 |
 |
| ASHLEY RAPPLEYA / Scroll Illustration |
|
It’s midterm time, which means the projects are loading up, tests are given left and right and there’s still all that regular homework to do.
With so much to do in such a little amount of time, everyone can feel a little stressed out.
Michael Selleck, a senior from Kuna, Idaho, said he feels stressed when he has more than one test close on the same day or he experiences car problems.
“I seem to get tense in my upper shoulders and get more anxious when I’m stressed,” Selleck said. “I get more preoccupied mentally.”
Not all stress can bring this mental preoccupation. Sometimes stress instead helps a person focus on what they need to accomplish.
Brittany Rehfeldt, a junior from Appleton, Wis., and president of Relief Society A of the BYU-Idaho 9th Ward, knows what it feels like to be stressed. However, Rehfeldt chooses to use her stress to motivate her.
“I’m a stress tackler,” Rehfeldt said. “When a lot of things are going on, I just get geared up and take everything on all at once.”
According to the American Orthopaedic Association, “well-managed stress can lead to positive effects such as peak performance and the energy to address legitimate emergencies.”
Some people manage stress differently according to what is most effective for them. Rehfeldt said sometimes the easiest thing to do for her is to get away from the stress.
“When I feel overloaded I drive in my car and listen to music really loud with the windows rolled down. I just let it all go,” Rehfeldt said.
Selleck lets go of his stress by relaxing his mind through meditation. Every day in his World Religions class the whole class meditates for a few minutes to help them relax.
Finding ways to manage stress can not only be important to staying relaxed and ahead of schoolwork, but it is also important to having good health.
Seven of the top 10 leading causes of death are related to direct or indirect stress, according to the American Orthopaedic Association. Heart disease, stroke, suicide and cancer are just a few of the health problems that can result from stress.
Students may not be diagnosed with stress-caused cancer while they are at school, but they may still see some health symptoms of stress. In times of high stress, students may become sick with the flu or get a cold because of a low immune system.
“If you’re stressed out, all your energy goes into the stress instead of keeping you healthy. So you’re more prone to get a cold or the flu when you’re stressed out,” Selleck said.
Keeping stress low in order to remain physically healthy can also help students keep their relationships with others healthy.
“Stress affects everything. When I let stress get to me, I get short with my roommates and my fiancé. I also have a harder time doing my calling,” Rehfeldt said.
It is harder to be patient when stressed, Selleck said.
“When I’m stressed out, I just don’t have as much time and I’m not as patient with others so that really affects my relationships,” Selleck said.
The American Orthopaedic Association suggests relaxing the body and meditating in order to lower stress and keep good relations with others.
