How to Manage Stress

Being a college student is not easy. There are many things we need to balance in our lives such as family, friends, work, and school. At times those things in our lives are spaced out accordingly and run smoothly; however, most of the time everything seems to clash and we find ourselves not knowing what to do. When this happens it causes us to stress, and when we are stress we react in a certain way.


According to the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC), some of the ways that people react to stress includes:

• Feeling scared and anxious
• Feeling sad and depressed
• Feeling angry
• Feeling shocked
• Feeling emotionally numb and not caring
• Feeling helpless
• Not wanting to eat
• Having difficulty sleeping
• Having a hard time concentrating
• Having a hard time making decisions
• Having nightmares
• Constantly thinking about the incident
• Using alcohol and drugs
• Crying
• Getting headaches, back pains, and stomach problems

What are some stress management techniques we can use?
There are many different ways people handle stress. There are healthy ways and unhealthy ways.


The unhealthy ways in managing stress includes:

• lashing out
• drinking
• smoking
• abusing drugs
• violence
• overeating/undereating

These are ineffective ways of managing stress. Although it may seem effective at the current time of stress, it is quite the contrary. Engaging in such behavior may bring more stress due to the consequences it results in.  More healthy and effective ways of managing stress can be done by doing things in a different way or looking at things in a different perspective.


According to the book, The Foundation of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, some behavioral ways to help you relax includes:

• Meditation
• Guided imagery
• Having a mental image of something that is calming (e.g. Walking on a secluded beach while the sun is setting with the feeling of warm sand under your feet).
• Breathing exercise
• e.g. Counting from 1-10 or taking deep breaths
• Muscle relaxation and exercise
• e.g. Yoga, Pilates, walking, tai chi, dancing, aerobics, swimming

NOTE: These activities can be done at home, at the gym, or through taking classes that are offered at school.

The book also states ways to help decrease your stress by looking at things in a different way. These includes:

• Writing in a journal
• This can be a helpful way to organize your feelings and to help you identify the cause of your stress. It is also a great way to vent.
• Reframing your thoughts
• Replacing your negative thoughts with positive thoughts (e.g. “I studied so hard and I still did not get the grade that I want.” Change your thoughts to “If I didn't receive the grade that I expected, I will need to change how I study and learn what are my areas of weakness are.” Or “I may not have received that grade that I wanted, but I still passed the test”).
• Priority restructuring
• Managing your time by using a planner or calendar. Make sure to leave time to engage in activities that reduce your stress (e.g. watching funny videos on YouTube).
• Using humor
• Make something funny out of the things that are causing you stress.
• Being more assertive
• Speak your mind about how you feel without sounding rude or accusing (e.g. Saying “No” if you can not do something; starting with “I” statements instead of “You”).

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References:
Varcarolis, E. M., Carson, V. B., & Shoemaker, N. C. (2006). Foundations of psychiatric mental health nursing: A clinical approach. St Louis, MO: Saunders.


Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Coping with stress. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HandlingStress/