--Original published at MaddiesCollegeBlog

Various individuals undergo the feeling of stress, It can affect all ages, cultures, and genders in many different environments. Stress is caused by a term called “a Stressor”, stressors are defined as an event or feeling that can activate a stress response. A stressor can vary from individual to individual, it all depends on how that person feels about events. It can be anything from an exam, to a big game, mental health concerns, or major medical issues. Stress usually does not have a time expiration, again it all depends on the person. Some people feel immediate relief once the cause of stress is over, or the stress can linger for the person for a long time. No matter how long the stress lasts, it is very detrimental to ones physical, emotional and mental health. Since stress can affect many different groups of people, for example, student-athletes, parents, celebrities, etc. there can be many coping mechanisms for those people to help them learn how to handle their stress better and not let it succumb them.

The first audience that I decided to focus on first, was one that I felt that I could relate to the most which is college student-athletes. Being a college student athlete is not easy at all, and the transition from high school to college was not easy for me personally. Here at college, I found that my high school did not prepare me at all for what college was going to be like academically wise. College is a lot of work, and especially being a biology major it is not easy, and very stressful at times. On top of having a lot of schoolwork and expectations from professors, having 2 hour practice 6 out of the 7 days a week added even more stress to my plate. After reading an article that provided ways that student athletes could de-stress, I found that I could relate to a lot of what he said to do. According to Jason Perry, A track and field athlete from University of North Carolina Asheville, He discusses how student athletes are more susceptible to anxiety and depression because of all the pressure they are put under by coaches, academics, and socially. He then provided 5 positive ways to manage stress, and reasonings as to why you should follow through with them. For example, one of them was talking it out. In class we discussed that this option is always good no matter what. Perry expressed that by talking it out, it allows the person it let out steam and for some cases, a good rant is all you need to make you feel a lot better. Another reason he said was to accept that bad things are going to happen, which I also found myself relating too. In the second week of preseason, I had hurt my knee extremely resulting to me being on crutches for a long time. It was very discouraging and at times I felt that there was no going back from here and that I should just give up, but I found that my teammates, coaches, trainers, and even professors told me that its one of those things that’s inevitable, I couldn’t control it, and I had to accept it and move on, in order to get better and back on the field. Perry exclaimed that nobody is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, but that is how you learn. As an athlete, sometimes you need to take a second to soak it in, and then let it go. After I read that, I immediately felt a connection because I often found myself doing that quite frequently. Another strategy he provided was getting a hobby. He stated after that sometimes it is very good to get away from your athletic life, and that it is good for you to find something where it can just be for fun and to allow you to get your mind off things that cause stress for you. Getting a hobby can also be good because there is no pressure that comes with it, and when you are a student athlete, sometimes it feels like pressure is all you know. So, it is good to get away from that feeling and focus on something more relaxing and enjoyable. I think that the five strategies that he stated are very beneficial and can be adaptive because they strictly target student athletes themselves, not just college students in general. Also, the article was written by a student athlete himself. So odds are what he is saying is factual, and at times I am sure that he sued these strategies to cope with his stress.

The second audience that I decided to focus on was the stress of parenting, I felt that parenting was just a common one that is a universal stressor. Many parents, especially with their first child stress about everything and anything, and feel that everything must be perfect. I remember my mom told me that she was the same way with me, she wanted to always be watching me and holding me to make sure I was safe and nothing could go wrong. I also learned this concept in my high school AP psych class, we talked about how this type of stressor is more biological and natural to stress over having a child because it is so new and life changing. After reading this website that provided 4 tips to help parents who are trying to balance a lot of new feelings and hectic schedules, I felt that the tips were very logical and seemed like it would be beneficial to parents. For example, the first tip was to seek professional help, psychologists have the best understanding of these things and can provide you with resources on how to help with specific concerns. In my opinion, that seems pretty reasonable to seek professional help. Another tip that they suggested was to increase quality time with family, but to also you need to make time for yourself. By doing fun activities with your child, it improves the parent-child relationship, but sometimes, you may just need some time to yourself as for most parents you are around your child 24/7 and some alone time is just what you need. I thought that this article did an exceptional job at providing tips for parents to take some stress away, though some of the tips were pretty obvious, I feel that it is still good to hear that some of the tips are just what you need to do to feel better. The author of this article is a professor of psychology at the University of Houston-Downtown, he is also a clinical psychologist. So I feel that the information that he is providing is professional and very evidence-based.

