Stressed-out Students at University
open up
Stress is a natural part of university.
The NHS says that stress, in small doses, may be good for
the university student; designed to help the student cope in challenging
situations.
Stress heightens the senses and can enhance the student’s
performance, especially around exam time.
It has been noted by the NHS that stress can lead to further
problems, both physical and
psychological, including (in severe cases)
depression and anxiety.
While university students will be exposed to a certain level
of stress, those resitting years and retaking exams are, naturally, prone to
greater stress levels, and therefore more vulnerable to the likes of
depression, anxiety and further health problems.
It would appear that stress is most common at the beginning and
at the end of the academic years, and that these times are more common for a
greater student suicide rate.
One of the biggest factors of student stress is the
financial side; with student loans and debt piling up, rent and bills getting
more expensive and less work placements available on the job market, students
are finding it difficult to make their finances stretch until the next payment.
Former Bangor University student Adam Jardine, 21, says “while
student finance is brilliant in providing tuition fee help and the maintenance
loan, sometimes it’s inevitable that the student will begin working in a
nightclub or bar until very late, often 2am.
I understand that students are famed for drinking the night
away and wasting money, but there are some who don’t go out drinking all the
time and still find themselves trying to scrape together the money for a train
ticket home.
This means that often students will take up work – of any
kind – in order to make ends meet. I began working in a nightclub and then
walked twenty minutes home at 5am some days. It wasn’t the best feeling walking
home at that time, but I really needed the money”.
Financial problems are often difficult to overcome, whether
a student or an adult, causes further examples of stress and/or anxiety and/or
depression.
Oxford Brookes University recently spoke out about stress,
explaining that too much stress can affect students physically, mentally and
emotionally.
Physically, stress can lead to headaches, dizziness, a
heightened blood pressure, and insomnia.
Mentally, insomnia is again an issue, but also affects the
ability to think, leaving students’ thoughts often jumbled and confused and
leads to an unhealthy amount of worrying.
Emotionally stress affects different people in different
ways, and often people react uniquely from one another. Stress can change
people’s behaviour towards each other, some perhaps downright hostile while
others become introverts.
A student from Bangor University, who wishes to remain
anonymous, opened up about her experiences with pressure and stress from
resitting her second year.
“I have been diagnosed with anxiety for years, but when I
came to university it got worse. I loved the idea of university and freedom and
I’m really happy I took the step forward, but the stress is second to none I
have ever felt in my life.
It’s not just around exam times, stress at university is the
same as stress anywhere else; it can jump at any minute and suddenly consume
you.
My reaction to stress was to just hide myself in my room,
staring at my computer screen. I was getting stressed because I couldn’t think
clearly enough to do my work and I couldn’t think clearly enough to do my work
because I was stressed!”
All women in this video played by actresses to keep the identity anonymous as per the student's wish.
Managing stress is a skill many students have to overcome,
the universities offer a student counselling service and the GPS can offer
leaflets and manuals on self-help with stress-related problems, such as
insomnia.
Oxford Brookes University have suggested in order to manage
stress in university, students should find some distractions such as sports or
activities to release endorphins, yoga and meditation to focus and relieve the
tension, as well as expression through writing or keeping a journal.
Anxiety and panic attacks are common in university students,
especially during the beginning and the end of the academic year.
Visit the
Oxford Brookes or NHS website for more information on how to cope with stress
and management.
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