What is Stress?
Stress is the human response to a perceived threat or pressure that disrupts an individual’s physical or mental well-being. Having its root-cause in many life events or situations, it can potentially trigger severe anxiety and depression.
It tends to overpower you
- when you feel you have little or no control over situation.
- when you experience something unexpected or something new.
- when you are going through tough life situations.
- when you have many responsibilities that you find difficult to manage.
Whenever we experience an emotion that causes stress, our body releases Epinephrine and cortisol hormones. These hormones have long term effects on metabolism, functioning of the memory or blood sugar levels.
Symptoms of Stress
The stress symptoms could be physical, emotional and behavioral defined as follows:
- Shortness of breath: This condition causes rapid breathing which increases the heart rate and breathing rate in order to supply more oxygen to the muscles. This is the most common symptom of stress.
- Sweating: The most common body symptom caused due to stress, sweating can occur all over the body but more commonly on palms.
- Headaches or Stomachaches: Headaches or stomachaches are also the symptoms of stress/ anxiety.
- Emotional Symptoms: A few of the emotional symptoms are as follows:
- Experiencing panic attacks
- Facing difficulty in concentrating
- Irritable nature
- Facing issues in sleeping.
Stress among College Students:
Stress can affect any age group be it a child, youth or an adult.
In today’s times, the most affected age group is the college students. There are several varieties of stressors amongst college students that impact their mental health. Some of these stressors are as follows:
- Academics: All the higher education institutions play a pivotal role in the growth of any nation. Their growth, in turn, depends upon the success of their students. Consequently, the institutes of higher education develop curriculum that emphasizes both intellectual and personal growth and is implemented in the form of academic assignments, projects and activities. Such a huge amount of coursework stresses out students who were earlier not exposed to demands of academic rigor & competition , leading thereby to undue anxiety.
- Parental Pressure: Pressure from parents is also one of the factors responsible for stress amongst the students.
- Financial Constraints: Undergraduate courses in India, these days, are becoming increasingly expensive placing a significant financial burden on students and their families. This economic strain of exorbitant tuition fees and daily expenses tends to takes a toll on the mental and emotional well-being of parents.
- Social Front: Adaptation to a new environment, making new friends, living with roommates, coping up with new social challenges are part of college life. All these changes can be exciting but also stressful for introverted or shy students.
Stress among college students can be managed using the following few tips:
Awareness amongst students: JIMS, VK-II offers guidance and support through regular mentoring sessions to help students manage stress and anxiety. Regular guest lectures by renowned industry professionals, life coaches and psychologists provide valuable insights, expert advice and new perspectives on personal growth, professional development and mental well-being.
Engagement in different activities: College organizes different kinds of activities for its students in order to promote their overall growth and development. These include both co & extracurricular activities such as debates, presentations and management games. Involvement in these activities takes away a major part of the stress from their being.
Engaging in selfless acts, it is said, can have a profound impact on one’s well-being. JIMS, VK-II, through its, ever active Rotaract club, is committed to bringing a positive change by way of involving the students with the community for many activities such as blood donation, literacy drives, medical aid to the needy, awareness campaigns related to environment etc. This also goes a long way in reducing stress and anxiety.
Providing Calm Environment: The college ensures that the ambience and infrastructure are conducive to learning; At JIMS, VK-II, there are no external/internal distractions as students engage in the process of learning. It motivates them to be regular in college. Jims VK-II is a green campus having a serene environment which makes the students connect with the college on more levels than one.
Sonia Kakkar
Assistant Professor
BBA Department