Stress is a feeling of uneasiness, discomfort, it is something that emotionally drains you out completely. And as a human being we cannot simply runaway from this, every single one of us has to deal with stress. In this article we shall see What does Stress do to Students?
Being a student is stressful, whether a school student or a university student. Stress can become a great hindrance in the life of a student. Stress, not only effects the student physically but also mentally. Human body is designed in such a way that our mind and body are connected, if our brain tires out, our body will automatically feel exhausted. So due to stress a student becomes more lethargic and low on energy. Their creativity is hindered as their mind is already occupied with all the stressful thoughts, which leads to decline in their academic performance. Stress plays a big role when it comes to declining of academic performances of a student. The attention span of a student drastically decreases as he/she is in a state of fear and worry and automatically has trouble concentrating on studies. When a student is confronting stressful situations they easily become agitated, therefore they usually withdraw from or avoid any kinds of social gathering. As humans are social animals, stress badly damages their social life. Changes in sex drive, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, not getting things done on time and becoming a procrastinator, mood swings, getting angry about little things, losing interest in things, not motivated etc. Even doing simple daily life activities becomes pretty much impossible.
Causes of Stress
The cause of stress is not specific. It can be different for every person. For students it can be
- Upcoming tests, quizzes, exams
- Relationships
- Breakups
- New environment
- Difficulty making friends
- Might be facing a financial issue
- Worried for jobs, internships
- A teacher is giving them hard time
- They are lagging behind in studies
- More intake of alcohol
- The students are not as friendly
- Societal pressure, family pressure
- Bullies
Effect on Health
- The biggest effect that stress causes on health is obesity. As most people eat alot when stressed, which is usually called stress eating and this results in obesity.
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- IBS Irritatible Bowl Syndrome
- Hairfall
- Insomnia
- Ulcers
Signs/Symptoms/Behaviour
- Abnormal heart rate
- Sweaty palms and feet
- Headaches or migranes
- Disturbed menstural cycle
- Upset stomach
- Heavy breathing
- Rapid weight loss
- Acne
- Trouble focusing on things
- Frustrated all the time
Treatment
Psychological disorders should always be taken seriously and should be diagnosed and treated timely. If not treated on time it can become life threatning in future. When it comes to stress it’s better to treat it right away because one thing leads to another e.g high blood pressure.
Visiting a psychiatrist should be the top priority, as your psychiatrist can prescribe you to a couple of medications that can help relief stress. Counselling and talking therapy is another way to treat stress. This is prefered more rather than prescribing medicinces. There are many professional therapists with whom you can talk out all your issues.
What is the difference between Stress Vs Anxiety?
Many people misunderstand the terms as there is a fineline between both. The signs and symptoms of anxiety and stress are pretty much the same. Although both are areaction of body to a stimulus, stress can be when you feel pressured about something like; homwork, exams. Anxiety is constant. You feel terrified and worried even if there is no reason to feel that way.
Self harm and Suicide
Stress can effect the quality of life of a student. Stress can also lead to self harm, suicidal thoughts or suicide. Student life can be so stressful that they start having suicidal thoughts and some even commit suicide. Stressful situations can be about anything lack of acceptance, difference in race, academic pressure, complex of not fitting in and being an outcast. They start feeling lonely and isolate themselves. For a student all these stressful situations have no answer and the only answer they can think of is self harm or killing themselves. The issue is that they don’t ask for help. If they take someone’s help they might think otherwise in any stressful situation.
Ways for Stress Relief
You can always try out some other methods to overcome the problem of stress.
- Work out
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Trying a new hobby
- Doing tasks that are on your bucket list
- Connecting with nature
- Walking
- Breathing exercises
- Listening to music
- Spending time with a pet
- Take some time out for yourself and do something you enjoy doing
- Healthy eating
Conclusion
Although stress is unavoidable, but it can be managed. Treating stress is important for your well-being. Therapies can be expensive and students cannot afford it. Either students cannot afford such expensive treatments or they are too busy with there schedules. But there are ways that don’t require going to the clinic and are less expensive.
