Stress Management Among Students In Universities

Title:
Stress Management Among Students In Universities

Word Count:
798

Summary:
At what age do students have the greatest stress? Young parents might say preschoolers have the greatest stress. They are leaving their parents for the first time, and have many reasons to be afraid. Older parents say middle school students have the most stress, having just entered adolescence. Still others will cite secondary school as the time of greatest stress. Most agree, however, that the stresses of university life are very great.

Stress management among students in...


Keywords:
stress management,stress management among students,stress management keys,turning distress into eust


Article Body:
At what age do students have the greatest stress? Young parents might say preschoolers have the greatest stress. They are leaving their parents for the first time, and have many reasons to be afraid. Older parents say middle school students have the most stress, having just entered adolescence. Still others will cite secondary school as the time of greatest stress. Most agree, however, that the stresses of university life are very great.

Stress management among students in universities is a hit-or-miss matter. Some universities schedule optional stress management classes, but students often lack the time to attend. If they have the time, they lack interest.

Stress Management Keys

Specific keys will open the door to better stress management among students in universities. Some of those keys are being used, but others are lost or neglected. Without them, stress management is limited for the students. We will not attempt to list here every key, or to put them in any given order. Rather, we would like to suggest stress management keys that may be lost in the rubble of today's society.

1. Clear definitions: Effective stress management among students requires clear definitions of words such as "stressor," "stress," "eustress," and "distress."

Students who do not understand clearly what stress is cannot be expected to succeed at stress management. They may be trying to manage stressors, thinking they are managing stress. The outcome may very well be increased stress rather than stress management.

Stress management among students in universities can begin only after they understand that the extra demands made upon them are stressors, not stress. They then must understand that their response to those demands constitutes stress. Finally, if they are to get a grasp on practical stress management, they will need to know that there are two kinds of stress. One, eustress, is beneficial. The other, distress, is detrimental.

Students who understand these concepts, and embrace them, have unlocked the first door leading to stress management.

2. Action Plan: With a firm understanding of the definitions, students are ready to formulate a stress management action plan. They are ready for the proverbial locking of the barn door to prevent the horse's escape.

Armed with the knowledge that stress is the response to stressors, students can learn to control that response. They can determine to take specific, proactive steps to prepare for stressors. They can, in a sense, ambush the stressors as a step of stress management.

3. Stressor Identification: An important part of the stress management ambush is to learn to identify the enemy. A focused tertiary student will see stressors and know them for what they are. Every university student has stressors. All of us have unusual demands made on us. The key to stress management is to identify those demands as stressors.

In universities and colleges, stressors take the form of unaccustomed activities. Sharing a room with a stranger makes demands on a student. A new form of study is demanding. Financial resources and potentially new dating standards can be stressors.

Whether students are in Italy or Iowa, they are free of the constraints of home, and that freedom is a stressor. Freedom makes unusual demands on one who has not had it in fullness.

All of these and about 2000 more are stressors that a student must identify in order to engage in stress management.

4. Turning Distress into Eustress: Another key that helps unlock the doors to stress management is that of turning distress into eustress. Students often act as victims of their stressors. They believe they can do nothing but suffer. Stress management requires that they learn to turn a potentially negative response to stressors into a positive response.

Eustress, the beneficial stress, is what carries an excited, happy couple through the whirlwind of preparation for a large wedding. From the moment of the proposal, the couple may be surrounded by stressors. Extra demands, unusual demands are being made on them. Yet they are not depressed. The demands do not weigh heavily on them. They embrace them, and respond with smiles. They accept the challenge of getting everything done well and on time because they choose to accept it that way.

The same type of response can be enlisted on other occasions that call for stress management. Much of what students view as negative stress can be turned around, energizing them to excel.

Is this a false, rosy-tinted view of stress management? Not at all. Does this negate principles such as deep breathing, exercise, healthy diet, and regular sleep? No. As we said, this is not an attempt to provide every key to stress management. It is an effort to look at keys that are being neglected.

