Megan Sebestyen
Staff Writer
Under the pressures of keeping up with classes, maintaining a social life, balancing finances and preparing for careers, students often succumb to stress and anxiety.
A study by the American College Health Association found 75 percent of college students felt overwhelmed.
But now students are weighed down by another burden: the current situation of an unstable economy.
Now students find themselves worried about job security, keeping a balance in the bank and finding a future career.
“It is likely that clients are affected by the issues regarding the economy,” University of La Verne Counselor Andrea LaTlante said.
“The economy is taking a toll on me,” Nicole Wood, freshman mathematics major said. “I’m definitely feeling more stressed out.”
According to the American Psychology Association’s tips for managing stress, students can weather the situation, though, by remaining aware of their stress level and taking steps to minimize it.
Students can overcome feelings of stress by focusing only on things they can control.
“The economy is bad right now, but if something happens, it will happen. Its something looming over but I’m not going to let it stress my everyday life,” Corey Hanson said.
Hanson is a junior television broadcasting major with a minor in philosophy.
Help for students who feel stressed is right on campus. Students can visit the Health Center or the Counseling Center.
“We offer individual therapy. We can see clients on a weekly basis as long as they needed to talk to them about it. We also offer crisis intervention counseling,” LaTlante said.
“We also have a weekly group we are trying to start. It will be a stress management group. We’ve also offered workshops in the past focused on stress management,” LaTlante said.
“When we see a student here and we’ve done the testing we have available and find no physical cause, we refer them to the counseling center,” Cindy Denne, director of student health services, said.
According to a study completed by the University of Washington, in 2006 the leading cause of stress comes from managing finances.
The second cause of stress is work.
“In the larger society, everyone is worried about financial matters right now and students aren’t immune to that. With the way the economy is, it’s harder to make the transition out of school and find a job once they graduate,” LaTlante said.
“Students are affected both directly and indirectly. Students who are supported by their parents may feel the pressures of their finances,” LaTlante said.
Stress about finding employment even in today’s unsteady economy can be reduced though.
“I would recommend that people take things one at a time. It is important that students know their limits and don’t take on more than they can handle,” LaTlante said.
“Looking for some support from friends or family is important. It is important to talk about what is casing this stress with other people. As a student a schedule can get really demanding,” LaTlante said.
“We forget to take time for ourselves and do things we enjoy,” LaTlante said.
“The economy is bad right now, but I have job experience and I have no worries about getting one,” Hanson said.
“I work hard in the summer and I have other jobs where I’ve worked before and come back and I’m generally well-liked there so I don’t think I’ll have a problem falling back to there if I have to,” Hanson said.
Stress can manifest itself physically, causing headaches, upset stomach and insomnia.
These symptoms often lead to more health problems that can cause even more stress.
According to Mind Tools, to minimize everyday stress, students can start by making sure they are getting enough sleep.
Another simple solution is to get more exercise.
Exercising creates an opportunity to release pent-up energy and creates endorphins, which make the body feel energized.
Reducing stress even at these small levels can improve a person’s ability to ultimately overcome stress over larger issues.
“I try to stay busy with school to keep my mind off of stress,” Wood said.
University students have unique causes of stress they must also face.
“A lot of cases we see are related to meeting academic demands like testing or performance anxiety.
There is definitely stress related to meeting deadlines and adjusting to a new environment,” LaTlante said.
Megan Sebestyen can be reached at megan.sebestyen@laverne.edu.