For my third audience that I decided to focus on was the stress that comes from being a teacher. I can relate to this type of stress because I encountered it everyday, not only did I observe it from some of my high school teachers that I was really close with, but also my mother. My mom is a 1st grade elementary school teacher, and some things that I have heard her have to do and endure over the past 27 years seems honestly brutal. I feel that many people do not realize the kind of passion and drive you need to be a teacher, and from what I can tell it is one of the most challenging occupations. From my personal opinion, saying that being a teacher is stressful is an understatement, and we do not give them the credit that they deserve. After coming across and article titled “5 proven stress management tips for teachers (backed by science)”, I found that the tips provided were actually legitimate and seemed like it would actually be beneficial to a teacher undergoing a lot of stress. One tip that I felt had the biggest impact on me was “Focus on What You Can do Something About”. I felt that this tip especially really affects teachers because their job is to solely make sure the classroom runs smoothly, and a lot of the time they spend time focusing on what went wrong more than what went well, and usually whatever didn’t go their way was out of their control. Especially with elementary school teachers. The other tips that were suggested are exercise regularly, set realistic goals, share experiences with your colleagues and practice mindfulness. I felt that all these suggestions and their reasonings behind them, all seemed like they would be beneficial to a teacher who is very stressed. I also feel this way because the article referred to academic studies that were conducted to provide evidence for their tips, which I found to be very impressive. I also felt that the tips were more focused on an individual’s health too, which I think is even more favorable for teachers who are stressing.

https://www.athletenetwork.com/blog/dealing-with-stress-as-a-college-athlete

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-race-good-health/201306/4-tips-managing-parenting-stress

https://truestressmanagement.com/stress-management-for-teachers/

--Original published at *Psych 105*

Stress cannot be escaped. While this sounds severe, it is simply a fact of life. Stress is a constant force that can either drive you forward or hold you back. Positive and beneficial stress can result in the ability to push forward and obtain our goals. At the same time, stress has the ability to wear a person down until they crumble. This is where stress management and coping mechanisms come in to ensure that circumstances do not reach that point. Stress management looks different for each person, as we are not all the same and have different stressors that affect us all differently. In this post, we will be looking at three different populations: children, college students, and athletes.

It seems as though children have nothing to be stressed about, and in turn have no stress. This is a naïve observation that downplays the very real stress and anxiety that children can feel in their everyday lives. Home life and school have the potential to provide stress for a child. An influx of stress requires the utilization a stress management technique to maintain high quality mental and physical health, as well as a healthy self-esteem. In article powered by Nemours Children’s Hospital and Dr. D’Arcy Lyness, offers several methods for children to deal with stress. One of the first is talking to a trusted adult about how the child is feeling and taking steps to create a regulated schedule. Reaching out to for outside support employs the technique of emotion-focused coping, as explained on page 419, in Chapter 11 of the textbook. The act of reaching out allows the child to seek support through their stress while accepting that the stress is there at the same time. In the area of scheduling and time management, the child may not have control over their schedule, so this communication is key to minimizing stress. The changes in scheduling allow for problem-focused coping as the issue is faced head-on. The acronym SELF, or sleep, exercise, leisure, and food, is also included in this article. All the activities in SELF have proven to be positive coping mechanisms and can be used throughout the lifespan.

