How to cope with stress

By Gianna Velocci

Special to Niagara Frontier Publications

Being stressed is very common In the United States, one of the main reasons for being stressed is usually caused by financial problems. Although there are many other factors that lead to stress such as poor health, work, school, holidays, trauma, etc., financial needs seem to be the number 1 cause to stress. There are also many ways to deal with stress. You can find things that you enjoy doing to keep your mind busy and focused on other things.

According to the American Psychological Association, money is the top cause of stress in the United States. Also it states that at least 72% of Americans stressed over money within the last couple of months according to www.verywellmind.com. There are also many signs that you are financially stressed and that includes: not checking your bills that need to be paid, constantly worrying about money, spending money then feeling guilty.

If you feel stressed, don’t think your alone. At some point in everyone’s life, they stress over something whether its small or a big deal. Everyone goes through it. I spoke to a college student who is a nursing major and is currently feeling extremely stressed over finals creeping up in less than three weeks. “Lately I’ve been stressing over my exams that are coming up and I’m not completely sure if I will pass them”, stated freshman Riley Leahy. “I cope with stress by taking time out of my day and just relax and let my mind clear up, since I have control in this situation. I usually try to study for all my classes for around 30 minutes a day so I can succeed.”

Being stressed can cause many more things then just constantly worrying. It eventually can lead to anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, personality disorders, etc. If what you are stressing over is out of your control, then it is best to try to do things that can keep you calm and avoid thinking about your problems. To avoid stress, you can make sure you’re getting enough sleep at night, exercising, meditating, and finding things that you enjoy doing. Typically, stress doesn’t go away overnight and it will take some time to get better, but it’s important that you find ways to help.

There are multiple ways to avoid stress. That includes taking care of yourself. Avoid drugs and drinking alcohol. Most people do those things while under stress. If you continue to do that it will make your situation more difficult. Also, it is extremely important to take care of yourself, making sure you are relaxed can help reduce the feeling of being stressed. Getting help from a doctor for being stress. Will also help, maybe talking to a counselor or therapist can help you go over the reasons you are stressed and possibly help eliminate those reasons. It doesn’t hurt to talk to the people around you or reach out to new sources to seek help.

Another major reason to feeling stressed seems to be school for young adults. College isn’t easy for anyone, and with college comes financial needs. Jennifer James, who’s currently a freshman majoring in biology, stated “Being a first-year student, not really knowing what to expect, was challenging. I have to pay for everything on my own.” She also said, “I knew I was going to be stressed with school, but I wasn’t quite expecting to be stressed about my money situation. That is now one of the main reasons I am stressed.”

Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension, it can be from feeling angry about something, or simply being nervous. Worrying also has a big role in why people tend to stress or feel stressed out. There are many types of stress including acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is short term and chronic stress lasts for a long period of time and is more severe. According to my.clevelandclinic.org,  many changes happen to your body when you are stressed. Such as aches and pains, headaches, weak immune system and chest pains. It’s best to find ways to avoid stress rather sooner than later so you can avoid a long-term stress period and changes to your body. This can affect your mental health.

Kenzie Marshall, who is a sophomore, gave some of her ideas on how she copes with stress. Marshall stated, “I usually read a book to keep my mind distracted away from the thought of what I’m stressed about, or I believe it or not try to go to the gym and take my anger out there. It really helps a lot.”

Everyone may feel the same symptoms, and changes while dealing with stress, but stress means different things to different people. In the article of www.webmd.com, it states “Our bodies are not equipped to handle long-term, chronic stress without ill consequences.” It’s really important to try to end stress before it becomes chronic because then it will be even harder to stop being stressed because at that point your body is already going through serious changes that will affect you mentally, physically, and emotionally. Trying to stop stressing can be hard but there are many things that can help you avoid stress. You just need to find the things that work for you. Usually when I am stressed, I like to go for car rides and listen to music, or I usually like to rest my mind by lying in bed thinking of absolutely nothing.

Everyone goes through stress at some point in their life whether it’s with school or work. Long-term stress can harm your health. It states on the website www.nimh.nih.gov that coping with the impact of chronic stress can be challenging and effect your health long-term, and that there are many ways to manage to manage your stress. There are many ways to avoid stress and help with stress, so it is important that you pay attention to those ways.

In the article www.verywellmind.com it gives advice on ways to relieve stress. It states, “Practicing progressive muscle relaxation is one of the best ways to relief stress.” It also has many other good ways to cope with stress and it’s important that you do so.

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