Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Category: Health and wellness
Managing stress: avoiding a mid-semester meltdown
Molly Martin ‘19
Stress is anything but a novelty to the average college student. Papers strewn over a table at the library, a half-finished coffee off to the side. A student dejectedly punching numbers into a calculator only to write down an answer and scribble it out a few seconds later with a groan. Many students find themselves overwhelmed with everything in their planners and worried about all the things they did not even get around to writing down yet. There is a lot to do in college. It is easy to get frustrated with yourself.
Thinking about all your classes, meetings to attend and papers to write affects not only your mind, but also your body. When you become stressed, your sympathetic nervous system—that physiological “fight or flight” mentality that comes about during an emergency—takes action.
The sympathetic nervous system says, “Go!” and ignites stress chemicals like adrenalin and cortisol that generate shallow breathing, goosebumps, sweat, jaw tension, and mental confusion. It is the reason your gut clenches and your focus narrows. This nervous system is designed for a cataclysmal circumstance (think: major car accident or running the 100m dash).
Luckily, your body has a built in response for these moments! The parasympathetic nervous system has the opposite response of the sympathetic nervous system. With the ability to calm things down after an intense or frightening moment, it plays a vital role in your life.
Sometimes you have so much to do the calming system fails to activate. These are the times when we feel maxed out, over stressed and distressed.
Am I stressed?
Despite common belief, scientifically some stress is a good thing, according to Eleanor A. Muir, Director of Counseling and Health Services at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ College. “You need a small amount of stress to become motivated and usually you are experiencing an average stress level each day. Without stress, nothing would encourage or move you,” she added. In other words, you would not get off Netflix, out of bed or go to chemistry. Due dates and exams are motivators, but when they pile up, your average stress levels may spike.
In general, when people say “I am stressed,” they are referring to an experience that is more intense than average, day-to-day, stress. The word “stressed” is used so casually these days, but noticing you are feeling this way points to an overstressed state in and of itself. Sometimes when you are very stressed, your brain will ”time-travel.” You might think back in time to the moment you tripped up the stairs on your way to Lottie in front of the whole baseball team or flash forward to all the ways your presentation in Oral Communications could go wrong. You probably tend to ask all these “What-if?” questions too, worrying about the future and regretting the past, catastrophizing reality.
Stress is not always bad, but when these stressful patterns and what-if questions persist and the parasympathetic system is still not turning on, it is chronic stress. This type of stress is constant and undesirable. Chronic stress can make you more vulnerable to depression, anxiety, heart disease and other physical ailments. Therefore, it is important that even during your busy school day you spend some time taking care of yourself!
How can I manage my stress?
There are many ways to manage stress levels to keep yourself from reaching overstressed points or falling into the patterns of chronic stress—both of which have a significant impact on your mind, body and soul.
Here are some things that can help:
1. De-escalation
Deep breathing and exercising are two ways to relieve your body of some of the stressful tension it gathers. Focusing on your breathing patterns, like counting to seven during each inhalation and exhalation, will help you slow down. In addition, using exercise as a stress-relieving method may also help you feel more relaxed. For example, running encourages you to focus on your body and the way it moves as your feet pound into the track, which can take your mind off a mentally challenging and stressful day.
2. Mindfulness
Often times, your mind convinces you of things that are untrue. These inaccurate thoughts, or cognitive distortions, can negatively enforce your thinking and emotions, making you stressed. For example, you may jump to conclusions in regards to what another person thinks of you or assume you did poorly exams without even receiving your grade. Remaining mindful of the realities around you and reducing these cognitive distortions is vital when it comes to stress management.
Eleanor Muir likes to remind her students to use mindfulness skills to bring their focus to the here and now. ‘Here and Now’ was actually the theme for ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ’s 2017 Welcome Week! "The Engle Center links with Student Affairs to help build resilience and distress tolerance among the students,” Muir shared. “As our brains time-travel through the what-ifs and the what-could-have-beens, it is important to remember to bring our minds back to the same place our bodies are in.” Amidst overwhelming feelings, remember to check in with yourself: “Right here, right now, I am ok.”
3. Self-Care
Self-Care is important. As papers pile up, free time starts disappearing and can quickly escalate into crazy days where the only time you see your friends is in class or at dinner. Self-care means taking a few minutes out of your day for rest, relaxation, restoration, reflection, recharging, and rejuvenation. This can include coloring, watching Friends, visiting Adi the dog at the Engle Center, gazing out over campus as the sun sets, going for a walk, journaling or listening to music.
A more formatted way of self-care can be seen through Eleanor Muir’s Recipe for Self-Care:
One minute every hour...
Close your eyes, breathe deeply, recite a Bible verse.
One hour every day...
Take a walk, listen to music, enjoy exercise, read the Bible, take part in a hobby, journal, have lunch with a friend, or pray.
One day every week...
Take one evening off from studying, go to church on Sunday, or go hiking.
4. Therapy
Today, the need for counseling is increasing at an exponential rate. While therapy is not always necessary for overstressed students, it is important to take care of yourself and know there are places to get help if you need it. At ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ, the Engle Center is available for counseling for students at high levels of distress and risk.