Numerous stories have been written on stress. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how or why stress occurs.
But what some students may not be aware of is the many problems stress can lead to and the time and money that could be saved by doing a few simple things to avoid excessive stress.
Marcia Adler, coordinator of Student Health Services, said the top five diagnoses for students who visit the health services office are related to their lifestyles. Universally, about 60 percent of doctor visits are due to problems provoked by stress, she said. Adler also said that headaches, back pains, sore throats and stomach aches are common reasons students visit the heath services office - and each one can be related to stress.
According to The American Institute of Stress, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work reported that more than half of the 550 million working days lost each year in the U.S. are due to stress-related absenteeism.
Stress also plays a huge role in physical health, according to the American Institute of Stress (AIS) Web site, stress.org. Increased heart rate, rising blood pressure and blood sugar, as well as blood clots can occur under extreme amounts of stress. These things can also lead to what the AIS calls “diseases of civilization,” or problems such as hypertension, ulcers and lower back pain.
According to BlueCross BlueShield of Nebraska, disabling stress has doubled over the last six years, and the workplace is one of the major provocations of stress and anxiety.
Of course, work is not always the source of stress for students. Some students find work relaxing compared to the heavy homework load they acquire throughout the week.
Full-time UNO student Barbara Cox is relieved to be at her job after a long day of classes. Cox co-owns a pet grooming business called Posh Pets in Council Bluffs and said that going to work is like a break.
Cox said even though she is not married and does not have children, there is still home stress. It’s hard to find time to keep up on basic home needs. A social life and participation in hobbies are also difficult for Cox when she is trying to accomplish everything else.
“I have to let things go sometimes,” Cox said. “I have to study.”
Fortunately, Cox said she is able to work by appointment and change her hours when she wants to because she owns her own shop.
Cox said she meditates, prays and tries to get more sleep when she becomes overwhelmingly stressed. “I have little time to do much else,” she said.
Resources are available for students who are dealing with heavy stress loads and methods for preventing certain physical ailments.
Under the supervision of a professor, counseling majors offer free community counseling in Kayser Hall. Licensed mental health therapists also offer free counseling for students in Room 115 of the Eppley Administration Building.
Corrine Marinovic teaches the course Stress Management in the HPER building, which focuses on health-related aspects of stress. She said one of the important things her students do in her class is keep a stress journal. The journal helps the students identify the main sources of their stress on a weekly basis and how they respond emotionally and physically.
Marinovic said the goal of the class is not to eliminate stress, but to find an optimum amount of stress that will allow students to achieve their most important goals without causing illness or stress-related impairments. She said most of her students give positive feedback about the class.
“Almost everyone likes the relaxation exercises,” Marinovic said. Most days of the week, the class practices breathing, meditation, visualizations, autogenics and progressive muscle relation.
Marinovic said her main advice to students is to avoid procrastination, manage time more efficiently and learn better communication skills so that situations will be resolved to their satisfaction.
Another stress-relieving option is exercise. Regular exercise boosts energy levels, produces a “relaxation response” in the body and fights fatigue, according to WebMD.com. Contrastingly, energy drinks, Pop Rocks and large amounts of coffee escalate the nervous system and provide only a temporary fix for energy.
“I tell students to try … exercising regularly, even if it just a walk on campus,” Adler said. “Students should try it for a few weeks and see if they notice a difference.”
© 2007 Gateway
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