COPING WITH STRESS IN COLLEGE LIFE

- the prospect of being by themselves in a

MIDDLE AND LATE new school in college and meeting and
ADOLESCENCE adjusting to new people is another cause of
stress for graduating senior students
DEFINING STRESS
- a reaction of the mind and body to a ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS OR THE
stimulus that disturbs the well-being, state of LACK OF IT
calm, or equilibrium of a person - adolescents have the tendency to feel
- there is a common belief that stress is awkward when they are not in a special
unhealthy, but discussions among experts relationship with someone
conclude that this is not entirely the case - somehow, having an intimate relationship is
a status symbol that says one is good-looking,
STRESS AS STIMULUS, RESPONSE, AND interesting, and attractive
RELATIONAL
 Stimulus – stress is caused by FAMILY DEMANDS AND
situations that may be life threatening EXPECTATIONS
or life changing (e.g. separation, - to some, family ties can be a stressor
moving into a new home, having a - the adolescent is still learning and yearning
new job) for independence and autonomy, but parents
 Response – the way the body reacts to may not be ready to relinquish control over
challenging situations their “baby”
- involves the interactions between - this is why conflict sets in
the hormones, glands, and nervous
system where the adrenal gland HEALTH CONCERNS
drives the production of cortisol or - health problems may run a gamut of
better known as “stress hormone” varieties (e.g. unwanted pregnancy, HIV,
 Relational – when a person STDs, unhealthy lifestyles, sleeping habits
experiencing stress takes a step back that often lead to lifetime diseases, etc.)
to look at the situation that is causing
the stress and assesses it DEMANDS OF SOCIAL LIFE
- there’s a common thinking among
SELECTING A SCHOOL, COLLEGE adolescents that it is embarrassing to be
COURSE, OR CAREER alone
- a high school student who just graduated - the need to belong is significantly important
faces more demanding challenges, and the for adolescents
first of these are just the entrance exams to
whatever school or university, and the course BULLYING
that they will choose - being bullied in school can be very stressful
and may cause emotional or psychological
SEPARATION ANXIETY trauma to the individual experiencing it
- high school graduation, to some, means a
temporary ending or separation from some of COPING WITH STRESS
their friends - stress can be either good or bad, depending
- there is a possible scenario that a best friend on how this is affecting you and how you are
might move to another place to study or allowing it to affect you
move to another school - it’s important to know what stresses you
and identify your stress situations/stressors
- once you have identified these, check - you experience stress when you respond to
yourself and see how you are reacting or stressors that you perceive to exceed your
relating to the stressor abilities

STRESS CAN MOTIVATE YOU TO WORK

COPING MECHANISMS/STRESS HARDER TO GET WHAT YOU WANT
REDUCTION METHODS - for example, someone negatively criticized
 Group or social support your essay in English class and you feel bad
 Meditation about it because you spent several hours
 Yoga drafting and revising your essay
 Biofeedback  Eustress - stress can challenge and
 Creative imagery motivate you to find creative
 Thought shopping solutions to your concerns
 Breathing exercises  Distress – when stress becomes so
 Proper nutrition overwhelming and leads to a sense of
 Regular exercise helplessness and exhaustion
 Self-hypnosis
 Time management COGNITIVE SYMPTOMS
 Relaxation response:  Having memory problems
- quiet environment  Being unable to concentrate
- passive attitude  Having poor judgment
- comfortable position  Seeing only the negative
 Being anxious
1. Conduct creative imagery of the  Worrying constantly
problem
2. Seek group or social support EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS
3. Get into relaxation activities  Moodiness
4. Create a situation where you can feel  Irritability or short temper
more relaxed  Agitation or restlessness
5. Learn to manage your time  Feeling of being overwhelmed
6. Eat properly by selecting nutritious,  Sense of loneliness and isolation
healthy foods  Depression or unhappiness

ADDITIONAL COPING MECHANISMS PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS

 Seek spiritual growth through prayer  Body aches and pains
and meditation  Diarrhea or constipation
 Have a worthwhile hobby  Nausea and dizziness
 Watch a movie with friends  Chest pain
 Have a nice, quiet talk with a member  Rapid heartbeat
of your family after dinner  Frequent colds
 If the stressor is your expectation/s,
assess it BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS
 Believe in yourself that you are strong  Eating more or less
and courageous  Sleeping too much or too little
 Isolating yourself from others
STRESS IS PART OF GROWING UP  Procrastinating
- you may feel pressured in everything you  Neglecting responsibilities
do, both at home and in school  Drinking alcoholic beverages,
smoking cigarettes, taking illegal
 drugs, or playing computer games for 4. SUPPORT GROUP
several hours - may simple be your friends who accompany
 Having nervous habits such as nail you in this journey
biting and pacing restlessly - your parents are important persons in your
life whom you can ask for support during
SANTROCK (2012) difficult times
- according to Santrock (2012), coping
involves managing difficult situations, EMOTION-FOCUSED COPING
exerting efforts to solve your problems, and - refers to responding in an emotional way
striving to master or reduce stressful effects - focusing on pain triggers emotional
of these situations reactions, which in turn influence our actions
- this way of coping actively makes use of
PROBLEM-FOCUSED COPING defense mechanisms such as rationalization,
- refers to facing the situation squarely and projection, displacement, and aggression
exerting efforts to solve the problem
1. Study skills AVOIDANT COPING
2. Time management - another way of dealing with stress
3. Problem-solving skills - involves ignoring a problem and hoping that
4. Support group it will disappear on its own (Wadsworth et al.,
2011)
1. STUDY SKILLS - there are instant relaxers that you can do as
- enhanced by boosting your motivation to a first aid in emotionally wrought and
study stressful situations
- being self-efficient will help you sustain
your motivation PERSONAL WAYS OF COPING WITH
STRESS
2. TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS  Deep breathing exercises
- important in coping, because if you manage  Calm your taut muscles
your time well, you may be able to make your  Engaging in physical activities
life less stressful  Comfort yourself
Tips to Improve your Time Management  Pampering yourself
Skills:  Crying
 Monitor your time
 Plan your activities using schedule INDICATORS THAT YOU HAVE
 Increase your efficiency so that you SUCCESSFULLY HANDLED STRESS
finish your tasks in less time  Emotional stability
 Tackle one task at a time  Being tactful
 Group similar tasks together  Doing well in school
 Make use of your down time  Learning to say “no”
3. PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS
- such skills should be mastered so that you
remain objective in facing your concerns and
in making wise decisions
- involves assessing the situation by
describing it and determining when the
problem started