College has the potential to be one of the best, but also one of the most stressful times of a person’s life. A key step to ensuring that the college days do not become too stressful is employing superb time management. An article from the University of Michigan’s Campus Mind Works points out the fact that sometimes stress is good, but when the cons outweigh the pros it’s time to make some changes. Goal setting and healthy scheduling are two ways that a student can alter their external stressors. From an internal perspective, positive self-talk and validating one’s feelings and emotions can provide stress relief. Much like the examples given for the children, seeking outside support from friends or family is a viable option as well. Aerobic exercise can be a positive coping strategy as well. This relates back to what we learned in class about how exercise increases not only physical fitness but also reduces the likelihood of anxiety, depression and even Alzheimer’s disease. Though the age ranges are very different between the children and the college students, there are many similar methods of stress management.

Athletes tend to be individuals that have the ability to perform relatively well when under stress. This does not mean that they are immune to it. On the contrary, athletes must find various ways to relieve stress just like everyone else. Dr. Aaron C. Moffett of California State University, San Bernardino created a list of physiological, behavioral and cognitive coping strategies for the Association for Applied Sports Psychology. These coping strategies can be used for when the stress of sports and everyday life seem like they are becoming too much. Deep breathing is on the top of the list for physiological coping. Deep breathing allows for muscle relaxation and increased amounts of oxygen entering the body. This falls into the category of relaxation and meditation. The use of self-talk and positive affirmations, like the ones recommended for college students, are listed under cognitive coping strategies. Mindfulness meditation is a similar coping mechanism that also utilizes the different cognitive strategies that Dr. Moffett discusses. Mindfulness meditation allows the individual to take in their problems in a nonjudgmental and accepting frame of mind (DeWall, N & Myers, D., 2016, p.429). Behavioral strategies include exercise, goal setting and list making, which allow for the athlete to create realistic standards to achieve. Dr. Moffett also makes a point to speak about negative coping strategies, such as drinking and smoking. These activities can lead to unhealthy habits for any person, especially athletes.

After sifting through the various methods of stress management for the three different populations, I can confidently say that I agree with their findings. The websites were written and reviewed by educated individuals from prestigious universities and were made in conjunction with highly rated hospitals. Their findings and recommendations line up with the material discussed in class and the material that is in the textbook. These methods all target potentially positive coping strategies that have beneficial physical, cognitive and behavioral outcomes. Ultimately reduced stress, whether it be in the form of physical activity or a daily inventory of individual stressful thoughts, results in a healthy frame of mind and body. Stress is something that will be with us our entire lives, but with these healthy strategies, we can keep it in its place.

http://www.appliedsportpsych.org/resources/health-fitness-resources/stress-management-tips-for-good-health/

http://campusmindworks.org/students/self_care/managing_stress.asp

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/stress.html

DeWall, N. & Myers, D. (2016). Exploring psychology. New York, New York: Worth Publishers.

--Original published at Emily's Blog

Stress is the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events that we may appraise as threatening or challenging. It is not the events themselves but how we respond to these events. There are about three main types of stressors: catastrophes, significant life changes, and daily hassles. When faced with these stressors our bodies respond. This may be with raised heart rate, feelings of faintness, raised blood pressure and raised temperature. These symptoms and many others put together result in exhaustion. Overall, prolonged stress can be damaging to your body mentally and physically.

In class, we discussed many different types of stress management tips. Some of these included exercises, meditation, religion, self-disclosure, and gaining social support. These types of stress coping are proven to help people overcome stress. But these coping strategies are personal. Types of stress coping may work for some but not others.

What does the media say about coping with stress? Millions of people deal with stress daily and turn to the internet to provide them with the answers. Specifically, what are the pop-culture articles sharing about children’s stress, adult’s stress, and teenager’s stress?

Children may struggle with stress at a very young age. Developmentally, it is very important for children to not have a ton of strain put on their bodies as their brains are beginning to develop. The article, “Reducing Stress in Kids,” talks about making sure they have time to relax, practicing controlled breathing, and using muscle relaxation to aid with sleep. These are all good tips. Children should have time to calm down in their day especially if they are dealing with a significant life-changing event. In class, we practiced controlled breathing and it was able to help many students relax. I believe it could also work the same way for children. I had troubles sleeping as a child and practiced muscle relaxation. I believe this is good advice for children who may be struggling to fall asleep. The only thing I wish the article would have added is that these strategies are highly individualized and may not work every time for your child. Each parent needs to have a bunch of tools to help deal with their child’s possible stress issues.

