A new report shows most college students are under high levels of stress. But that might not be a bad thing if students learn to use it to their advantage, experts say.
Although studies show high anxiety can lead to poor performance and reduced efficiency, students have the ability to make sure stress does not have a negative impact on their work, assistant professor of psychology Jason Moser said.
More than half of college students reported above average or tremendous stress levels in the spring 2012 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment undergraduate summary, and 30 percent of students said it had a negative impact on their academic performance.
“They’re actually at a really stressful time in life,” Moser said. “(But) because the brain is plastic, there’s always a chance to rewire and reboot.”
Moser said students’ stress typically develops from a mixture of past experiences as well as genetics, and students who are predisposed to stress might not face issues with it until college.
He said the brain actually works harder to complete tasks under pressure. However, if students learn to be more flexible-minded and positive, they might be able to avoid the negative impacts of stress.
Viewing stress as a motivator to get work done and consciously making an effort to view stressors as typical bumps in the road and not the end of the world can help rewire how the brain handles stress, Moser said.
Studio art freshman Sarah Winterbottom said under mounting workloads, students barely have time to sleep. She said she has pulled all-nighters trying to keep up with class work, a mental strain for her.
Physiology junior Caitlin McCarthy said she wasn’t surprised to learn the vulnerability of college students to stress because her own levels of anxiety cause her to be fatigued or have headaches.
McCarthy said using studying as a distraction and refocusing her stress to get work done helped her pass her exams freshman year after three friends and a grandparent all died in the weeks leading up to final exams. She said now she runs and does yoga multiple times a week to lower her stress levels and keeps an hour-by-hour schedule for the week.
“People don’t realize there are things to help with the stress,” McCarthy said.
Moser said in addition, writing anxieties down in a journal before an exam or another stressful activity, meditation and, in severe cases, therapy can help reduce the impacts of stress.
Stressed students also can visit the counseling center’s website at counseling.msu.edu for therapy options and workshops to teach students how to handle stress.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
