Stress Management
CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Introduction “Stress is not what happens to us. It is our response to what happens. And response is something we can choose.” This sagacious saying was quoted by Dr. Maureen Killoran, a certified universalist and an advocate on health and wellness. The quotation imparts to us that stress is not altogether negative as what most people would think at first. It still depends on how an individual sees and copes with the stress placed upon him. If you perceive potentially stressful events as a challenge instead of a threat, less stress will most likely result. Stress does not have to control your life because it can be managed. (http://krystalk.wrytestuff.com/swa560692-Stress-Management-Managing-Stress-Before-Its-Manages-You.htm) However, stress, it seems, knows no age, race, gender, religion, nationality, or socio-economic class. For this reason, it is called “the equal opportunity destroyer,” for when left unresolved, stress can undermine all aspects of your life. (Seaward, 2006) Although it may seem that stress becomes a critical mass in your life once you leave home and get to college, the truth is that manifestations associated with stress started much earlier than college years. It is just that, the peak of the most stressful events in your life happens in college. College students, especially freshmen, are a group particularly prone to stress due to the transitional nature of college life. (Ross, 1999) As one shifts from the known towards the unknown, stressors of all sorts may be experienced by a typical college student. Pressures in college, as evidenced by academic deadlines, professional pursuits, financial matters, peer pressure, and relationships, never fail to make a student’s way to the real battlefield seem insurmountable. Stress is ubiquitous, and many students may require support in developing resilience. Rather than focusing all efforts on removing stressors, programs designed to enhance students’
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Introduction “Stress is not what happens to us. It is our response to what happens. And response is something we can choose.” This sagacious saying was quoted by Dr. Maureen Killoran, a certified universalist and an advocate on health and wellness. The quotation imparts to us that stress is not altogether negative as what most people would think at first. It still depends on how an individual sees and copes with the stress placed upon him. If you perceive potentially stressful events as a challenge instead of a threat, less stress will most likely result. Stress does not have to control your life because it can be managed. (http://krystalk.wrytestuff.com/swa560692-Stress-Management-Managing-Stress-Before-Its-Manages-You.htm) However, stress, it seems, knows no age, race, gender, religion, nationality, or socio-economic class. For this reason, it is called “the equal opportunity destroyer,” for when left unresolved, stress can undermine all aspects of your life. (Seaward, 2006) Although it may seem that stress becomes a critical mass in your life once you leave home and get to college, the truth is that manifestations associated with stress started much earlier than college years. It is just that, the peak of the most stressful events in your life happens in college. College students, especially freshmen, are a group particularly prone to stress due to the transitional nature of college life. (Ross, 1999) As one shifts from the known towards the unknown, stressors of all sorts may be experienced by a typical college student. Pressures in college, as evidenced by academic deadlines, professional pursuits, financial matters, peer pressure, and relationships, never fail to make a student’s way to the real battlefield seem insurmountable. Stress is ubiquitous, and many students may require support in developing resilience. Rather than focusing all efforts on removing stressors, programs designed to enhance students’
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