The second article entitled, “Stress Management: Using Self-Help Techniques for Dealing with Stress,” is about how adults deal with stress. This article is aimed at adults because it specifically mentions some of the stressors in adult’s daily lives. Including, paying the bills, taking care of family responsibilities, and working at a consistent job. This article believes to reduce stress one must identify the sources of stress in your life, manage your time, make time for relaxation, connect with others, and exercise. These tips are all beneficial in aiding stressed out individuals. The article does an especially good job of talking about “fight or flight response.” The article explains it is natures way of defending yourself. The article does fall short in explaining the depth of each type of stress reliever. It merely skims the surface when addressing each coping strategy. Instead of providing why these strategies work, the article mostly just shares a little about each strategy and provides links to show other websites which can assist with each topic.

The third article is about stress management for teenagers. “For Teens: Creating Your Personal Stress-Management Plan,” is an article which gives a ten-point plan on how to live a less than stressful life. The points include identifying the problem, avoiding stress when possible, let things go, exercise, practice relaxation, eat well, sleep well, practice meditation, release emotional tension, and contribute to the world. The article does an especially good job of explaining meditation. It describes the steps of taking a mental vacation in detail. The article also does a good job of mentioning points the other articles have missed such as letting things go. This can be a huge stressor in people’s lives. It is important to note this intrapersonal part of our lives. These are good points, but the article is missing the purpose of stress relief. This article falls short in the same way as the first article about children. There is not a magic formula which prevents stress for people. It is trial and error and seeing what works best for you in each situation. If there was a magic formula, I feel as though psychologists would have figured it out by now. Alas, people are different and there is not simply one solution to this problem.

https://stressfreekids.com/13654/reducing-stress-in-kids/

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm?pdf=true

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-wellness/Building-Resilience/Pages/For-Teens-Creating-Your-Personal-Stress-Management-Plan.aspx

--Original published at Emily Garvin's Psych Blog

STRESS:

We’ve discussed a number of different stress management approaches in class, and now I want you to evaluate online resources for stress management. Specifically, I want you to identify three websites that provide stress management tips and discuss how likely you think the strategies they provide are to be successful. Make sure to explain your rationale using what we’ve learned in class and your textbook. Each of the three websites need to be targeted at a different audience but you may select the audiences you want to use (e.g., college students, athletes, parents, artists). Make sure to include links to the websites as part of your post…..

Stress is something that everyone will encounter in their lifetime. Some people allow stress to break them, while others are resilient and fight back against stress using various coping strategies. Nowadays, stress management techniques are easily accessible and quite simple to apply. There are a plethora of strategies offered on reputable websites. You can even specify the cause of your stress when searching for stress management approaches. Most often, you will be directed to an organization’s website where coping strategies and stress management tips are given. I examined three different websites that were designed for different groups of people (college students, athletes, and stress in the workplace).

The first website I analyzed was from http://www.everydayhealth.com regarding the stress management of college students. They offer a total of eleven suggestions that have the potential to reduce the stress of a college student. Actually, we discussed some of the strategies in class when we learned about additional coping strategies. There is a combination of what a college student can do and what they should avoid. College students exercise regularly, establish social support, get a substantial amount of sleep, breathing exercises, and get a massage College students should avoid overloading workload and other activities, alcohol, and energy boosters such as drinking too much caffeine, breathing exercises. According to evidence-based research, completing these tasks along with the others mentioned on the every day health website will result in less stress suffered by the average college student.

Athletes are under an immense amount of stress. They are expected to perform at high levels which requires hours of hard work on their own time. The website I analyzed, www.appliedsportpsych.com, recommended to determine the source and type of stress, meaning is the stress good or bad for you, and then listed physiological, behavioral, and cognitive coping strategies. For example, a behavioral strategy could be releasing pent up anger by acting out in some way like punching a pillow or a punching bag. This behavioral strategy would be considered a physical release. Releasing pent up anger is also associated with Freud’s concept of catharsis. Catharsis essentially means that releasing pent up emotions will be healing. This strategy has been proven successful for athletes.

