Comments on: Healthy or not, students stress for success http://dailytrojan.com/2009/11/19/healthy-or-not-students-stress-for-success/ University of Southern California Thu, 24 May 2012 19:41:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: healthy http://dailytrojan.com/2009/11/19/healthy-or-not-students-stress-for-success/comment-page-1/#comment-2276 healthy Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:02:41 +0000 http://dailytrojan.com/?p=5388#comment-2276 <p>Thank you "Once Stressed." I'm the same age as you, and not to delve into my long story about why I'm in my current situation, I'm in the undergraduate program. It's stressful as hell. I'm burned out, spent too much time at the community college (4 yrs.) prior to transferring here...and it seems to me, at times, a pyrrhic victory. My GPA slipped, I'm barely getting by...I just don't care anymore. I just want to get my B.S. and get on.</p> Thank you “Once Stressed.” I’m the same age as you, and not to delve into my long story about why I’m in my current situation, I’m in the undergraduate program. It’s stressful as hell. I’m burned out, spent too much time at the community college (4 yrs.) prior to transferring here…and it seems to me, at times, a pyrrhic victory. My GPA slipped, I’m barely getting by…I just don’t care anymore. I just want to get my B.S. and get on.

]]> By: Once Stressed http://dailytrojan.com/2009/11/19/healthy-or-not-students-stress-for-success/comment-page-1/#comment-2055 Once Stressed Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:03:45 +0000 http://dailytrojan.com/?p=5388#comment-2055 <p>This is an excellent article and very timely during exam period. As a full time employee at a law school in Downtown, plus a full time USC doctoral student in the evening, I can relate to the sentiments noted in the article. My body reacted to stress I didn't know was there, by landing me in the cardiac care unit of a hospital during an evening class at USC this past Summer. My mind didn't tell me I was stressed, as I was laughing, having a great time, and enjoying my favorite class in my program thus far. However, my physiology told a different story. I'm 33 years old, and had to have that "Come to Jesus" type moment while strapped to a gurney, hooked up to heart monitors, EKG readouts, and taking nitro glicerin. It became a tipping point in my life where I had to look long and hard at what I was doing right, and what I was doing wrong. In a nutshell, I began a stress reduction regiment of massages, making sure I take 1 day out of the week for "me time," keeping a schedule so I can calendar in papers, research, and projects, thus reducing the all-nighters and last minute catch-up. All of this has had a marked improvement in my health. I've lost weight, and my blood pressure is textbook perfect.</p> <p>I empathize with students and all the pressures to succeed. You're a full-time student, friend, family member, etc...but if you're not taking care of yourself, you're no good to anyone else. My committment to taking care of myself has not only made me a better student, but a better friend, family member, and employee at my job.</p> <p>I wish all of my fellow Trojans the best of luck on finals and papers, and emplore you to relax, take it easy, and make time for you to be "you."</p> This is an excellent article and very timely during exam period. As a full time employee at a law school in Downtown, plus a full time USC doctoral student in the evening, I can relate to the sentiments noted in the article. My body reacted to stress I didn’t know was there, by landing me in the cardiac care unit of a hospital during an evening class at USC this past Summer. My mind didn’t tell me I was stressed, as I was laughing, having a great time, and enjoying my favorite class in my program thus far. However, my physiology told a different story. I’m 33 years old, and had to have that “Come to Jesus” type moment while strapped to a gurney, hooked up to heart monitors, EKG readouts, and taking nitro glicerin. It became a tipping point in my life where I had to look long and hard at what I was doing right, and what I was doing wrong. In a nutshell, I began a stress reduction regiment of massages, making sure I take 1 day out of the week for “me time,” keeping a schedule so I can calendar in papers, research, and projects, thus reducing the all-nighters and last minute catch-up. All of this has had a marked improvement in my health. I’ve lost weight, and my blood pressure is textbook perfect.

I empathize with students and all the pressures to succeed. You’re a full-time student, friend, family member, etc…but if you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re no good to anyone else. My committment to taking care of myself has not only made me a better student, but a better friend, family member, and employee at my job.

I wish all of my fellow Trojans the best of luck on finals and papers, and emplore you to relax, take it easy, and make time for you to be “you.”

]]> By: Doris Jeanette, Psy.D. http://dailytrojan.com/2009/11/19/healthy-or-not-students-stress-for-success/comment-page-1/#comment-2041 Doris Jeanette, Psy.D. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:39:33 +0000 http://dailytrojan.com/?p=5388#comment-2041 <p>It is encouraging to read a more accurate way of looking at stress. Many people confuse stress with anxiety, fear and hysteria so it is helpful for people to learn that stress is a reality of life that one cannot avoid.</p> <p>It is also helpful to know that coping with stress is a skill that one that needs to be learned before stress occurs or at least as soon as it occurs! It would really be helpful if colleges, parents and schools would provide more help for children and students in this regard. Anxiety is the result of stress. Students need help in learning how to cope with it in healthy ways, not by being drugged by physicians.</p> It is encouraging to read a more accurate way of looking at stress. Many people confuse stress with anxiety, fear and hysteria so it is helpful for people to learn that stress is a reality of life that one cannot avoid.

It is also helpful to know that coping with stress is a skill that one that needs to be learned before stress occurs or at least as soon as it occurs! It would really be helpful if colleges, parents and schools would provide more help for children and students in this regard. Anxiety is the result of stress. Students need help in learning how to cope with it in healthy ways, not by being drugged by physicians.

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