College Students and Stress

1315 Words3 Pages

College Students and Stress

Today a college education can overload students with too many stressful situations. Not only does Stress overload today's college students, but it is also the leading cause of personality disorders. In her essay, Cathy Bell explains that major depressive disorder strikes 5-12% of men and 10-20% of women; half of these people will have more than one occurrence and 15% of them will commit suicide ("Depression for the young"). For instance, many depressives are first recognized and treated during their years in college. For a large amount of people, depression exposes itself because of traumatizing experiences, such as leaving home and/or academic stress. For other students alcohol and drugs become a first time experience.

Now pile on top of all that academic stress, bad eating and sleeping habits with no exercise. Bell makes it known that the average first time sufferer is about 25 years of age, yet depressive disorders seem to be continually rising among teenagers. Suicide is now the third leading cause of deaths between the ages of 15-24 years old ("Depression in the Young"). The Counseling Center for Human Development explains their definition of stress, stress can be defined as the way in which your mind and body react to any situation that is new, threatening or exciting. Often, backaches, loss of appetite, constant fatigue, depression, and serious physical problems can result from prolonged stress.

However stress can also give you an extra burst of energy-more adrenaline enters the bloodstream, heart and breathing rates increase, blood flow quickens, and muscle strength improves. Learning to harness this energy can help you meet the physical challenges, solve problems...

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...tp://www.emufam.org/~cmbell/depress/depstud.html

Counseling Center for Human Development. Coping with Stress in College. U of South Florida. 3 Dec. 2000. http://usfweb.usf.edu/counsel/self-hlp/stress.htm

"Depression: Facts, Definitions, and Statistics." Statistics. Colorado HealthSite. 3 Dec. 2000. http://www.coloradoheakthnet.org/depression/depression_facts.htm

Franklin, Donald J., Ph.D. Psychology Information Online. 3 Dec. 2000. http://psychologyinfo.com/deression/causes.html

Health Tips for College Students. 14 Jul. 1999. MayoClinic. 3 Dec. 2000. http://www/mayohealth.org/mayo/9609/htm/college.htm

Knight, Chris. Personal Interview. 27 Nov. 2000.

Posen, David B., MD. "Stress Management for Patient and Physician." The Canadian Journal of Continuing Medical Education. Apr. 1995. 3 Dec. 2000. http://www/mentalhealth.com/mag1/p51-str.html

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