The Johnsonian

Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: Lifestyles

Media Credit: Nikki Wilson According to drug-rehabs.org, each year American students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol, more then they spend on soft drinks, tea, milk, juice, coffee and books combined.

Although physical fitness and cutting down on carbohydrates seem to be the latest trends, college students are faced with bigger problems than the freshman 15. Competition for grades, relationships, career choices, a new living environment and lack of free time are just a few of the problems that can lead to an unhealthy mental and emotional state. However, students can beat out stress just by knowing how to deal with it and what to do.

"Anything can cause stress. A lot of emotional distress is stress related on campus. Any source of stress you can imagine can lead to emotional distress," Gretchen Baldwin, Crawford staff psychologist, said.

According to the Center for Occupational Health and Safety, stress is any emotional, mental, or physical response to change. Even if the change is positive, stress can still result due to something becoming different. Many students experience stress throughout college and often take on more work than they can handle. Stress can be bad for the body as well as the mind.

"Think of stress as an equation. If your demands outweigh your resources, there will be stress. People sometimes try to cut out resources to make more room for demands and that doesn't work too well," Baldwin said. "If you don't make time, you'll burn out. Good self care is so important."

Baldwin said it is important to pay attention to four different types of self care. People must first take good physical care of themselves. Also, good cognitive care, the way someone thinks about things, is important. People must also learn to deal with problems on a healthy level to maintain emotional care. Baldwin says spiritual care is essential as well. This just means tapping into something that is nurturing for you.

"I get so tired sometimes but I can't go to bed because I either have schoolwork or I made plans and I want to keep my commitment to my friends," Tyler Hunting, sophomore biology major, said. "I know this is bad for me but I want to do well in school and have fun. I get stressed out but everyone deals with it in their own way."

Continued...

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