Coping with Stress at University

A Survival Guide

Stephen Palmer, Angela Puri

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2006
• ISBN:
  9781446233740
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Investigación en educación

Coping with Stress at University comprehensively covers the main problems and stresses that a student may experience during their university career. Looking at university life from a variety of angles, this book equips the student to be able to deal with stressful situations ranging from exam pressure to relationship problems, from homesickness to managing finances. Although the problems do not change, the way a student faces them can and the more effective the approach, the less stress the student will feel when tackling their concerns.

Quotes and case studies from previous students illustrate how problems have been dealt with in the past, and a number of coping techniques and exercises are provided to help prepare students for the transition into and through university life.

Coping with Stress at University is an invaluable introduction to university life for any potential or current student, and it also acts as a helpful resource for parents and friends wishing to gain a greater understanding of the issues faced at university.

SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!

Part 1 What is stress?

Although you may hear the word ‘stress’ used all the time, if you were asked to explain what stress actually means, you may find that it is a harder question to answer than you originally thought!

This section of the handbook explores the different interpretations of the word ‘stress’ and how your own perception of the world around you influences your definition of the term. In addition, the body’s reaction to stress is also discussed in detail (the stress response) and you have the opportunity to fill in a questionnaire to identify how your own body reacts in stressful situations.

As the perception of what is stressful differs from person to person, Part 1 of the handbook gives you an insight into your own stress levels. There are questionnaires which allow you to identify how you handle your day-to-day problems (The Life Stress questionnaire), what your personality type is (Type A or Type B questionnaire) and the views you hold about the world around you and the amount of control you believe you have over circumstances and events which occur in your life (Locus of Control questionnaire).

By the time you have completed Part 1 of the handbook, you will have a greater awareness of what situations in your life may cause you stress and you will also be able to identify how stress impacts on your psychological and physical well-being.

1

Understanding stress

What this chapter covers

In this introductory chapter, we define what is meant by the word ‘stress’ and why it is a term that is so hard to conceptualise. The chapter looks at how stress affects your health and explains the long-term repercussions of ignoring the warning signs your body provides when you are stressed. There is also an exercise at the end of the chapter for you to identify how you react when you are feeling the pressure.

What is stress?

Have you ever had one of those days where you just wanted to turn back time, crawl into bed and start the day again?

If you have, it is likely to have resulted from a number of incidences or experiences which had a negative impact on you, such as an argument with a friend or getting a poor mark in a piece of course work. When things do not appear to be going to plan, many of us begin to focus on all the negatives which are occurring. Have you ever heard yourself saying, ‘everything is going wrong today!’ and if so, did you feel ‘stressed’? This type of thinking, or over-generalisation, of your problems does not necessarily make you feel better. In fact, negative thought actually makes you feel worse! By thinking that your day is truly awful, you are more likely to work yourself up into a state, where you actually increase your levels of stress.

But what do we mean by the term ‘stress’? It is a word we seem to hear almost everyday and we are constantly bombarded with media coverage telling us about the dangers of stress. Interestingly, the term ‘stress’ is used to refer to serious health hazards and situations, such as divorce and bereavements, as well as a range of more day-to-day scenarios, such as missing a deadline or not knowing what clothes to wear to a party! So the word itself appears to be an umbrella term, incorporating a variety of problems that may occur on a fairly regular basis, to more infrequent and serious life-changing events.

So, before we can begin to tackle ways of managing your stress, we need to explore how we define stress, understand what triggers your response to stress and how stress impacts on your day-to-day lives.

Definition of stress

One of the most commonly used definitions of stress is by Dr Richard Lazarus:

Stress arises when individuals perceive that they cannot
adequately cope with the demands being made on them or
with threats to their well-being. (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984)

It is important to note that the definition implies that it is not the actual situation which causes the stress, but the beliefs and thoughts which are held about the situation. For example, it is not necessarily the external pressure of a course work deadline which causes stress, but whether you believe that you can complete the course work in the time allocated.

