STRESSIt’s impact on College Success

(and how you can effectively manage it)

Stress can be complicated. What stresses one person, may have no effect on another person. What stressed you before, may not stress you now.

Stress is basically a physical and/or psychological response to a stressor. Stress is a natural response to either a physical trauma, a psychological strain, a spiritual ordeal, or any combination of the three.

A stressor is broadly defined as any internal or external stimulus, potential, real or imagined, that threatens a person’s wellbeing.

By all means, this is not an all inclusive list. Some stressors will not affect your success in college, some will. What stresses you?

Physical Stressors

Lack of Sleep

Illness

Injuries

Physical confrontations

Car breaks down

Unexpected bill

Poor diet

Substance Abuse

Psychological Stressors

Doing poorly on a test

Large amounts of homework

Social demands of family or friends

Loss of a job

Family member’s loss of a job

Loss of a family member, friend, or pet

Financial problems

Unable to comprehend school work

World events

Relationship issues

Spiritual Stressors

Questioning long held or new beliefs

Disappointment in a spiritual role model

Losing your purpose in life

Angry at God

The progression to stress

Event

Primary Appraisal: Threat or

No Threat?

No threat = No

emotional arousal

If a threat = Evokes

an emotional arousal

Initiate Coping

Resources

Secondary Appraisal: Adequate

or Inadequate

coping resources?

Inadequate coping

resources results in

stress reaction

(Arnold & Boggs)

Characteristics of Stress

Is all stress bad?

Hans Selye used the term eustress to describe a short-term, mild level of stress. It acts as a positive stress response with protective and adaptive functions, and is perceived as being within the person’s ability to manage. Distress is defined as a negative stress that causes a higher level of anxiety, and is perceived as exceeding the person’s coping abilities. It is experienced as being unpleasant and diminishes performance. (Arnold & Boggs)

“The absence of stress is death. Only the dead have no stress” – Dr. Hans Selye.

The following diagram will give you a better “picture” of the linear aspects of stress.

Mild stress can be beneficial by keeping you focused and alert. Mildstress can serve as a motivator to develop new skills and accomplishgoals. High levels of stress can have an adverse physical effect onyour body and on your emotions. Either emotional or physical adverseeffects will lessen your chance of being successful in college. (Arnold& Boggs)

Bad Stress

Fatigue

Perfo

rm

an

ce

Breakdown

Eustress Distress

Beginning to Exceeding Coping Abilities

Exhaustion

Poor Health

Good Stress

Co

mfo

rt Z

on

e

Men and Women respond differently to stress.

Men – Fight or Flight Women – Tend and Befriend

Types of strategies for coping with stress:

Lazarus and Folkman (1984) determined that there were two means that people used to cope with stress: Problem-focused coping and Emotion-focused coping.

Problem-focused coping use approach behaviors, such as taking action to change the situation, seeking social support, and constructive problem solving.

Emotion-focused coping use avoidance behaviors that distance the person from the stress.

The combination of constructive and emotional strategies work best, especailly when they feature a change in attitude, acceptance, and an “emotional breather”. (Arnold & Boggs)

Now that we know a little more about stress, what can we do to cope with or balance stress in our lives?

(Especially stress that can determine our success in college)

This does not work!

Coping with College StressGood Techniques Prepare – Don’t wait until the last

minute to do homework or projects.

Plan – Take time to schedule time for schoolwork.

Get Help – Make use of tutors, classmates, and talk to your instructor as soon as a problem develops.

Adequate Sleep – Get enough sleep! Do not eliminate sleep to do something else.

Proper Nutrition

Exercise, meditate, engage in a hobby –breaks from work help relieve stress.

Coping with College StressBad Techniques

Over Eating

Drinking – Alcohol does not take the problem away, it only puts it off for a little while. You’ll still have to deal with the issue.

Blaming Others – This will not get your work done. Focus on goals. Take the initiative.

Blaming Yourself – Telling yourself you’re not smart enough usually results in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Study or doing schoolwork when you are physically or emotionally exhausted.

Stress Management TherapiesMind/Body TherapiesAccording to Arnold & Boggs, mind/Body therapies are coping strategies designed to lessen the intensity of the stressor on a person once the stress response has occurred. Examples include meditation, relaxation techniques, yoga, cognitive restructuring. Altering physiologic reactions such as blood pressure , heart rate, muscle tension, and respiratory rate helps people experience greater calm and peace of mind (Luskin et al, 1988). Regular practice of these techniques can improve physical and emotional well-being.

Meditation

Dating back two thousand years ago, people used meditation to develop a sense of inner peace and tranquility. Meditation works to decrease stress when the individual focuses on something other than the stress and clearing their mind of disturbing thoughts. This action helps to reduce the concentration of stress hormones attached

Stress Management TherapiesMind/Body Therapies continuedMeditation continued

to stressful thinking. (Arnold & Boggs)

Mindfulness is a stress reduction tool that can be used at any point. It can be as simple as deep breathing, focusing completely on your music, a good magazine article, or what is happening in the current moment that allows you to momentarily let go of stressful thoughts. It is an easy way to quiet the mind and decreasing the intensity of stressful thoughts. (Arnold & Boggs)

Biofeedback

Biofeedback plays an important role in managing chronic stress responses affecting

Stress Management TherapiesMind/Body Therapies continuedBiofeedback

individual body systems. People are trained to voluntarily take control of a variety of physiologic activities such as their blood pressure, heart rate, pain, migraine or tension headaches, and other select body systems. (Arnold & Boggs)

Progressive Relaxation

Developed by Edmund Jacobson (1938), it is a technique that focuses the individuals attention on conscious control of voluntary skeletal muscles. The technique consists of alternately tensing and relaxing muscle groups. Each muscle group is worked individually while sitting in a relaxed position in a chair with arm supports, or while lying down. A variant of progressive relaxation is deep breathing. This can be done anywhere and at anytime when a person experiences stress. (Arnold & Boggs)

Stress Management TherapiesMind/Body Therapies continuedYoga and Tai Chi

Yoga is a mind/body exercise practice first started in ancient India. Yoga emphasizes correct alignment, controlled postures or poses, and regulated breathing in order to help people relax and reduce stress. Controlling breathing helps to quiet the mind. Some forms of Yoga emphasize meditation and developing self-awareness.

Tai Chi is a system initially developed in China. Consisting of posture or movements practiced in a slow, graceful manner, it involves stretching and rhythmic movements coordinated with controlled breathing. The concentration required for practicing Yoga and Tai Chi require a person to forget distressing thoughts for the moment. (Arnold & Boggs)

Stress Management TherapiesMind/Body Therapies continuedGuided Imagery

Guided imagery techniques use the person’s imagination to stimulate healing mental images designed to promote stress relief. The process involves imagining a scene, previously experienced as safe, peaceful or beautiful. Supportive prompts to engage all of the senses deepen the imagery experience.

Arnold & Boggs

The Key to Managing College Stress?

Balance - Reduce stressors to help prevent the stress from occurring in the first place, and find techniques you can use to ease stress that has already occurred.

Sources

Interpersonal Relationships: Professional Communication Skills for Nurses. Sixth Edition. Elizabeth C. Arnold & Kathleen Underman Boggs.

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