Mamar Chukwunonso Victoria
Our health should be of paramount interest likewise our academics – that is work makes us students, after all.
As we begin a new academic session, the ever-abiding possibility of stress stares us in the face.
Stress is that physical and mental response of the body to demands made upon it. It is the result of our reaction to outside events and not necessarily the events themselves.
Stress, on the part of students, can however be triggered by a number of factors, including:
•Struggling with one’s mental
health.
•Loneliness, homesickness or relationship difficulties.
•Finding it hard to save money or deal with debt.
•Financial lack
•Inability to balance work and study.
•Worrying about revising for exams.
•Struggling with assignments or projects.
•Feeling unsure about what to do after graduation.
•Harmful use of, or withdrawal from, alcohol or drugs.
Naturally, these stressors and their overpowering effect have a way of manifesting themselves in us. They often come in three models: behavioural, physical and psychological. They manifest in the following ways:
Behavioural: This is the reaction that entails avoiding or escaping from the situation while turning to, for example as seen by many, alcohol or drugs as a resort. This most times also play itself out in sudden change in appetite or inability to concentrate.
Physical: You are likely to experience increased heartbeat rate, incessant sweating, shivers, headaches and over-breathing.
Psychological: Stress can lead to fear, panic, anxiety and foreboding.
Ways to Manage Stress
•Exercise often
•Mindfulness through guided meditation or thinking – positive thinking, especially.
•Talk to someone
• Practice effective time-management via creating a written schedule or dividing your daily tasks into urgent and non-urgent.
•Get enough sleep and maintain a sleep routine.
•Take your mind off anything disturbing you while changing your mindset from negative to positive.
•Eat healthily.
•Take a break off social media.
•Find a reason to laugh.
Do all these, and you would have dealt stressors, in the academic environment, a huge blow!
