STRESS!

STRESS!

One of the most popular psychology topics is stress. My peers and I encounter it on a daily basis as top-tier-college-bound seniors at high school. We take multiple college-level courses, (AP) cram our schedules with sports, clubs, music lessons, community service and yet it may never be enough.

Walk into any of my classes and you'll find a room full of highly motivated brilliant kids who are being pushed to the brink. So Where does this stress come from? How do we deal with it? And why do we have stress? The answers can be found in the psychiatric field.

The National Institute of Mental Health classifies stress as a Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Symptoms of a GAD are excessive worrying and anxiety about everyday obstacles and the future for a prolonged period of time (6 or more months). Sound Familiar? I'll go on. GAD is most likely to affect people from late childhood to early adulthood. It is as we are developing into the person we will become for the rest of our lives that we are most vulnerable to excessive stress.

An illuminating study by the American Psychological Association reveals some shocking statistics and many of the causes of stress. According to the APA in 2011, 22% of Americans rated their stress level as 8 or higher on a scale of one to ten with the mean level being 5.2. What causes this stress? According to this survey :

"Significant sources of stress include money (75 percent), work (70 percent), the economy (67 percent), relationships (58 percent), family responsibilities (57 percent), family health problems (53 percent), personal health concerns (53 percent), job stability (49 percent), housing costs (49 percent) and personal safety (32 percent)."
So clearly money has the biggest impact on stress, followed by family, health, and personal safety.

This begs the question: what is stress biologically and why do we have it? According to Web MD: Stress is a heightened state of awareness that comes when we are asked to do more than we typically would. Our heart races faster, we breathe faster and function better. Stress is useful in times of crisis because it allows us to escape danger, and be most productive when our life or career is on the line. Unfortunately too much stress can keep this heightened sense of awareness up even at night and keep us from properly recovering. Eventually our bodies and minds wear down as the stress takes its toll. 

So what can we do about stress? The University of Texas Counseling and Mental Health Center in summary suggests being social, exercising, taking short brain breaks, and most importantly managing time better. We humans are very much creatures dependent on eachother. Being social is a great way to relieve some stress. Taking care of your body will make you feel better as then you only have to worry about mental stress. But the biggest thing is to limit your activities. Quantity over Quality! The more you try to cram in the less effective you are going to be at each individual thing. So if you can, limit your activities, take a deep breath and do some yoga, your body and mind will thank you.