by: MARIA MONICA B. PADILLO
Stress is common among adults who go through loads of work and cannot have time for sleep or rest but this is also common to college students.
Some say that stress is predictable because college is the first step towards becoming mature and responsible adults but while this suggests a good thing, stress is actually a health concern and should not be ignored.
According to helpguide.org, stress affects the mind, body, and behavior in many ways, that overwhelming stress can lead to serious mental and physical health problems, and it can also take a toll on relationships at home, work, and school.
Stress is common among adults who go through loads of work and cannot have time for sleep or rest but this is also common to college students.
Some say that stress is predictable because college is the first step towards becoming mature and responsible adults but while this suggests a good thing, stress is actually a health concern and should not be ignored.
According to helpguide.org, stress affects the mind, body, and behavior in many ways, that overwhelming stress can lead to serious mental and physical health problems, and it can also take a toll on relationships at home, work, and school.
Stress is somewhat a hindrance to how people live their lives. Joey Rose de Leon, an English studies student at the University of the Philippines Diliman, said, “Sometimes when we're too stressed out, we focus too much on getting the problem out of the way that we forget to appreciate the reasons which we work for. We miss out on building friendships. We miss out on the joy that is in having something to worry about, rather than living life without purpose, without motive, without goals.”
However, she said she sometimes considers stress as a mechanism to be productive. She said that stress gives her something to do, a reminder that she can't have everything her way and that she has to earn things rather than waiting for the world to hand them to her on a silver platter.
When asked how she deals with stress, she said she simply prays and rests by taking a nap.
“I think everyone has something to be stressed about—especially college students who have to juggle academics, relationships, and beauty sleep. I think I'd find it stranger if I met a college student who isn't stressing about anything. Everyone has his or her problems. The key is living life joyfully in spite of them,” she said.
Meanwhile, Krisa Alcoriza, a Communication Arts student at the Ateneo de Manila University, said that, most of the time, she deals with stress by sleeping.
“If people ‘stress eat’, I stress sleep. But if I'm in a situation wherein sleep really isn't an option, I take deep breaths to keep me from panicking,” she said, “but when my works get really heavy and I can’t handle the pressure, I sometimes get sick with a high fever or the flu.”
Long-term exposure of the body’s stress-response system can lead to various health problems such as anxiety, depression, heart disease, sleep problems, memory and concentration impairment, etc.
But she conferred she’s the kind of person who works better under pressure, saying that her work turns out better when she’s stressed than when she’s not.
Contrary to popular belief, stress is something that we can control. Just by living a healthy life, like eating healthy food, exercising, and keeping an organized schedule, can be a big help with dealing all our personal and social problems.