Students find ways to fight stress

Assignments that still need to be read and papers that still need to be written usually mark the end of a semester. Add finals on top of this, and it can be a very stressful time for students.

For students trying to deal with the stress, there is help.

GC&SU Counseling Services offers students a variety of help with everything from academic skills to more personal issues.

“Basically, we help students with any problems that they have,” said Mary Jean Phillips, director of Counseling Services. “We don’t have all the resources, but we can help them find the resources they need.”

Phillips said that a wide range of students, from freshmen to graduate students, use their services, but there are certain times during the semester when more students seek help.

“There tends to be a gradual buildup from the beginning of the semester, and then advisement week it really spikes, and then it comes down just a little bit,” Phillips said. “And then about two or three weeks before finals, it goes up again.”

Stress is a result of your body responding to the environment around you, said Phillips. But times have changed.

“Our bodies have evolved over time in an environment where when we have stressors, we have a lot of physical reaction,” Phillips said. “What are you going to do? Beat up a test? Run from it? The old fight or flight stuff just doesn’t work.

“What tends to happen is that we get these situations where we have a lot of physical response but nothing to do with that. We don’t run away, we don’t fight and use up those chemicals in our bodies. So they are just hanging around, and they have all kinds of negative effects on us.”

Senior Danielle Diletto, a political science major, said the end of the semester is stressful for her because it is everything all at once.

“I suffer from sleeplessness, inability to focus and reckless driving,” Diletto said. “The majority of infractions I have with the law are during finals week.”

But not every student suffers negative effects from stress.

Senior Greg Gates, a political science major, said that he does not feel any added stress during finals, even though he tends to wait to the last minute to study.

“I usually cram a day or two before the test,” Gates said. “A night or two before my test, I read through all my notes.”

Phillips said that it is important for students to recognize that their bodies are stressed, so they can effectively deal with the stress. But the warning signs can be different for everyone.

“Everybody is a little bit different, so people have to get to know themselves,” Phillips said. “Some people are physically ill when they are stressed. Others get irritable and short tempered. Some people find that they are just real lethargic and don’t have any energy.”

Everyone can have a different way of dealing with stress. Some people look to meditation or religion, while others plan ahead and rely on time management.

However, there is one thing everyone can do to relieve their stress.

“The single most effective strategy for dealing with stress is regular exercise because it uses up those chemicals that are hanging around,” Phillips said.

While people develop different ways to deal with stress, there is one thing that Phillips believes everyone needs.

“Everybody can benefit from social support,” she said. “It’s great to have someone you can vent to.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 4 2005. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry