As a college student, I am always facing some kind of stress. Whether it be social, relationship, academic, health concerned, job related-- there are always stressors in my environment. It’s hard not to get overwhelmed with all the deadlines and commitments we face on a daily basis. I used to think that stress was bad for me and my health, and that I should do anything to avoid it. However, recent science has shown that stress can actually be beneficial to us-- if we know how to use it in the right way.
What usually happens during stress? When we experience a stressful event, our bodies go into “flight or fight” mode. We pump out hormones like cortisol and oxytocin. Our blood vessels get smaller, our hearts race, we start to sweat, our stomachs churn… we all know the feeling. During stressful situations, our bodies also shut down all nonessential functions, like our immune or digestive systems. Historically, this flight or fight response in early humans would be used for situations like running from predators or finding food, and weren’t experienced on an everyday basis. There was time to let their bodies recover from the symptoms of stress before they experienced again. Unfortunately, most of experience this stress reaction often with everyday hassles (assignment deadlines we may not meet, morning traffic making us late, etc.). We remain stressed out almost all the time, and our body stays in that stress reaction every waking moment. We end up having constricted blood vessels, weakened immune and digestive systems, and mental fatigue at all times. Biologically, you can see that stress can negatively influence our health in many different ways. However, we experience those same symptoms when we are excited or courageous without them negatively influencing our health. So, what’s the difference between the two? It all boils down to perception. Our perception of stress While there are times we may be faced with unexpected stressors, we usually know when we are getting ourselves into a stressful situation. When we’re going into a test, a job interview, a new social setting, we tell ourselves that what we are about to experience is going to be difficult-- and we typically don’t say that with a smile. We automatically associate the churning stomach, the racing heart, and the sweaty palms with negativity and assume they are harmful to us, and our bodies react differently to the experience because of it. The interesting thing though, it’s really our perception that stress is harmful that actually makes stress harmful. Dr. Kelly McGonigal, in her TED Talk titled How to Make Stress Your Friend, talks about a study where participants were asked how much stress they experience and if they believe stress is harmful for their health. The participants were then tracked for 8 years. What they found was that yes, people who experience a lot of stress had a “43 percent increased risk of dying” BUT “that was only true for the people who also believed that stress is harmful for your health” (McGonigal, K). And for those who had a lot of stress but didn’t view it as harmful, they actually “had the lowest risk of dying of anyone in the study, including people who had relatively little stress” (McGonigal, K). Over the course of the study, the researchers found that 182,000 people died prematurely from the belief that stress is harmful. That’s quite a large number of preventable deaths. In fact, with over 20,000 deaths per year, “that would make believing stress is bad for you the 15th largest cause of death in the United States... killing more people than skin cancer, HIV/AIDS and homicide” (McGonigal, K). So clearly, this a health epidemic. The way we think about stress causes our body to have a negative, harmful reaction to stress. However, we can change that. When we change the way our minds think about stress, we can actually change our body’s response to stress and the effects that it has on us. Changing our minds about stress… So, how can we change our minds about stress? It actually is relatively simple. We need to rethink our stress response as helpful. When we feel stress symptoms arise, we can tell ourselves that we are excited for the challenge. When our hearts are beating harder, we’re not nervous, we’re ready for action. When we’re breathing fast, we need to tell ourselves that we’re just getting more oxygen to our brain so we can think faster and smarter. These symptoms of stress can be “used as a sort of performance-enhancing energy rather than as a self-defeating threat” (Robertson, I), allowing us to change our perception of our stress from a negative hindrance to a positive attribute. Dr. Simone Ravicz advises that we see our stressors as a challenge instead of a threat, so that we can allow prostress to arise. We need to try to tell ourselves that we are capable of handling the situation and that we can grow through it. Even if we don’t fully believe it, just telling ourselves that is enough to actually allow for changes in our biological stress response. ...changes the way our bodies respond to stress I briefly mentioned earlier what normally happens in our bodies during stress when it is perceived as negative. While some of those same seemingly harmful symptoms still arise when we change our perception on stress, there are also helpful side effects during our stress response when we view it as positive. For example, the study mentioned by Kelly McGonigal found that “when participants viewed their stress response as helpful, their blood vessels stayed relaxed” (McGonigal). The constricted blood vessels that we usually experience during stress can contribute to hypertension, cardiovascular issues, and even stroke, so this small change in mindset could be the difference between a life threatening heart attack or not. The prostress that I mentioned earlier has some benefits as well. Just by viewing our stress as an overcomeable challenge instead of a detrimental threat, we that prostress help to boost our immune systems, increase our good cholesterol, repair muscle tissue, encourage physical growth, and enhance our brain development (Ravicz, S). One of the hormones that we release in our stress response is oxytocin. This is commonly referred to as the cuddle hormone, because it is the hormone released when we hug someone that makes us feel calm and happy. The effects of this hormone are usually overshadowed by the negative effects of cortisol, however, when we view our stress response as helpful, we allow the effects of oxytocin to shine. It makes us social, more empathetic, helpful, and supportive. It also makes us desire to reach out and ask for help during our stressful experiences so we don’t have to go through it alone. Oxytocin also acts as a natural anti-inflammatory, it helps our blood vessels remained relaxed, and it even repairs stress-induced damage on our heart (McGonigal). When we view our stress as a performance enhancer, we also produce a neurosteroid called DHEA, which helps our brains grow stronger, speeds up wound healing and strengthens the immune system (Lozeron, N). We also will see our norepinephrine (the hormone involved in the flight or fight response) levels balance out and reach their “sweet spot of performance” (Robertson, I). As you can see, there are so many benefits to experiencing stress. The key to unlocking them lies within you and your willingness to adopt a loving and positive mindset toward your stress. Tips for successful stress Attempting to reframe our mind and views toward stress can be hard, so here are a couple tips to help you get started.
