2008 Woodie Awards
Don't sweat the small stuff
Lauren Collins
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Opinion
With midterms just around the corner, students are spending longer hours studying, fewer hours sleeping and much more time stressing about how to balance friends, family and schoolwork.
I know I'm one of many procrastinators at ECU, and once test time rolls around, I'm completely frazzled and loaded with Amp or Red Bull for nights on end.
Procrastination seems to be a great idea for some students, but the stress that can build up due to putting off assignments and study time will begin to take its toll soon enough.
Some days seem as though not a single thing can go right and even the simplest of tasks feel overwhelming, zapping all of your energy. Though daily stresses can be caused by a number of things, from test anxiety to the angst of driving down Greenville Boulevard in 5 p.m. traffic, our response to stress can be beneficial but most of the time, it is harmful. Because stress is an inevitable part of life, we have to prepare ourselves to cope with stress before it has more hazardous effects on our health.
It is not ironic, or pleasant, that students tend to have hacking coughs, runny noses and fevers around test time. Approximately 60 to 90 percent of illness is stress-related. Stress prevents the body from fighting off disease and infection. It affects the digestive system as well. Our mentality is also thrown into overdrive by stress, but the effects of anxiety, depression and substance abuse are often not as obvious as the physical problems we tend to suffer. Such stress results generally take longer to acknowledge and cope with, as opposed to stress-related aches and pains.
External stressors are not the only things responsible for deteriorated health. Worrying about grades or upcoming tests, having a pessimistic attitude or having unrealistic expectations can also lead to chronic symptoms of stress. Pain, migraines and heartburn are medical conditions associated with stress, as well as skin problems and irritable bowel syndrome. Stress also leads students to do a number of things in excess or less of, such as sleeping or eating. I often suffer from the I-don't-want-to-get-out-of-bed-and-face-the world-syndrome.
I know I'm one of many procrastinators at ECU, and once test time rolls around, I'm completely frazzled and loaded with Amp or Red Bull for nights on end.
Procrastination seems to be a great idea for some students, but the stress that can build up due to putting off assignments and study time will begin to take its toll soon enough.
Some days seem as though not a single thing can go right and even the simplest of tasks feel overwhelming, zapping all of your energy. Though daily stresses can be caused by a number of things, from test anxiety to the angst of driving down Greenville Boulevard in 5 p.m. traffic, our response to stress can be beneficial but most of the time, it is harmful. Because stress is an inevitable part of life, we have to prepare ourselves to cope with stress before it has more hazardous effects on our health.
It is not ironic, or pleasant, that students tend to have hacking coughs, runny noses and fevers around test time. Approximately 60 to 90 percent of illness is stress-related. Stress prevents the body from fighting off disease and infection. It affects the digestive system as well. Our mentality is also thrown into overdrive by stress, but the effects of anxiety, depression and substance abuse are often not as obvious as the physical problems we tend to suffer. Such stress results generally take longer to acknowledge and cope with, as opposed to stress-related aches and pains.
External stressors are not the only things responsible for deteriorated health. Worrying about grades or upcoming tests, having a pessimistic attitude or having unrealistic expectations can also lead to chronic symptoms of stress. Pain, migraines and heartburn are medical conditions associated with stress, as well as skin problems and irritable bowel syndrome. Stress also leads students to do a number of things in excess or less of, such as sleeping or eating. I often suffer from the I-don't-want-to-get-out-of-bed-and-face-the world-syndrome.
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