AAAAAHHHHHH!
College life is
full of new experiences and anxieties. It can be the best of
times and the worst of times. Meeting new people, learning, and
being on your own are the best. Falling behind in class,
pulling "all-nighters and final exams can be the
worst.
Sometimes the best of
times lead to the worst of times. Students who spend too much
time meeting new people and "socializing" find themselves
skipping class, falling behind in assignments, and "bombing"
exams.
Stress is a common and natural
condition of our mortal existence. It arises through our daily
efforts to achieve goals, relate with others, and adjust to the
demands of living in an ever-changing world.
We often view stress as a
negative element in our lives and seek to reduce or eliminate
it. We forget that there can be a great deal of growth from
learning how to deal with stressful situations. Our aim
shouldn't be to completely avoid stress, which at any rate
would be impossible, but to learn how to recognize our typical
response to stress and then try to adjust our lives in
accordance with it.
College is a
particularly stressful time for most of us with the pressures
of examinations, large amounts of reading, research papers,
competition for grades, financial expenses, and social and
career decisions. Students can effectively deal with stress
rather than become discouraged and immobilized by
it.
Each of us functions best at a
particular stress level. When stress increases beyond that
level, the effectiveness of our performance begins to drop.
When we pass our peak of effectiveness we usually experience
symptoms like forgetfulness, dulled senses, poor concentration,
headaches, digestive upsets, restlessness, irritability and
anxiety. The occurrence of these symptoms can alert us to take
steps to reduce our stress so our effectiveness can remain at a
high level.
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