Studying in the university is an opportunity to get an excellent education and open the way to life, so to speak. But it is also a serious stress, a great emotional shake for those who just yesterday sat at the school desk. Studying in general is considered to be one of the strongest stress factors (about other factors we spoke in detail in the article "Stress resistance. How to remain calm and productive"), so we decided to talk about why it is stressful and how to deal with it.
Reasons for learning stress
To begin with, we note that the stress of learning results from increased intellectual stress and significant changes in students' lifestyles. And in order to cope with stress and increase the body's resistance, we must first understand the reasons why stress occurs in learning. If you let it go on its own, you can create a lot of problems with health, psyche, and, as a consequence, with learning.
In the life of students, stress appears for completely different reasons. We will not talk about everyone, but only the most common ones.
Change of scenery
Admission to the university is directly related to the change in the environment and the circle of communication, and this is one of the main stress factors affecting the psycho-emotional state of the student. This factor consists of smaller factors, such as
- weakening of control and influence on the part of parents and school teachers;
- The need to take care of oneself;
- living in a rented housing or dormitory (when studying in another city);
- Changing the circle of communication;
- Change of interests;
- misunderstanding with peers or roommates;
- financial difficulties.
If the student is not psychologically prepared for such things, a change of scene can suddenly disrupt them, making them more vulnerable to other negative factors.
Mental and physical activity
Admission to higher education institutions also means a sharp increase in loads. This includes much more information to study, and more intensive classes, and independent search for knowledge. This also includes the experience of future exams and sessions. In addition, it is necessary to highlight the violation of the usual schedule.
If the student has difficulty mastering a discipline, the risk of nervous strain increases. And former pupils with "honours" syndrome are often overly concerned about their reputation and are afraid not to meet the expectations of others, including parents who want to see their children as impeccable students.
If emotional tension is prolonged, it can easily turn into prolonged and even chronic stress. This should never be tolerated, as professional medical care may be required to overcome (already cured) the stress.
Other factors
We have mentioned above the general factors of stress in education, but there are also subjective factors - concerning each student separately. They are themselves and their number is determined by the way of life that a person leads.
The subjective factors can be referred to as subjective factors:
- conflicts with teachers;
- conflicts with other students;
- peculiarities of personal life;
- Inadequate nutrition;
- Sleep deprivation;
- Insufficient amount of rest;
- Harmful habits (smoking, alcohol and drug use).
The degree of psycho-emotional tension arising under the influence of stress depends on the student's readiness for independent life, attitude to learning and the level of his responsibility for what happens to him. It is also affected by the type of stress that you have to face at school. This means positive and negative stress:
Positive stress is the stress that arises when a person gets a positive experience when leaving a stressful situation. For example, it successfully solves a problem, resources to solve a problem, support or approval of others.
Negative stress is the stress that arises when a person cannot cope with any work, perform a task, or change the situation. It is this stress that is dangerous and has a negative impact on the mental and physical condition.
Read more about the types of stress in the article "The most important information about stress" and we will continue. As you can see, you need to learn to deal with negative stress, but in order to be effective, you also need to understand how stress works and how it manifests itself.
At this point, the first chapter ends. You will see the continuation of this article very soon!