Lastly, stress often stems from many peoples’ professions. Work stress could be caused by the environment, coworkers, or workload. Whatever the cause of stress, the website www.saxonsgroup.com offers five simple ways to manage work stress. The first is exercise, an additional coping resource we discussed in class, this strategy can focus an employee’s attention away from work and ultimately, reduce their stress level. The website also suggested communication exercises and activities that would cultivate a healthy and beneficial workplace culture. These two suggestions could also be considered an additional coping resource because the goal of the exercises and activities is to strengthen social support within the work place through more effective communication.

Coping with stress is not an easy task for a population of individuals. Everyone has different stressors in their life and alternate ways of coping with them. The strategies provided from the websites I discussed are all chosen for a certain population of people; however, many of the strategies overlap with one another or provide similar stress relief for the different populations. For instance, exercise was the first suggestion for college students and for people who experience stress from work. The suggestions provided are all considered to be adaptive strategies, because they should decrease stress without complications, but this can vary from person to person since strategies tend to be highly individualized.

Links:

https://www.everydayhealth.com/college-health/college-life-10-ways-to-reduce-stress.aspx

http://www.appliedsportpsych.org/resources/health-fitness-resources/stress-management-tips-for-good-health/

http://www.saxonsgroup.com.au/blog/human-resources/5-simple-ways-manage-workplace-stress/

--Original published at Sarah's Blog

In class we learned about stress and how to manage it in different situations. Stress can really take a toll on a person’s mental and physical state, and it is helpful to have some tips on how to manage it. Looking online for resources can also be helpful in finding stress management tips, as long as they are reliable and useful.

In the first article I found, there are tips directed towards college students. The author of this article from EverydayHealth, Jennifer Acosta Scott, says that “stress occurs when your tension level exceeds your energy level, resulting in an overloaded feeling” (3). Some of the tips that she gives to help control stress in college are getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising. Some other tips are possibly going to counseling/talking to a close friend and trying not to overload yourself with too many things. Exercise and self-disclosure are two specific coping resources that we talked about in class, so those are good ways to manage stress. I believe that getting enough sleep and eating well are also important because a person has to take care of him or herself physically to be able to manage his or her stress.

In the second article, the tips are directed towards musicians. I thought this would be an interesting topic because I am going into the music field and it would be helpful to know some tips on managing stress as a current and future musician. The author of this article talks about how small stress can be useful for a musician in a performance or recording, but chronic stress can be very bad for a musician’s health. Stress can also lead to decreased ability to play an instrument due to overuse/overworking the muscles and higher blood pressure. Some tips that this website has to manage stress were exercise, taking breaks between practicing, and having a strong support group of friends. I know practicing challenging music can be very stressful, so I believe that is a good tip to reiterate to any musician. Another tip that the website states is practicing self-appreciation, which I believe is an adaptive strategy to managing performance anxiety and stress. This is one tip that I would like to continue to work on because from personal experience performing is a big stress inducer.

The last article I found was for parents helping their child manage stress. It is important that children learn how to manage stress early on so it does not affect them as much as the children get older and obtain more responsibilities. Some tips that this article shared were to not overschedule the child and make sure that they have time to play. Doing something that the child is interested in just for fun is a good way for the child to have time to de-stress and not worry about a competition or a goal. Another important tip is that the parent should manage their own stress along with helping the child manage theirs. This is important because children will notice when the parent is stressed and it will make them stressed as a result.

All of these articles discussed the main ways that a person can manage their stress levels. Each article used the general ways and made them more specific to each population. Reading these articles have helped me have a better understanding of specific ways to manage stress, especially being a college student and a musician.

Sources

https://www.everydayhealth.com/college-health/college-life-10-ways-to-reduce-stress.aspx

https://internationalmusician.org/dont-sweat-it-your-guide-to-managing-stress/

https://psychcentral.com/lib/7-tips-for-helping-your-child-manage-stress/