Common Causes Of Stress Among College Students

College is a wonderful opportunity to, not only further your education, but experiment with life before it gets too serious. Having said that, college life is not without it's stressful situations. Here are a few common causes of stress amongst college students.

Possibly one of the biggest stressors for some college students is the considerable debt they will have to take on, in order to afford tuition fees, campus accommodation and textbooks. Quite often this is a source of great concern for a kid that is straight out of high school and may not be financially literate.

Stress

Whilst the debt alone is stressful, the need to service this debt can cause the student to over-extend themselves. This might mean that they have to take on a second job or work long hours as an employee and a student at the same time. This could have knock on effects with the ability to concentrate on their studies which could lead to failure of their course. This scenario would prove stressful.

Common Causes Of Stress Among College Students

Another common cause of stress is adapting to the new life they have suddenly landed into. In many ways this new found freedom can be a source of great joy and motivation, but it can also be stressful.

For many it will be the first time they have lived outside the nurturing and protective security of the family unit. Their parents will have provided for them materially and will have set down boundaries on how to live. This no longer applies in college and one of the first tasks a student undertakes is to find an identity and effectively test the rules that were set out by their parents. The uncertainty and lack of identity is a common cause of stress.

As a student becomes more established in college the stresses that affect them are related to succeeding in their educational objectives. There will be particularly stressful periods when they have to complete papers or cram for exams. Other causes of stress could be giving presentations and seminars on their subject. This could lead to spending long hours concentrating on the subject and letting other aspects of their lives slide. This loss of harmony in their lives could be stressful.

As they get to the end of their college careers, the inevitable stress of preparing for the real or adult world is apparent. Such considerations like, finding a job, preparing and taking job interviews, potentially relocating, leaving their college friends can be stressful.

While most of these concerns are well negotiated by most students, they can often create problems for some. A great way to deal with these problems is to have a support structure to help the student through these times. This structure could be part of the college, be a network of friends or be their family. The importance of being about to talk through these issues cannot be overlooked.

Common Causes Of Stress Among College Students

Adrian Whittle writes for http://stressmanagementreview.com The site features a comprehensive review of stress management techniques. How does stress affect health and common ill-health symptoms related to stress are discussed and a range of stress busting solutions are given.

Stress: Common Causes and Treatment Options

We've all felt stress at many points in our lives. For many it is dismissed as simply a part of our existence, but when it becomes too much it can help to aggravate feelings of anxiety and diminish our well being. When that happens, the stress that a person is feeling needs to be dealt with effectively, either through home remedies, or possibly with the help of professional care. In either case, the first step is to recognize some of the common causes of stress. That way, if treatment becomes necessary, you can more easily chose the correct one.

Causes of Stress

Stress

Unfortunately the specific causes of stress can vary widely from person to person and situation to situation. For example, some medications, or recreational drugs have side effects that include anxiety. Other causes of stress include a demanding workload, underlying health problems, and even relationships. Whatever the causes, they certainly need to be addressed for any treatment option to work effectively.

Stress: Common Causes and Treatment Options

Perhaps the most effective first step in discovering the causes of your stress and anxiety is to take a personal inventory. Start by sitting down and taking a deep breath. Then ask yourself a series of questions, and be prepared to give honest and complete answers.

• What is constantly on your mind?
• What worries you the most right now?
• Does something in particular make you sad or have feelings of depression?
• How is your workload? Has it become too much?

Ask yourself these questions, and also try to keep a diary or a journal of thoughts or actions that seem to be associated with your anxiety or increase in stress levels. While these exercises may seem pointless at the time, soon, you'll begin to see a pattern. Soon you'll be able to link the triggers of your increased stress with various thoughts, actions or situations. By knowing the root causes of your stress and anxiety, you'll be able to better treat them.

Treatment Options

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to help alleviate stress is to talk with someone. Often have a good conversation with a friend or a loved one is all that is needed to relieve anxiety and help put your world into perspective.

In addition, there are a number of different ways to cope with the stress you experience in your life. For starters, take a look at your diet. Eating a well-balanced diet can help to maintain your blood pressure, reduce your cholesterol, and help to alleviate feelings of indigestion, which is a common symptom of too much stress. Also, consider trying to get more rest. In today's world, very few of us get the sleep that we need on a regular basis. The normal adult needs somewhere between seven and ten hours of sleep a night to function well. How much are you getting? Also, try to eliminate or at least limit your consumption of alcohol, nicotine, or other recreational drugs. Often these substances will cause more harm than good, especially if you are under a high stress situation.

Finally, consider learning how to meditate or perform relaxing breathing exercises. You would be surprised how much you'll relax once you start to meditate on a regular basis.

