CHAPTER 3

College Student Stress

A healthy lifestyle such as eating properly, exercising regularly, getting sufficient restful sleep, having daily quiet time, and regular creative relaxation (reading, socializing, art, music) is fundamental to dealing with college stress.

Stressor

any physical or psychological situation that produces stress

Emotion-focused coping

appraising and accepting a stressful situation as not immediately changeable and adopting an attitude that lessens anxiety and brings comfort

Coping

efforts to manage a stressful situation regardless of whether those efforts are successful

Threat situations

events that cause stress because of a perception that harm or loss may occur

Test anxiety

many students experience health problems because of academic pressures and anxiety about exams. Test anxiety is a sense of unease and apprehension frequently accompanied by physiological symptoms such as upset stomach, restlessness, sleep problems, irritability, and nervous eating. Also creates difficulty concentrating. FORM OF PERFORMANCE ANXIETY.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

physical and mental illnesses resulting from severe trauma

Challenge situations

positive events that may involve major life transitions and may cause stress

Eustress

stress resulting from pleasant stressors

Distress

stress resulting from unpleasant stressors

Harm- and- loss situations

stressful events that include death, loss of property, injury and illness

Overload

the feeling that there are too many demands on one's time and energy from being confronted with too many challenges

Stress

the sum of physical and emotional reactions to any stimulus that disturbs the harmony of body and mind

Factors affecting the experience of stress

- Predictability: knowing when a stressful situation will occur produces less stress than not knowing. -Personal control: individuals who believe they can influence the course of their lives are likely to experience less stress than are individuals who believe that their fate is determined by factors outside of their control. - Belief in the outcome: people who believe that things are likely to improve (optimists) experience less stress than do people who believe that things will get worse (pessimists). - Social support: having someone to talk to and believing that the person can help manage a stressor by providing physical, emotional, or intellectual help lessens stress.

Ways stress contributes to Illness

1. Causing the mind and the body to become exhausted, worn down, and damaged. 2. Weakening immunity. 3. Motivating unhealthy behaviors in an attempt to deal with stress.

Antidotes to overload:

1. Plan ahead: knowing when a stressful situation will occur produces less stress than not knowing does. 2. Keep a to-do list: at the beginning of each day, or the night before, write down all the things you have to do. 3. Clarify intentions: before you begin each day, take a few moments to be quiet and still and clarify your intentions. 4. Prioritize tasks: classify tasks according to their urgency and importance. 5. Don't sweat the small stuff: eliminate unimportant tasks from your list; don't do, think about, or worry about anything that doesn't match your most important values and goals. 6. Schedule downtime: even if its only a few moments a day, take time for activities that you find meaningful and fun, or just chill. 7. Sleep: not sleeping enough reduces performance and efficiency on tasks by as much as 50%. 8. Don't just do it, just do it: students often believe that the solution to overload is to put more effort, but this is wrong.

Ways to practice coping

1. Problem-focused coping - Limit or eliminate interaction with the stressor. - Alter your perception of a stressful situation (called cognitive reappraisal) - Set attainable goals - Focus on your personal strengths, values and positive qualities. - Seek social support. - Reduce physical tension. - Keep your sense of humor - Engage in sensory experiences such as art, music, or a walk in the garden, through the woods, or along the beach, etc 2. Emotion-focused coping: - Ease your mind - Let go 3. Denial/ distancing/ giving up - ineffective coping

3 Types of coping processes

1. Problem-focused coping: the stressful situation is appraised as changeable and a plan for changing something to improve things is devised and attempted. The key feature is the belief that one can change things for the better (optimism). 2. Emotion-focused coping: the stressful situation is appraised as not immediately changeable and one decides to accept and work with reality of the situation, perhaps by waiting for an opportunity to take action or by looking for the good in the bad. 3. Denial/distancing/giving up: the stressful situation is appraised as not amenable to change, and rather than accepting the reality, one chooses not to think about it (denial), to undertake escapist activities or to become fatalistic and helpless (give up).

Time management

A major cause of college student stress is the sense that theres too much and not enough time. Tips for time management: 1. perform a time audit 2. be energy efficient 3. resist multitasking 4. control interruptions 5. tame any tendencies toward perfectionism 6. understand any tendencies to procrastinate

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A three-phase biological response to stress -Stage of alarm -Stage of resistance -Stage of exhaustion

Problem-focused coping

Appraising a stressful situation as changeable and making and attempting a plan for changing something to improve things

Overload--

At the heart of overload is the sense of lacking personal control. Individuals who believe they can influence the course of their lives (internal locus of control) are likely to experience less stress than individuals who believe that their fate is determined by factors outside of their control (external locus of control).

Managing Stress

Best ways to manage stress are to replace stressful ways of living with beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that promote peace, joy, and mind-body harmony. Living healthfully is fundamental to limiting stress. Involves coping

Mental Component

Consists of (1) appraisal of a situation as absolutely or potentially y damaging to one's physical or psychological well-being or a threat to one's survival. (2) believing that one's personal resources are insufficient to ward off or overcome the threat to one's well-being.

Physiological Component

Consists of automatic physiological responses to real or imagined situations that are considered damaging or threatening. One response is: flight-fight-or-freeze response (adrenaline) Second response is: hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA): the thought that one is in a stressful situation causes the hypothalamus of the brain to release a hormone called corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF). This hormone stimulates the pituitary gland to release a hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) into the bloodstream.

Emotional Component

Consists of unpleasant emotions that arise from one's appraisal of a situation a harmful or threatening and that one's resources for protection are limited or uncertain. These emotions are: anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, and depression.

Components of Stress

Environmental Mental Emotional Physiological

Environmental component

Environmental component: consists of situations and events that bring about stress, which are called stressors. They can be day-to-day hassles and complexities. These situations can be classified as: - harm-and-loss situations: which include death of a loved one, theft or damage to ones property, physical injury or loss of a body part, physical assault, or loss of self-esteem. -Threat situations: perceived as likely to produce harm or loss whether any harm of loss actually occurs. -Challenge situations: perceived as opportunities for growth, mastery, and gain. The stress that comes from challenging situations can be eustress or distress.

Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis

a coordinated physiological response to stress involving the hypothalamus of the brain and the pituitary and adrenal glands

Flight-fight-or-freeze response

a defensive reaction that prepares the organism for conflict or escape by triggering hormonal, cardiovascular, metabolic and other changes