Finals week has arrived on campus, and it has brought along ample stress for students.
“Stress happens. Sometimes it’s unavoidable; at times, it’s unbearable. That’s why taking time for yourself is a necessity,” reports the website of the Federal Occupational Health Agency.
We all experience stress in one way or another, and many agree there is a strong connection between mind, stress and health.
Sinclair actually offers a psychology course focused on stress. Phil Masline, a psychology instructor here at Sinclair, teaches this course – PSY 2126 – which is called Stress Management.
Masline earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Dayton. He has taught Stress Management at Sinclair for five years.
Masline reported that the class covers “relaxation, stress and disease, and the psychology behind stress, too.”
Stress Management is open to any student who has completed the prerequisite of General Psychology.
“A lot of the class is spent on ways to cope with stress, like humor, journaling, those kind of things, and also different relaxation techniques – so, meditation, breathing, tai chi, yoga,” explained Masline.
The Federal Occupational Health Agency states—“If you suffer from chronic stress and can’t influence or change the situation, you’ll need to change your approach.”
They suggest refreshing your approach in a few ways, such as recognizing when you don’t have control and letting it go. They also recommend reducing anxiety about situations you cannot change and focusing on what makes you feel calm and in control.
Masline stated that everyone’s stressors are different because potentially stressful situations are perceived as either threatening or non-threatening to the individual. He provided the example of taking a math test.
One student may be calm while another may feel stress, depending upon the situation. Stress is all about perception.
“I describe stress as resistance,” explained Masline. “I view stress as any form of resistance. So whether we are resisting something physically or resisting something in our head, that produces stress. It produces a negative emotional state in us, which then can lead to physical illnesses.”
Such physical consequences include stomach disorders, depression and increased risks of stroke and heart disease. Masline explained that stress does not directly cause illnesses, but rather creates imbalances in the body. The neurotransmitters in our brain prepare us to fight the stressor facing us, leaving us vulnerable for illnesses because we over-run our bodies with stress.
Masline also explained that when we are under stress, the hippocampus can shrink which does not allow us to form connections we need to remember things.
“When we’re under too much stress and not taking the time to relax, you’re also affecting your performance in school,” he said.
Sinclair students find themselves at the center of all the stress this week.
“I think they stress themselves out about trying to take on too many different things, in terms of their balance of work and balance of other things in life, and also trying to get school work done and meet deadlines,” Masline said. “They do have a lot of demands placed upon them, and so I think that time management is a big stressor for a lot of students.”
For coping with finals stress, Masline said the key is breathing. When you feel stressed, stop, breathe and relax, because relaxation is what the body and mind need. Masline recommended taking responsibility for our own stress by using “I-statements.” For example, we should say “I am causing this stress,” as opposed to saying “this stress is happening to me.”
In fact, Masline believes that although stress is often perceived as something going wrong in our lives, it is truly an internal process.
“My favorite misconception about stress is that stress is something that happens to us. It’s just almost like we’re walking down the street and stress hits us, or that ‘Suddenly I have so many demands and now I’m stressed out,’” Masline said. “We think of it as, ‘We are the victim, and the stressful situation came upon me,’ when in actuality, we are creating the stress ourselves in terms of how we think.”
Masline’s ultimate advice for students trudging through finals week is to think positively.
“When we have positive thoughts, it does a lot to relieve our stress,” Masline said. “So even though you might change your perception or way of thinking to something that’s more positive in terms of your ability. . . I mean you’ve made it this far, so obviously you have some things going for you. So if you think more positively, you’re going to reduce that perception that you have, that you can’t do it.”
Maggie Stacey
Staff Writer