college students stress

 

Cause of Stress in College Students Guide

Relationship between academic stress and mental health 

Academic stress and its impact on mental health is a well-researched topic. Research shows that academic stress leads to less well-being and an increased likelihood of developing anxiety or depression. Additionally, students who have academic stress tend to do poorly in school. This shows how this stress can keep kids from doing as well as they could. Research also suggests that if given help or a better academic situation, students will have better mental health. So how does the influence of new technology impact academic

What Causes Stress in College Students

In the guide that follows, students will learn about common forms of stress encountered in college, what causes stress in the first place, how stress manifests itself in college students, meditation and mindfulness, and what to look for if a student feels he/she or a friend may be in over their head. The guide also provides a comprehensive list of resources to help students navigate this time of transition and graduate as happy and healthy adults.

As an incoming college freshman, experiencing life as an adult and acclimating to the numerous and varied types of demands placed on them can be a truly overwhelming experience. It can also lead to unhealthy amounts of stress. A report by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America found that 80 percent of college students frequently or sometimes experience daily stress. With a growing pressure to do it all and be successful, students must learn how to healthfully identify and manage stress points to maintain balance throughout their collegiate career. Thankfully, this guide was designed to provide insight on how to do just that.

Identifying and Understanding Stressors

Once reaching college, students may encounter a multitude of stressors, some of which they may have dealt with in high school and others that may be a new experience for them. With so many new experiences, responsibilities, social settings, and demands on their time, it’s normal and expected to feel overwhelmed and anxious at times; the key component is knowing how to alleviate stress in a healthful manner. In his groundbreaking 1979 book Stress and the Manager, Dr. Karl Albrect identified four main types of stress. Each of these will be delved into in further detail below.

• Time Stress

  This type of stress revolves around concerns about time – most frequently the lack of time to accomplish all that needs to be done in a given timeframe. Students, especially early in their collegiate careers, often experience time stress as they adjust to a larger workload and more significant demands from their professors and classes. This type of stress may also manifest in a concern for being places on time. Especially for students who attend a large college, navigating a new campus during their first few months can often leave them racing around and worrying they’ll be late to classes or meetings with advisors.

• Anticipatory Stress

  Usually felt in conjunction with concerns about the future, anticipatory stress appears in both specific and vague manifestations. For some students, anticipatory stress is brought about when thinking about an upcoming test or presentation; for others, it can be an overall feeling of trepidation about what’s coming next. This form of stress is often triggered by a lack of confidence or an overall sense of fear about failing in some way. Many students may experience anticipatory stress during their final year of college as they begin to look for jobs or plan their next move after graduation.

• Situational Stress

  While the two preceding forms of stress may be prolonged over a long stretch of time, situational stress tends to be sudden and overwhelming. The common thread amongst all forms of this type of stress is feeling a lack of control. Whether manifesting as an emergency, a sudden conflict, or making a mistake in front of peers, it happens quickly and students will feel they have no power to change what is happening. Other common examples in college could be failing a test, fighting with a roommate, receiving a scary call from home, or getting in a wreck.

• Encounter Stress

  Stress of this nature is unique in its trigger points being specific to seeing people. Students experiencing encounter stress frequently identify as introverts, but extroverts may also share in these feelings. Moments of stress are likely to come out when being required to interact with a certain person or group of people, be it unfriendly classmates, hostile roommates, or intimidating professors. Students who work during their studies may also feel stress over interacting with a large number of customers while also trying to balance their studies. This type of encounter stress is often known as “contact overload” and originates from feelings of being drained from being in contact with too many people over a set amount of time.