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More college students seek counseling Psychologist, yoga instructor stress important coping strategies Published April 23, 2007
She is trapped inside a box that is filling with water and as the water rises to her head, she wonders whether she’ll drown or collapse from the pressure coming at her from all sides. While this may sound like a daring challenge on a reality show, Indiana University sophomore Alicia Christie said she feels like she is living out this challenge everyday. Christie said the pressures of college life are becoming such a burden that she constantly feels the anxiety of trying to keep her head above water. “I have to consciously manage (stress) for it not to take over my life,” she said. But Christie is not alone in her anxiety. About 8 percent to 9 percent of the student body seeks the help of a counselor or therapist, according to Counseling and Psychological Services statistics from the IU Health Center. CAPS Director Dr. Nancy Stockton said the percent has increased every year for the past five years and that psychiatrists are also experiencing an increase in visits from students.
“I think at one time or another, 100 percent of college students have been affected by stress,” she said.
Many things can bring on stress, but most stress can be classified as physical, mental or situational stress, according to Steven Donovan and Brian Kleiner in their book, “Effective Stress Management.”
The authors go on to explain that behaviors like overworking yourself without proper sleep or diet cause physical stress. The state of a person’s mind determines her mental stress, while situational stress is caused by a person’s interaction with the outside world. Conflicting roles or things like technology can cause such situational stress.
Stockton said two reasons for the increase in college student stress are academic demands and relational stress.
Christie said the academic demands add to her stress.
“What stresses me out is weeks when you have two tests, five papers, and a project,” she said. “It feels like in order to have any job better than working at McDonald's you have to do so much—five internships, study abroad, volunteer 80 hours a week…”
Christie said she agrees that experience is necessary, but she thinks the demands on students are too high.
Stockton said more students are attending college now than in the past, which means students have to do more to stand out and be competitive in the job market.
While Christie says her friends keep her sane, Indiana University senior Brian Blume said social life adds relational stress to his busy schedule.
“Because I’m a percussion major, I play for a lot of different ensembles,” he said. “I obviously have classes, I teach highschool (bands), write music for a couple (of high schools), I have Campus Crusade for Christ, I’m participating in a Bible study and leading one, and I have a girlfriend.”
Blume said, as a music major, his schedule is constantly changing, so depending on the week he might have more time to socialize during the week than the weekend. Back to top
Stockton also said that family stress can increase a person’s anxiety, but inversely, the anxiety can be a catalyst in family tension, too. Christie said her parents have no idea how stressed she is.
“My family doesn’t really know how stressed I am because my dad is going through a lot and my mom is going to school as well as working,” she said. “I don’t need them to worry or hold my hand—they raised me right.”
Blume said while stress occasionally affects his family relationships, he finds talking to his parents helpful in coping with stress and that while stress can affect relationships he tries not to let his anger or frustration affect how he treats them.
“I talk to my family pretty often,” he said. “Sometimes I vent to them, but I don’t let my stress come out in how I treat them. My parents are understanding when I have too much on my plate because they’ve always been busy people themselves.”
Stockton said other relational stresses occur because of the campus environment.
“There are lots of opportunities to compare oneself to others,” Stockton said.
She said some girls come to CAPS and are overwhelmed by the number of pretty girls on campus and the feeling that they must measure up.
Yoga instructor Allana Radecki said stress levels rise during college because of the stressful deadlines and social life. She also said computers are stressful for the human body, because of things like the screen’s light and the posture used when working at the computer. She said that the expectation level of colleges is rising, which has caused the pressure to succeed and make the right choices.
Stockton said it is important to take care of stress because it can exacerbate other physical or emotional problems, like depression.
“We should think about our lifestyles and getting rid of unnecessary stressors,” she said. “Physical exercise is one of the top good stress management techniques. Bodies in good physical shape withstand the effects of stress.”
This link between physical and mental states is why Radecki thinks her yoga practice is so important. She said during her yoga classes, she teaches about the body and that the breath is foundational to everything else.
Radecki teaches yoga at IU and Blooming Lotus. She said she has been teaching since 1988 and started practicing yoga 20 years before that.
“I can see the change in people’s faces before and after class,” she said. “They often look very different than when they first started the class—this is my reward.”
She said her students tell her they receive various benefits from the class, including increased patience, improved relationships and improved ability to “ride the storm.” She said yoga also improves chronic stress problems like headaches and stomach aches.
“Sometimes 10 minutes a day is all it takes,” she said.
While yoga can relieve some of this tension, it can only help as much as the participant lets it, Radecki said.
“Consistency is most problematic,” she said. “We get in a groove and then people come into the crunch of the end of the year and their (yoga) is probably the first thing to go, when that is actually when they really need it.” Physical exercise is part of what helps Christie alleviate her stress.
“I run and I pray,” Christie said. “I’ve taken up going on walks because I feel like life goes by too fast.”
She said one day she was walking when God kept telling her to slow down, until she was at a stroll. Christie said it almost felt painful to not be on the go, but it was a good reminder that people move too quickly through life. However, other times, quick movement is just what she needs to get the stress out.
“I feel like you’re running mentally all day and physical running gets your heart rate up and lets your mind chill out,” she said.
While Blume also exercises regularly he said time management skills are most effective in alleviating stress.
“I think students are stressed because they don’t manage time very well,” he said. “Certain things become so pressing because they’ve put them off for so long; a lot of the time when I’m stressed it’s when it’s my own fault.”
Blume said he tries to take one thing at a time and sometimes he writes down priorities.
“Sometimes some things don’t get done until a week later and sometimes some things don’t get done at all,” he said. “I try to plan ahead and not let huge amounts of things in the next two weeks stress me out, but instead work on things one thing at a time.”
Stockton said she thinks education is the key to changing the stressful environment. Students will change things as they learn more about diet, the climate change and the effects of excess alcohol on the body, she said. Education is the first step in all of these areas.
Radecki sees a need for people to make time for themselves, but she does not see things slowing down anytime soon.
“Stress is at all times of our lives, and it is a learning opportunity to be able to approach these things without freaking out,” she said. “The world is becoming a more stressful place and is rapidly changing. Life is going to become more challenging.”
Radecki said post-traumatic stress syndrome is becoming more common than people think it is. She said she expects more people to turn to practices like yoga when medical costs rise in the future and people have a harder time gaining access to medical solutions.
“The suffering level is pretty profound right now,” she said. “We have the means to make the shift (to improve), but transitions are never easy. This too shall pass.”
While, Blume and Christie seem to think it will take a large crisis for society to slow down, Stockton and Radecki agree that a change in people’s attitudes would make a difference.
“I think our values are going to have to change,” Radecki said. “Sustainability has not been a model (we’ve chosen).”
Radecki said people should think of the best long-term choices that will affect other generations instead of what’s just best for them.
Stockton said finding things that are more important than oneself can help one relax, but the key is to not over commit to these activities either.
“People who have values outside themselves tend to be less stressed,” Stockton said. “If you’re worrying about what to do with your little sister next week for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, then it’s harder for you to worry about extra weight.”
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