Stress management among students in universities can be stripped of many programs, drugs, and therapies if these keys are used well.

BONUS : Title:
Stress Management for Event and Meeting Planners

Word Count:
774

Summary:
Event and Meeting Planners experience stress on a daily basis. This article provides practical, easy tips that can immediately be put to use by the reader. It presents the opportunity for the reader to shift perspective and experience relief just from the words on the page. These stress relievers not only create a balanced and more enjoyable life, they also result in more successful business outcomes.


Keywords:
Event and Meeting Planners, stress management, stress management articles


Article Body:
Copyright 2006 Erika Trimble

Are you living your life controlled by the tyranny of the urgent?

The work of event and meeting planners may be considered either stressful or energizing, depending on how well you handle the fast paced and demanding environment of these industries.

In my research, I found that some of the biggest stress factors in any event and meeting planner’s job include:

* Juggling workload

* Saying “no” when too many programs are going on at a time

* Clients leaving things to the last minute

* Suppliers responding in a timely fashion

* Balancing one client over another

* Finding staff resources at the last minute

* Managing clients expectations

* Needing more time!

In my work as a business coach and entrepreneur, I discovered the nine most common stress relievers, which can be effectively used to create a balanced and more enjoyable life for event and meeting planners.

1. Relieve stress with exercise. I now imagine you saying you just don’t have the time to fit it in. Bear with me here.

Let’s look at a specific example you can relate to. The first thing most planners do when presented with a new proposal is break it down into different components and create timelines for each component. You can do the same for this stress relieving strategy – create time for exercise and build it into your weekly schedule. One way some planners do this is enroll in a class at a defined time, while other planners calendar in their fitness each week along with their other commitments.

You will have more energy, a brighter mind, and more creative problem solving.

2. Take breaks to think and take stock of your situation. When you do this you will be able to assess what is truly critical in the moment and reorient yourself to concentrating your energy where you are most effective. As planners you will always have multiple and minute details to consider in creating the perfect event or meeting. Rather than just getting through what is directly in front of you, take the time to manage your time.

3. Take small periods of silence and solitude during the day, especially when you feel overwhelmed with problems and responsibilities. Feeling overwhelmed is not an uncommon feeling for planners. When you take even five minutes of solitude at such times, you will be amazed how your ideas flow and how the answers to your questions pop up.

4. Develop a long term perspective by taking the future into consideration with every decision you make in the present. Then do more things that have greater long-term value to you and your business. Whether you are a planner working for a company or own your own business, your daily priorities are the same: move the company forward, increase profitability, build strong relationships, attract new customers, and bring value and good service to existing clients.

5. Manage unexpected demands. I recognize that it is not always possible to organize your work to minimize surprises and problems as a planner, in spite of your best efforts. You can control your response to an unexpected demand by determining how you will accommodate it, and when you will accommodate it. Sometimes clients simply want to know they have been heard and their request will be taken care of.

6. Become a student of time management. Take tips from the time management guru’s on how to increase your consciousness about your habits, and develop the skills to better manage yourself. Commitment to time management is a commitment to being more successful.

7. Take charge – everything you are, or ever will be, is entirely up to you. While there will always be days in the life of a planner when it may be necessary to work long hours to meet a time crunch, these times ought to be the exception rather than the rule. If you find yourself always racing to meet deadlines, it is a clear sign that you need to look at how you are managing your activities and your time.

8. Simplify by asking yourself several times in a day how you can simplify a situation or make your day easier. We tend to see things in the most complex way, and you’ll be surprised at the power in thinking of ways to make your life easier.

9. Remember how you want to be perceived personally and professionally. Is this as a frantic, chaotic person, or someone in charge who is a great problem-solver? Your coworkers, industry peers, suppliers, and clients can, and will, hold you accountable for how you spend your time.

As simple as these strategies for stress management are, they are truly remarkable in their results.