Finally, remember that this will take time! You won’t be able to wake up one morning and completely override your brain. Practice these techniques, and eventually, you will get there. Reference List Lozeron, N. (Speaker). (2016, May 3). Stress enhances performance: The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal. Video retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cfIqjWbVAE McGonigal, K. (Speaker). (2013, June). How to make stress your friend friend. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_fri end Ravicz, S. (n.d.). The Secret Upside to Stress. Retrieved from: https://www.happify.com/hd/secret-upside-to-stress/ Robertson, I. (2017, January 3). How Freaking Out Can Help You Succeed, According to Science. Retrieved from: http://time.com/4592069/stress-stronger-science/.
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Write your worries away!
By Hannah Brewington Being a student can be a tough job. For many of us, the pressures of being a student can be so overwhelming that we get lost in the stress of wondering how we can handle it all. Thankfully, there are many things we can do to help ourselves get out of this stress. Using reflective learning and journaling as part of your stress management plan can greatly reduce the tension and anxiety you may struggle with on a daily basis. What is journaling? As Elizabeth Scott stated in the article The Benefits of Journaling for Stress Management, “journaling generally involves the practice of keeping a diary or journal that explores thoughts and feelings surrounding the events of your life” (paragraph 1, 2018). Many of us write all the time for classes, but how often are we writing for our own self understanding and improvement? The answer for most people is usually never. By journaling, you give yourself the opportunity to let everything out. Doing this is “one of the best ways to clear your mind and get in touch with your thoughts and feelings” (Tams, Journaling to Reduce Stress, 2013) so that you have a deeper understanding of your thoughts, your stress triggers, and your behaviors. In order for journaling to be an effective stress management technique, it should be done consistently. Journaling for effective stress management should also be reflective in order for progress to occur. What do you mean by reflective? Reflection is defined as “a serious thought or consideration, or an idea about something, especially one that is written down and expressed” (vccbaking, What is Reflective Learning?, 2013). This means that reflective writing is more than just summarizing or describing your days events. It is the process of asking and answering questions about your thoughts and feelings during, after, and since situations occurred. Reflective questions are the “why?, how?, and so what?” -- not the “who?, when?, where?” (Hull University Skills Team, Reflective Writing, 2014). So how can journaling help me? Journaling as a tool for stress management can make a huge difference in your life. Reflective writing can help us dig deeper into our thoughts and feelings so that we can continually learn more about ourselves, our stress triggers, and how outside factors affect us so that we can devise new ways to overcome our struggles based on our past experiences. We can use the knowledge and lessons we’ve built through reflection to help us in future stressful situations so that those experiences don’t lend as much stress to our lives as they might’ve without journaling (LoveYourPencil, Writing a Reflection, 2012). Not only that, but journaling has been proven to help not only with mental/emotional pain, but with physical pain as well! A study conducted in 2006 by the American Medical Association found that after 4 months of consecutive journaling, patients showed a 50% improvement in their respective diseases (Tams, Journaling to Reduce Stress, 2013). Having less physical pain can certainly reduce overall stress, so reflective journaling is great stress management tool for all types of people. Tips for effective reflective journaling One thing you can do to make reflective journaling a bit easier is write a list of reflection questions to ask yourself when you sit down to journal. Having these questions on hand can help you when you are trying to write but are at a loss for words. Some questions that you could include in your list could be (taken from Dr. Marvin Marshall, Stress Management Tips: Reflective Questions Relieve Stress, 2017):
Try to remember that this type of journaling will be hard at first. Take it slow and stay consistent, and soon your stress will begin to melt away. Reference List LoveYourPencil (Video creator). (2012, September 22). Writing a Reflection. Video retrieved fromWriting a reflection (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Marshall, M (Speaker). (2017, December 26). Stress Management Tips: Reflective Questions Relieve Stress. Video retrieved from Stress Management Tips: Reflective Questions Relieve Stress (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Scott, E. (2018, April 1). The Benefits of Journaling for Stress Management. Very Well Mind. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/the-benefits (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. -of-journaling-for-stress-man (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.agement-3144611 Skills Team at Hull University (Video creators). (2014, March 3). Reflective Writing. Video retrieved fromReflective Writing (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Tams, L. (2013, May 1). Journaling to reduce stress. Retrieved from http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/journaling_to_reduce_stress (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Vccbaking (Video creator). (2013, February 6). What is Reflective Learning? Video retrieved fromWhat is Reflective Learning? (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. |
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