Causes and Effects of Stress in Students Essay

Introduction

Life is full of challenges. If undealt with, these situations can manifest into stress. The term stress was developed in 1936 by Hans Selye to mean any undefined response to body changes ("What Is Stress?"). For a student, stress can be related to school work, relation with peers, personal coping mechanisms, and other external influences. At some point, every student will face situations that will lead to stress. However, without proper coping mechanisms, stress affects a student negatively. The degree of stress may vary from person to person due to various factors like upbringing and support systems. Therefore, this paper identifies the causes and effects of stress in students.

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Causes of Stress

There are several factors in a students` life and environment that lead to stress. Firstly, it may be as a result of the various elements of school work. There are times when the students seem to have very many assignments. These may overwhelm them if they have not been serious with class work or they have poor time management skills. Pressures on meeting deadlines will affect a student. Hence, if they do not finish them on time, they get stressed.

Secondly, inadequate preparation for examinations may lead to stress. Students must at all times read and revise their notes for them to grasp the content and concepts of the teachings. However, some students do not read until when exams are around the corner. Hence, the personal aspirations to excel and demands from parents to perform may cause anxiety which develops into stress. Hence, lack of proper preparation for exams in a stressor to school-going youth.

Thirdly, demand to conform to peers is a source of stress to many students. They may be forced to follow others` lead, especially on wrongdoing. If they do not comply, leaders may bully them. Harassment in schools in a factor that leads to stress (Swearer and, Shelley 344-345) Bullies may call for segregation and lobbying other children against the nonconformist. These are extremely difficult situations for children. Hence, the psychological and emotional torture lead to the onset of stress in children.

Fourthly, the effect of media and technology has a role in the development of stress in scholars. Media celebrities have defined the idea ways of life for people and especially teenagers (Ouvrein, Charlotte, and Heidi 61-69). For instance, their dressing, the body image, among others. With today's life being controlled by technology, children have access to the internet that may influence children negatively. Students try to copy what media personalities portray. In some instances, they develop stress when they do not live up to expectations. For instance, teenagers develop negative body image if their looks are not as the ideal media images. Hence, as much as there are many positive contributions to technology, without guidance certain elements may affect the children's mood and image leading to stress.

Effects of Stress

Stress has an impact on the physical health of a person. There are stress-related illnesses that can manifest in a stressed person. These include chronic headaches, fast heart rate, sweating, stomach aches, and ulcers. In addition, stress may also lead to chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes (McEwen 174-185). Students under stress may also experience digestive problems. These conditions may start as mild ailments but later manifest to more dangerous diseases. Hence, stress has an effect on the physical well-being of a student.

Stress affects students mentally. The individual will show symptoms of worry and confusion. Therefore, they are unable to concentrate, to analyze issues logically, plan effectively, and make decisions. The student may look confused and preoccupied most the time. Everyday life of a scholar involves planning and organizing. They must plan on time management, budget their finances, and devise ways of coping with their social demands. Hence, if their mental state is affected, it will further have an impact on their education and social life.

Emotional distress is another effect of stress ("University of St Andrews.") Different people react differently to stress. Some may become very irritable and irrational. Hence, may engage in confrontations and violence. Fear, happiness, despair among others are also some of the emotional manifestations of stress. Depending on the personality, some students may become aggressive and others reserved. Generally, emotional distress may lead to children engaging in activities that help in escaping the pain. For instance, a student may abuse alcohol and drugs or resolve conflicts through violence, and withdrawal from social activities. These problems affect a child's learning and socialization abilities.

Students undergoing through stress impact their peers, families, school authorities and society. Since stress may lead to the onset of antisocial behavior, it is extremely difficult for peers to relate with such an individual. The classmates and roommates may be uncomfortable with dealing with the victim hence may develop stress as well. In the family, a student who is suffering may become disobedient to the parents. He or she may neglect their chores at home hence straining the relationships in the home. In addition, the student may require to undergo therapy. Hence, the treatment strains the family finances.

To the school, the students may make it difficult for the teacher to handle them. They could influence peers in developing antisocial behavior. Hence, the school authorities face challenges in dealing with a group of unruly children. Similarly, since students do not exist in isolation in the society, they may negatively affect those around them. The issue of juvenile delinquent has distorted the peace and order in society. The problem also increases the governments budget on correction institutions since juvenile correctional facilities are expensive to run.

The effects of stress may be short term or long term. Sometimes, the students may give in to stressors during high-pressure times for instance during examinations. He or she may learn from the occurrence and develop coping mechanisms like proper time management, and prior preparation for exams. Moreover, they may seek guidance from teachers on how to develop appropriate strategies to overcome stress in the future.

However, in some instances, they may require to undergo through professional treatment. Chronic stress could lead to depression (BlackburnMunro, and BlackburnMunro (1009-1023). Hence, proper management is necessary to ensure that the students are not in danger of more serious health issues. School issues coupled with demands from family, society, and exposure to media influences may lead the students to have stress issues. They could lead to health complications and behavioral malfunctioning.

Therefore, teachers and parents have a duty of guiding the students into developing good practices. These include planning their time well, coping with peer pressure, adequate preparation of exam, appropriate socialization skills among other. Also, schools should have guidance and counseling services where students can seek help if they are overwhelmed by life challenges. Consequently, the lives of individuals will improve since coping mechanisms are essential in dealing in stressors later in life.

Works Cited

BlackburnMunro, Gordon, and R. E. BlackburnMunro. "Chronic pain, chronic stress and depression: coincidence or consequence?." Journal of neuroendocrinology 13.12 (2001): 1009-1023.

McEwen, Bruce S. "Central effects of stress hormones in health and disease: Understanding the protective and damaging effects of stress and stress mediators." European journal of pharmacology 583.2-3 (2008): 174-185.

Ouvrein, Gaelle, Charlotte JS De Backer, and Heidi Vandebosch. "Online celebrity aggression: A combination of low empathy and high moral disengagement? The relationship between empathy and moral disengagement and adolescents' online celebrity aggression." Computers in Human Behavior 89 (2018): 61-69.

Swearer, Susan M., and Shelley Hymel. "Understanding the psychology of bullying: Moving toward a social-ecological diathesis-stress model." American Psychologist 70.4 (2015): 344.

"What Is Stress?" The American Institute of Stress, 4 Jan. 2017, www.stress.org/what-is-stress/.

"University of St Andrews." Managing Stress | Current Students | University of St Andrews, www.st-andrews.ac.uk/students/advice/leaflets/stress/.