Causes of Students' Stress

Stress is defined as an applied force or system of forces that tends to strain or deform a body. It is usually caused by something that is out of the ordinary from everyday life, things like tests, family problems and loss of job. Today students have a lot of stress because of a lot of different reasons. Some common causes are school-related issues, relationships and peer pressure.

One of the main causes of stress is adapting to a new environment. This is especially true for older students who just started living outside the nurturing and protective security of their families due to reasons such as studying overseas. Parents used to set down boundaries and provide many things for the students. This no longer applies when students move out. Students now need to find an independent identity. The uncertainty and lack of identity is a common cause of stress for some students.

School-related issues also cause stress for students these days. It can be caused by them doing so badly academically that they gave up all hope of ever achieving success in their lives. It could also be caused by the fact that they are not living up to their own standards or the standards their parents, teachers or friends have of them. Bad ways of dealing with stress like turning to alcohol or over-eating also worsens stress.

Another cause of stress is relationships. Older students are exceptionally susceptible to this. Relationship stress can be caused by the relationship turning out different from expected or just plainly by breaking up with someone that the student really did care for. It can also be caused by an individual liking another a lot but the feeling is not mutual. All of these aspects can cause students to feel like they are in way over their heads. This stress affects even healthy "normal" student couples.

There is also the peer pressure. Peer pressure is when "friends" press you to do something you do not want to do. Peer pressure can be good sometimes in terms of healthy competition. However, there is also bad peer pressure. Bad peer pressure can be separated into two categories, direct and indirect. Direct peer pressure is being coerced into doing something that you did not want to do because your friends said that you should. Indirect peer pressure is when you feel like you should do something because everyone else is doing it. Many students are vulnerable to bad peer-pressure because they are afraid of being rejected, losing friends, being teased and they do not know how to explain themselves well.

In my opinion, to overcome stress we need to balance academic demands and the social demands in school. Socializing and being surrounded by positive people is an important aspect of overcoming stress. It helps to have really supportive people that you like a lot in your life. There are several strategies that will help us to cope with stressful situations. First, we have to learn to manage our time wisely. Second, we have to set priorities and make the most of our opportunities as a student. Last, we have to learn to say "NO".

In conclusion, students have a lot of sources of stress. However, we can manage our stress if know the right way to do so. If we stay focused and balance our life, we will be much more relaxed throughout our education. If worst come to worst, we can approach others instead of trying to deal with it all by ourselves. After all, no man is an island.