When to Call the Doctor

Of course, there might be situations where all these home methods are simply not as effective as you wish them to be. Sometimes in order to deal with the underlying causes of stress, you might need to call in professional health. There is absolutely no shame in doing so; millions of people a year ask for help with wonderful results. The stigma of asking for help in regards to your mental and physical health is lifting rapidly, and with good reason.

Often, making the choice to talk to your doctor isn't so much about the symptoms of stress, but rather how they are affecting your life. If your levels of stress and anxiety have become so overwhelming that you can no longer function at the same level you were before, a call to your doctor is in order. Another reason to call your health professional is when you cannot pinpoint the cause or source of your feelings, or if you have a sudden, uncontrollable feeling of panic. Together the two of you should be able to plan a method of dealing with your stress and anxiety. Be sure to discuss any medications you are already taking, including over the counter ones. There are a number of anti-anxiety medications that will often interact with other medicines - so knowing what's in your medicine chest is extremely important.

Once you are at your doctor's office, you can expect a review of your medical history, a physical examination, as well as a detailed conversation with your doctor concerning your life in general, as well as the symptoms that you are experiencing. This is done not to waste time, but rather so that other medical causes for your symptoms can be ruled out. Once this is accomplished, your doctor will determine if you do need to see a mental health professional and can often offer a recommendation.

The causes of stress and anxiety can certainly vary from person to person, and treatment options can very just as widely. Finding the most effective ways to treat your stress and anxiety can be a long process, and often a combination of different ideas will work the best.

Stress: Common Causes and Treatment Options

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How to Avoid Common Stress Triggers

Common Stress Triggers:

Money. Whether it's the rising cost of gas, monthly bills, unexpected expenses or trying to save for the future, money is the number 1 stress trigger common to all of us.

Stress

One big monetary stress factor we deal with daily is hearing about the cost of gas. So how can you eliminate this concern from your life?

First, figure out just how much more money you will have to spend on a weekly basis if gas does actually go up 50 cents/gallon. It probably isn't quite as much as you think. But even if it is a big factor in your weekly budget, then find a less necessary expense to eliminate and offset your rising expense associated with gas prices. If this isn't possible, figure out a way to reduce your gas expenses - get a more fuel efficient car, find alternate transportation, or simply join a carpool.

Just about every money related stress trigger in your life can be eliminated, or at least reduced, by following this same formula:

1. Quantify the expense
2. Offset the expense
3. Reduce the expense - this may require some research & time

The problem with money related stress for most people is that they allow it to become bigger than it actually is by not facing it head on. Don't ignore the problem, find a solution.

Time. The second biggest stress trigger in our lives is caused by trying to fit more and more into a 24 hour day. There never seems to be enough time to get everything accomplished and every day there's another thing we add to our "To-do List".

For some of us this overwhelming sense of responsibility leads to procrastinating deadline driven tasks until the last minute in order to complete other tasks in the meantime, which just compounds our frustration and stress.

How to avoid time related stress triggers: Prioritize. If you don't already have your priorities in life identified you should. Then it's just a matter of discipline to carry out all the activities in your life accordingly. When you don't adhere to your priorities, you create internal stress from your conflicting actions and beliefs.

Inanimate Objects. Stress is all around us and we're usually not even aware that we're experiencing it. In fact, sometimes the seemingly simple act of thinking about, or even looking at, something causes you stress. If you are having car problems, or trouble making car or house payments, every time you gaze upon your "stress trigger" you are probably increasing your cortisol levels and causing your body undetectable damage, including fat retention.

How to avoid stress caused by objects in your life: Change how you think about it. Be aware of your thoughts when they happen and consciously tell yourself that A) There's nothing you can do about it, and fretting over it will not make anything better, or B) Come up with a solution to the problem and in doing so eliminate the stress related to it.

This same approach can also extend to problems in relationships, or concerns about your personal health or well-being, or that of family and friends.

• Become aware of the stress trigger
• Figure out whether you can control it or not
• Eliminate it (if possible) or Change the way you think about it
• Implement a solution (if appropriate)

We end up maintaining very high levels of stress because we attach stress to certain thoughts. Many times this can have a cyclical affect. For instance your life is stressful so your high levels of resulting cortisol in your body cause you to gain, or retain, fat; you become upset about the weight gain which triggers stress induced cortisol production, causing you to gain more fat. You then cause yourself more stress by worrying about accommodating exercise and eating properly within the normal time-related pressures of your already busy life. Soon you become frustrated that you're putting all this pressure on yourself and still seeing no visible results from all of your hard work, triggering even more stress!

If you want to lose weight, be healthier, or just be less stressed, apply these principals in your daily life. You can control your stress levels. Don't wait for life to become less stressful because it won't happen on its own.

How to Avoid Common Stress Triggers

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