University Stress

Month: November 2022

Stress and the Signs and Symptoms

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On November 17, 2022

In Module 1: Stress and the Signs and Symptoms, University Stress

Stress is defined as a state in which an organism experiences psychological and biological strain due to various demands (Salleh, 2008). Stress affects everyone regardless of all factors, whether age, income, or ethnicity; therefore, it is something everyone must cope with and understand. In this module, students will gain an understanding of stress and learn to define it.

Watch: Stress (Le stress)

Stress is something everyone feels at some point in their life. We all experience stress at different intensities and handle it differently. Both of these will determine the signs and symptoms of stress someone shows. For young adults, the most common signs of stress include, but are not limited to: feeling worried, increased heart rate, fear, chills, sadness, and headaches (APA, 2019). Physical signs of stress are symptoms other people may notice. Physical signs of stress include sweating, chills, increased heart rate, hunger, crying, bad temper, face blushing, skin rash, vomiting, stomachaches, and muscle stiffness (APA, 2019). Although our bodies show physical signs of stress, they are still caused by our brains. Cognitive signs of stress are symptoms we can notice but are not as obvious to other people. Cognitive signs of stress include: feeling afraid, weird, weak, worried, tired, sad, embarrassed, or mad; headaches; agitation; inability to think clearly; thoughts about death; and desire to hit someone (APA, 2019). 

Stress can affect anyone in any sort of situation. The main types of stress university students encounter will be explored throughout this lesson. 

Activities

  • Complete the True/False activity
  • Complete the Matching activity

Read and Watch Materials

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On November 17, 2022

In Read and Watch

Watch: Stress (4 minutes)

Read: College Stress (7 minutes)

Watch: Why are college students so stressed? (3 minutes)

Read: Overcoming the stress and anxiety of moving out (5 minutes)

Read and Watch: 10 Tips to Make Friends at College (10 minutes)

Read and Watch: Academic Pressure (15 minutes)

Read: 5 Simple Budgeting Methods to Help You Live Your Best Life (5 minutes)

Watch: Many college students find themselves in a serious financial crisis (5 minutes)

Read and Watch: Coping with Stress (12 minutes) 

Learning Outcomes

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On November 17, 2022

In Learning Outcomes

  1. Define and describe the concept of stress.
  2. Recognize and label the signs of stress in yourself and others.
  3. Understand why humans experience homesickness when away from home.
  4. Describe strategies to ease homesickness and not let it affect our everyday life.
  5. Compare reasons for the reluctance to meet new people and how to solve these problems.
  6. Provide examples of techniques to become more confident among people.
  7. Recognize the external and internal factors responsible for the pressure to succeed in your academic journey.
  8. Share experiences and techniques to overcome pressures to succeed.
  9. Compare ways to manage financial stress. 
  10. Employ strategies to control expenditures within budgets.

Overview of University Stress

Sticky Post

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On November 17, 2022

In Overview

There is no doubt that university students experience mass amounts of stress. Over 60% of university students report experiencing above-average to tremendous levels of stress (Naz Böke & Heath, 2020). Based on our own experiences as university students and literature, the four main types of stress university students handle daily are the stress of moving away from home, meeting new people, the pressure to succeed, and financial stress (Learning Centre, 2022).  

Here is what will be discussed throughout this lesson:

  1. To begin the discussion, stress will be defined using easy-to-understand language. Here the signs and symptoms of stress are presented. A review of stress will help ensure a concrete understanding of stress, laying the groundwork for success in the following topics.
  2. The stress of moving away from home will be discussed, and coping strategies will be presented.
  3. Meeting new people can be daunting; therefore, we will discuss techniques for managing the stress of meeting new people.
  4. We will highlight students’ unbearable pressure to do well and succeed in their university studies. In conjunction, strategies will be discussed to manage the weight of the expectations we may impose on ourselves or that others may impose on us.
  5. Lastly, we will explore financial stress and the steps we can take to reduce this stress. 

To aid in your understanding of stress, there is a curated list of content to read and watch before reviewing the content modules.

Upon completion of the Read and Watch materials and the content, there are activities that must be completed for each module:

  1. A true-false quiz and matching activity
  2. The praise challenge
  3. Stepping out of the zone
  4. Think-pair-share
  5. Case study group discussion.

Each activity corresponds to its respective subtopic.

To summarize the lesson, students will complete a blog post responding to a reflection question and interact with another student’s blog post with a substantive comment.

Each task that must be completed can be found in the “To-Do This Week” section. 

Overall, this lesson teaches university students about stress, the signs and symptoms of stress, the most prevalent types of stress university students face, and management techniques. Our goal is to give students the tools to understand and manage stress to prevent long-term issues.

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