If you log onto twitter and type in the word “stress,” many things come up. “I stress about stress before there’s even stress to stress about.” “I’m 300% stressed.” “Trying to make no stress November a thing.” “I think the stress in my life is making me go prematurely grey.” “I stress like I got 2 mortgages and a house full of kids with bills piled up but then I remember I’m just 20.” Everyone is talking about stress. Statistics alone are telling us that this generation is the most stressed out generation yet. So what are we going to do about it?
In order to find a solution to the stress problem, we must first understand it and where it stems from. Cassandra Holinka a professor at Tunxis Community College says, “While the new experiences associated with college may be revered by students as exciting, they are associated with a number of stressors.” In her research she found that common stressors identified by college students were developing a future career plan, followed by finances, interpersonal relationships, personal appearance, and personal achievement. That’s a lot of things to be stressed about, and I’m pretty sure we all can relate.
The American Institute of Stress reported that stress is the basic cause of 60% of all human illness and disease. Three out of four doctor’s visits are for stress-related ailments. 40% of stressed people overeat or eat unhealthy foods, while 44% of people lose sleep every night. If this is the case, it is important to realize when we are feeling stressed, so we can better take care of ourselves and our mental health. By paying attention to the signs of increasing stress such as fatigue, illness, lack of sleep, and depression, we can help fix the problem before it becomes too big to handle.
If you are always feeling stressed, it is important that you find an outlet that allows you to express yourself. This does not mean that you have to go to a help group, sit in a circle, and talk about all the stress in your life. Simply getting away from campus to get coffee with a group of friends, attending some sort of recreational class, or attending a Bible study can all help reduce stress. Being around other people and taking time away from the busyness of life can make all the difference. And if you really just don’t have time to get away, give yourself 10 minutes to just sit, listen to music, or call a family member. Be like Cinderella. Even though her evil stepmother gave her a list of chores longer than the lines at the caf, she didn’t stress. She sang and talked to her little mouse friends while she did her work. That is definitely doable, especially at Belmont. Just hum a little tune and find a squirrel friend (or an Alpha Gam).
It is important that you don’t push the feeling of stress away. Bottled up feelings are good for no one and only cause more stress. Eventually you’ll lose it, and probably at a time that is not ideal. The barista at Bongo Java doesn’t deserve to be yelled at just because you forgot to take a hot sec for yourself. And if you’re like me, your mother doesn’t deserve a million phone calls because you can’t pull yourself together. Find your chill pill and take it!
Unfortunately, we’ve entered the world of adulting and life is probably always going to be pretty stressful. Don’t fret though! Some stress is ok. It can even be healthy. In fact, a little stress helps drive us. Without the stress of deadlines and pressure to do well, we wouldn’t get anything done. If you had the option of doing your math homework or watching Netflix and eating pizza, what would you choose? I’m going to say that the vast majority would not be solving for pi, if they had the option to eat a pie. It is all about drawing the line between healthy stress and stress that makes you want to drop out of school, move to Hawaii and live in a cave.
Life is stressful, but it’s all going to be ok. We’re all going to make it. Talk it out. Walk it out. Work it out. Just because stressed spelled backwards is desserts, does not mean you should drown your sorrows in ice-cream and brownies (although sometimes that is necessary). When you’re feeling like you need a break, pop it, lock it, and polka dot it. Cuz life’s what you make it, so let’s make it rock! At the end of the day, if you learn to manage your stress, you can definitely have the best of both worlds. And if nothing else works, listen to some Hannah Montana, because I just quoted her three times and she really has a lot of motivational lyrics that could be applied to an array of stressful situations. Don’t stress y’all, be blessed!