Stressed out in the fine arts? OCU music students discuss healthy, unhealthy stress responses

William Peetoom ARTS EDITOR

Editor’s Note: All students interviewed for this article requested anonymity in order to be able to speakfreely.

Oklahoma City University is a unique school in the state of Oklahoma, as one of the largest draws to the school is the performing arts.

OCU is also unique because it has the acronym that corresponds to the not-so-fondly earned nickname “over committed university.”

Things that contribute to this are classes, shows, and extra-curricular activities such as clubs and sports.

One vocalist said one of the biggest reasons behind their stress is “time commitments,” adding that “it’s just hard, because all of our classes are just one or two credits, so you’re in class all day, every day.”

An instrumentalist said their stress is from “the simultaneous need to keep up with my schoolwork for my degree, while also the number of ensembles I’m trying to prepare music for.”

When asked about how they deal with this stress, the instrumentalist said, “really, the only way to deal with it is to knuckle down and deal with it. That does sacrifice quite a bit, so I don’t sleep as much as I probably should … but that’s really the only way to do it, because of the expectations from all the staff, the ensemble directors, and your peers.”

The vocalist said that “healthily, you have to remind yourself why you love what you do. It’s hard to remember that it’s actually fun.”

Other things this student finds helpful include “mindfulness … calendars and to do lists … and non-negotiables, which are things that if everything else slips you make sure are OK,” and things like sleeping and eating as non-negotiable.

“When you make those things a priority, then you have the rest of your energy to focus on your mental health and what you’re doing,” they said.

On the other hand, the vocalist noted several ways of dealing with stress “unhealthily.”

“In general, on this campus, a lot of people turn to drugs and alcohol,” they said.

Another problem that the vocalist brought up was the physical stress that the performers are under, saying “we’re singing all day, every day, and you have to know how to take care of your voice and body – because if you don’t, you can’t be here.”

When asked how they thought OCU could manage these issues better, the instrumentalist said, “I don’t really know of a way, because I don’t think that the administration really knows what goes on with the student body.”

“It’s just how it’s been here for a long time, and that’s how it keeps going, but I do feel like something needs to change,” they said. This question brought more problems up, with the instrumentalist saying, “I know in my degree program, there’s always the worry of the incoming freshman, because every year you hear about one of the freshmen who attempt suicide.”

“Another problem that I know in the music school is there’s a lot of eating disorders because people just don’t have time.”

“Something needs to change, but it seems like every time that we’ve talked about it, all of the remedies that we try never come to fruition,” they said.

“I think the system has become so entrenched that I wouldn’t know how to shake it up and change it.”

Continued at MEDIAOCU.COM

SCHOOL OF MUSIC