Conversely, if you do not perceive the situation as being important or threatening to you, then regardless of whether you are successful or not at dealing with the situation, you are less likely to feel stressed. For example, if you learn that the course work you are worrying about will not count towards your final marks, you may not be as anxious to complete it by the deadline date.

This explanation of the causes of stress is fairly modern and was developed by well-known psychologists and researchers such as Dr Albert Ellis and Dr Aaron Beck in the 1950s and early 1960s. It is underpinned by much research. However, if we travel back in time, we discover stoic philosophers 2000 years ago had developed a similar model:

People are not disturbed by things but by the views which
they take of them. (Epictetus)

Everything is but what your opinion makes it; and that
opinion lies with yourself. (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations)

More recently a few centuries ago, William Shakespeare repeated this idea:

Hamlet: Why, then ‘tis none to you; for there is nothing either
good or bad but thinking makes it so. (Hamlet, II. ii 256–61)

Of course, there are other factors that influence your stress levels when dealing with a particular situation. If you are used to managing your time and are given a tight deadline, you are less likely to feel under pressure. This would also explain how, with continued experience, a number of scenarios, such as giving a presentation or reaching deadlines, become less and less stressful. However, if you are not used to the pressure, you may believe that there is not enough time to complete the task, and this belief is likely to increase your stress levels because of the difference in the way you perceive the situation.

We have now briefly touched upon what stress is. However, if we are interested in tackling stress, we also need to understand the reasoning behind why we become stressed.

Back to basics – the stress response

You may have heard of the term ‘fight or flight’, which is also known as the stress response. These terms are used to explain your body’s way of dealing with stressful scenarios. The response is involuntary and occurs automatically when you are faced with a situation which you perceive as threatening.

When you find yourself in a threatening or challenging situation, the body’s biological mechanisms get ready for action. Your nervous system quickly comes into play, causing the body to react in the following way:

• Hormones are released that prepare different organs of the body for action
• Heart beat increases
• Blood pressure rises
• Sugar and fat levels increase to provide extra energy
• Blood is redirected from non-vital areas, such as the digestive system, to the heart and major muscles of the body
• Blood clotting time is reduced
• Pupils dilate to ensure we are more alert to the environment around us

The whole body is on a high state of alert, consuming more energy and other natural resources as the body remains ready for action.

This response is a very effective way of dealing with the types of problem or stressor (situations which trigger stress) that our early ancestors may have faced whilst hunting for food. However, in today’s environment this is rarely an efficient way of dealing with the many problems you may face daily. This is one of the reasons why stress has become a prominent issue over the past few decades, because although the way your body reacts to stress has not evolved over time, your stressors have changed drastically. Threats are not so much physical challenges but are more likely to be threats to your sense of worth.

Your body returns to its natural state of equilibrium once you perceive that the threatening situation has passed. However, it is unlikely that a stressful situation nowadays will just pass; in fact, if it is not dealt with appropriately it may well accumulate over time. This is why stress is becoming such a health hazard. If the perceived problem isn’t altered or addressed, you do not adapt to the change and your stress will remain. The body will continue to react as if it is under threat and there is a high risk of developing long-term illnesses as natural resources become depleted over time.

These illnesses range from high blood pressure and heart attacks to psychological disorders, such as anxiety and depression. So it is very important to learn new techniques which, when the stress response kicks in, will aid in bringing your body back to a state of equilibrium.

So, now you know what the stress response is and why you may react in a certain way when under pressure (fight or flight). But what happens when the stress response doesn’t get rid of your problem? We indicated that it is less effective wit...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• A quick introduction
• PART 1 WHAT IS STRESS?
• PART 2 HOW CAN YOU HANDLE YOUR STRESS?
• PART 3 STARTING UNIVERSITY LIFE
• PART 4 GETTING DOWN TO WORK
• PART 5 COPING WITH UNIVERSITY
• APPENDIX 1: Self-hypnosis
• APPENDIX 2: Useful Information
• Recommended reading
• References
• Index