Managing college-life stressors

With final exams rapidly approaching, college students are prone to stress because of the need to obtain high academic standing.

Dealing with stress is a struggle students face daily and is not limited to maintaining a high grade point average but include transitional lifestyles and financial issues according to Katie Vatalaro Hill, health educator and assistant director of the VCU Wellness Resource Center.

The Associated Press and mtvU, a television network for colleges and universities, conducted a survey on how stress affects college students’ mental health. The results indicated 64 percent of students were somewhat happy with their lives. However, school-related concerns were cited as the main stressors by many students.

“Stress is the number one complaint among college students,” Hill said. “Stress gets in the way of student’s academics.”

Some students say the biggest stressor in school is time management.

“I have financial responsibilities, so I have to work,” said Autumn Hord a junior mass communications major. “And I have school responsibilities, so I have to study.”

With the economic recession, students also are stressed about finding jobs after graduation.

“I am stressed about my future,” said Michael Prentace a junior mass communications major.

According to Vatalaro Hill, students can reduce stress by calling a friend, taking a study break, getting some fresh air, doing any kind of exercise and most importantly, getting plenty of sleep.

“Definitely try and get some sleep,” Vatalaro Hill said. “Some people get overwhelmed and cut out their sleeping time.”

Another method VCU students use for stress relief involves just listening to music.

“When I’m stressed,” said Marcos Chappell a junior mass communications major, “I drink a lot of Coke and Fanta Orange and listen to rap.”

Vatalaro Hill said there are two kinds of stress: healthy and unhealthy. Not all stress is bad stress.

Stress becomes unhealthy when a person starts to experience side effects, according to Vatalaro Hill. She said the side effects can include muscle tension, headaches, over or under eating, stomach aches, trouble sleeping and trouble concentrating.

“Stress can also be motivating,” Vatalaro Hill said. “Sometimes people need to have that stress to help motivate them to write that paper.”