Effects of Stress on College Students
For most students, the college experience is one of the best times of their lives. However, the dream does not always come true as these “golden ages” can be stressful. Consequently the number of college students suffering from stress is on the rise annually. Stress harms student’s physical health and well-being. The significant causes of stress among college students include; romantic relationships, deadlines, financial challenges, and new independence levels. It also affects their academic performance, one of the vital pillars of their lives. Stress is a matter of great concern among college students. This paper will explore the effects of stress on college students widely.
Stress leads to mental health challenges such as mood swings (Decker et al.281-287). The same is caused by high levels of anxiety, which arises when students have worrisome thoughts daily. It can be as a result of meeting set deadlines or paying bills. When the fear prolongs, students become chronically stressed, most of them lose control over their emotions and experience irritability. To others, this can make them temperamental a lot or despondent in case the plans they had to fail to go as planned. That’s why most college students are not keen on their academics since they focus on the challenges facing, thus creating self-defeating, which makes them concentrate less on essential matters.
Stress causes sleeping disorders among college students, which prevents them from getting enough rest, which is essential for their concentration in class. Some student’s transition from an environment where parents took care of everything to living alone, and adjusting to new environments is difficult (Ardelt and Bruya 1-13). Students should be aware that it’s normal to experience stress in a new environment. However, most of them remain silent on their situation and do not seek consultation services for fear of admitting that life is complicated.
Colleges should implement an appropriate system to assess the mental health of students to manage stress effectively. The college should also identify significant triggers of stress so as to identify the right means to deal with the same. Only regular mental health assessments will help colleges implement appropriate counseling systems. There are other stress management strategies students can implement on their own such as engaging in physical activities.
