancing school and sports. Imagine that stress, then multiply it exponentially. Everyone knows that college is a much more rigorous version of high school.
4 Giancola, J.K., Grawitch, M.J., and Borchert, D. (2009). Dealing with the stress of college: A
Many first year college students face problems as they enter a new educational environment that is very different than that of high school. However, the common problem is that many first year students become stressed. For many students, college is supposed to be the most fun time of their life; however, their fun can be restricted if it is limited by stress and other mental illnesses. According to the National Health Ministries (2006), stress is caused by “greater academic demands,” the feeling of being independent from family, “financial responsibility,” homesickness, being exposed to meeting new people, peer pressure, “awareness of one’s own sexual identity,” and the abuse of drugs and alcohol (p. 2). However, the causes to first year students’ stress mainly include academic demand, parents, finance, and peer pressure.
Studies have shown that many college students are not able to handle the stress while in school, which hinders the ability for the brain to act in a normal way (Shahrokh and Hales, 2003). If a person is unable to deal with the stress that one is being faced with, it will have negative consequences in terms of causing several psychological disorders (Canby et al., 2014). Entering post-secondary education is a completely new environment for students, as it can be tough for many to adjust to the new surroundings. There are many factors that cause stress when students enter college, as it can include having the ability to deal with lower marks (Struthers et al., 2000) and having to create a new social life. Once and if a social life is established, it can cause more stress among students because it can lead into peer pressure that results in risky behavior. In particular, peer pressure can cause alcoholism or drug abuse (Seiffge-Krenke, 1990) or it can also cause unprotected sex. Not only does stress revolve around peer-pressure, but it can also be caused by headaches and lack of energy. If a student is constantly staying up late to finish assignments or to study, it can cause headaches from the lack of sleep; thus causing stress. With all the given factors, it can be hard to overcome these external factors which can ultimately lead to stress among
but when you are at college away from family it kind of makes you homesick, and pressured that you are growing up as an adult and need to learn to do things on your own. Realizing that you need to do these things on your own can be hard, but it is also making you think that you are maturing into a young adult. Pressure on independence as a college student is very different from not having someone wake you up to get ready for school, everything you do is your responsibility which can have a positive or negative effect on your grades or finishing
According to Emily Driscoll from foxbusiness.com, the competitive nature of college and new expenses are major factors that bring extra anxiety to new students. Many students are not just looking to go to the nearby home university; some have aspirations to get into the Ivy League or top medical schools and law schools which present extreme competition to simply get in the door (Driscoll, E.) Excelling in high school socially and academically is easy compared to college so the challenges of what to expect will have students feeling the stress just anticipating it. The process of leaving home includes leaving that social support of the family being there in house, adding personal responsibilities that involve changes to daily routines. There are so many more distractions in college that make it harder to focus and have priorities in the proper order (Driscoll, E.) Elizabeth Scott from stress.about.com notes how with...
Since, college students tend to have a lot on their hands with balancing finals, family, and working; might be too much to handle. It can build up stress which can also build up anxiety. Students in poverty can relate to the stress because the affordability of college can put pressure onto themselves and family members trying to save extra cash so their children can earn a degree and a better education that they wish they had in their young adult life.
Everyone deals with stress at some point in his or her life. Most people deal with it daily. As defined in the book called Principles and Labs for Fitness and Wellness, stress is, “The mental, emotional, and physiological response of the body to any situation that is new, threatening, frightening, or exciting” (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2012). This stress is caused by a stressor, which is also known as “a stress-causing event” (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2012). Stressors can take all different forms, from moving to a new town, having a baby, or even writing a paper (Boyd, Wood, & Wood, 2011). One major stressor in life can be going to college. If not coped with properly, these stressors can leave a person with too much stress that could end up harming them mentally and physically, such as developing an illness (Boyd, Wood, & Wood, 2011). There are several ways to cope with stress. Some healthy ways to cope with stress would be practicing emotion-focused coping, building time-management techniques, and practicing meditation.
In recent years, academic stress has been heightened by high grade expectations, the gap between academic expectations and reality, and the current generation’s inability to deal with with failure. Some studies suggest that increased financial burden may also be a cause of stress, depression, anxiety, and psychosis for undergraduate students (Flatt, 2013). Financial burden due to large student debt and high tuition costs is the reason for financial stress for students in North America. This stress is a possible cause for mental health problems.
College brings many changes to a young adolescent. Moving away from parents and being on your own is the biggest and sometimes scariest step. This change for college students can sometimes be very dramatic and can often lead to depression. A column written by Michael Kerr (2012) reported that one out of every four-college student suffers from some sort of mental illness, depression being the most common. It also stated that 44 percent of American college students report having symptoms of depression. College is supposed to be a time of growth, learning and self-discovery. What factors play a contributing role to the rates of depression found in college students? Research by Nyer and colleagues (2013) has suggested that sleep disturbances and anxiety contribute to depression-like symptoms in students. Another study conducted by Xueting, Hong, Bin and Taisheng (2013) found that students who were trying to reach perfect grades in their academics found themselves falling short of expectations which triggered symptoms of depression. Varied distractions, academic or financial difficulties, substance abuse, lack of sleep and unstable friendships are additional risk factors for depression (Xueting, 2013). If not left untreated, students often resort to suicide as a way out of the depression. (Wilcox, 2013)
Well, a lot of students are suffering from stress, but wait what is the difference between academic or other types of stresses ? Academic stress is like any kind of stresses, they are all harmful for one's body and mind. The only thing that makes it somewhat “special” is that it is caused by academic work E.G: quizzes, homeworks, research, and everything that requires
Many college students often feel overwhelmed by homesickness when starting a new chapter of their lives. Homesickness is most commonly due to feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. A research study concluded that homesick college students are three times more likely to drop out over a student who has adjusted well to college life. For many first-year college students, being away from home can feel like an adventure. It can be exhilarating to be off on your own and completely in charge of your life as well as your social well-being. I know that during my first week in college, I didn’t feel homesick at all because I was so anxious to meet new people, explore the campus, and start the new journey of my life. However, as I became more used to the setting and people around me, I found myself to be occasionally missing home at
Stress comes in many shapes and forms, it comes with the job of being human. My sources of stress come from the major parts of my life; academic pressure, social settings, and time management. As a high school student, high school in general is very stressful, but not only am I high school student I am also a college student. Double the responsibility means double the stress.