Stress is a choice
Brendan Block
Issue date: 12/9/09 Section: Forum
A six-letter s-word gets used more prominently during the waning weeks of every semester.
Caffeine crazes, all nighters and binge drinking are possible reactions to one thing: stress. Stress is simply your body's response to a demand.
Facebook statuses like "maybe one day I will be able to participate in sleep again" light up my computer screen with the desperate measures students take to complete their semester's work. Our failure to deal with stress properly forms firestorms of problems in our lives.
The American Psychological Association found one in four workers have taken a mental health day off from work this year to cope with stress. And stress costs more than $300 billion yearly in healthcare, missed work, and stress reduction, according to the American Institute of Stress.
When I was worried about a 30-page project's imminent deadline, head tennis coach John Bryant gave me an often forgotten principle. He said the way we approach stressful situations is a choice.
"If you could believe what you are doing right now will be worth millions of dollars to you later," said Bryant, "you would develop a positive attitude towards doing that task as opposed to considering it some form of torture."
The papers, tasks and projects really are not torture. However, it is our choice of attitude whether we make them torture or a walk in Dunnegan park.
"At this time of year we become overwhelmed, we forget what we can do and focus on all the bad things that can happen rather than try to do something positive," said Bryant.
One way of making sure stress doesn't bite you next semester is to get an early start on things instead of trying to swallow each assignment or project whole. Make yourself a schedule and stick to it. You could go on a Facebook or texting fast to make sure you stick to your schedule. Then prioritize your time and break the huge projects into manageable tasks. There's a difference between the pressure of having to learn Calculus versus learning the material on pages 45 and 46.
Even if you have made the choice to procrastinate this entire semester, hope is still here.
Having a positive attitude about your circumstances is the first key. Oftentimes our attitudes magnify the negative areas while ignoring the positives. This semester will be over in a little more than a week. Just remember, "The way you approach stress is a choice," said Bryant. "Stress is out there, you can embrace it, you can fight it, that's your choice, but its not going away so you might as well enjoy it. "
Caffeine crazes, all nighters and binge drinking are possible reactions to one thing: stress. Stress is simply your body's response to a demand.
Facebook statuses like "maybe one day I will be able to participate in sleep again" light up my computer screen with the desperate measures students take to complete their semester's work. Our failure to deal with stress properly forms firestorms of problems in our lives.
The American Psychological Association found one in four workers have taken a mental health day off from work this year to cope with stress. And stress costs more than $300 billion yearly in healthcare, missed work, and stress reduction, according to the American Institute of Stress.
When I was worried about a 30-page project's imminent deadline, head tennis coach John Bryant gave me an often forgotten principle. He said the way we approach stressful situations is a choice.
"If you could believe what you are doing right now will be worth millions of dollars to you later," said Bryant, "you would develop a positive attitude towards doing that task as opposed to considering it some form of torture."
The papers, tasks and projects really are not torture. However, it is our choice of attitude whether we make them torture or a walk in Dunnegan park.
"At this time of year we become overwhelmed, we forget what we can do and focus on all the bad things that can happen rather than try to do something positive," said Bryant.
One way of making sure stress doesn't bite you next semester is to get an early start on things instead of trying to swallow each assignment or project whole. Make yourself a schedule and stick to it. You could go on a Facebook or texting fast to make sure you stick to your schedule. Then prioritize your time and break the huge projects into manageable tasks. There's a difference between the pressure of having to learn Calculus versus learning the material on pages 45 and 46.
Even if you have made the choice to procrastinate this entire semester, hope is still here.
Having a positive attitude about your circumstances is the first key. Oftentimes our attitudes magnify the negative areas while ignoring the positives. This semester will be over in a little more than a week. Just remember, "The way you approach stress is a choice," said Bryant. "Stress is out there, you can embrace it, you can fight it, that's your choice, but its not going away so you might as well enjoy it. "
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