Stress Among College Students

By Gabriela Lopez Staff Writer

As college students, stress is a factor that impacts our everyday lives, whether we are stressed over our classes, jobs, relationships, etc., we all experience this overwhelming emotion. It is inevitable. But how can we process and control our stress healthily?

There is so much tied to stress and how it impacts our body and mind that is often overlooked. One must be able to understand their stress and understand how to cope and handle it before it gets worse.

April is Stress Awareness Month and we need to reflect on what factors contribute to our stress, how to cope with it, and our relationships with our health. Stress can cause us illness without even realizing it, and it could be the main culprit in damaging our physical and mental health. Chronic stress increases one’s chances of many health problems and risks such as heart attacks, diabetes, depression, and anxiety.

According to the American Psychological Association, nearly a third, 34 percent, of adults express that their stress is completely consuming most days. Going further into the poll, over 50 percent of both men and women ages 18-34 were most affected by this overwhelming stress compared to their older counterparts.

Reflecting on the pandemic, our lives completely shifted from being in person to being stuck in our homes and being watchful of our health and even struggling to find food and toilet paper.

According to the American Psychological Association, Gen Z faced elevated stress during the Covid-19 pandemic with 82 percent of it being caused by stress due to the uncertainty of how the school year would turn out.

Fernanda Alba, a senior at California State University, San Bernardino, expressed how the Covid-19 pandemic amplified how stressed she felt with school and her personal life.

“I lost my routine of going to school and keeping up with my work. I got so used to waking up late and sometimes I wouldn’t even join the Zoom meetings by the time I realized I still had to do my work, I had so many things piled up it stressed me out to its fullest,” said Alba.

Stress affects everyone, but if we learn how to handle our stress healthily, it can most definitely make a difference.

During Stress Awareness month, focus on observing how you deal with stress and how you can incorporate new methods such as exercising, getting rest, meditating, and spending time with people you love.

Learning how to manage stress can have significant benefits in living a healthy life. It is also important to understand that not everything is in your control. Many of us may struggle with holding onto the potential possibilities and outcomes of situations, yet in reality, we have no control over these things. Once we can accept this, we are letting go of the anxiety it may cause and therefore lowering stress levels.

If anyone at CSUSB is struggling with stress, anxiety, or mental health in general, there are resources available to them at the Counseling and Psychological Services on campus, located in the Health Center.

Alba also mentions how stress has affected her and how she reacts and responds to the people around her.

“I lose my patience and let my stress get to me and let it out on other people and at the moment I may not realize how I’m treating them until it goes away and then I get really anxious and it makes me realize I need to work on how I manage my stress,” said Alba.

Stress can not only affect yourself but those around you, which can cause more stress and anxiety. It is important to take control of your reactions as they can lead you to push those around you away. Learn how to communicate your stress to others you trust in a healthy matter, some people care for you and are there to listen. You are not alone.