Findings
First, it is important to understand the meaning of stress, and how it impacts the body. Selye (974 p. 27) says: Stress is a nonspecific response of the body to any demands made to it. In other words, the body tries to maintain a sense of normalcy and balance by adjusting to situations and events that try to change this balance. When a person becomes cold, their bodies start shivering to generate heat (Tortora & Derrickson, 207, p. 0). In this context, stress is considered to be the cold environment the person finds them self in. It is also important to remember that not all stress is bad though. For instance, when you are running from a bear, you need to be able to adapt quickly to the life-threatening situation, and reroute all energy in the body to organs that will help you survive. In this example, a persons parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system will activate, which will deliver huge amounts of glucose and oxygen to the brain, skeletal muscles, and heart. At the same time, non-useful organ functions associated with the urinary, digestive, and reproductive systems are inhibited (Tortora & Derrickson, 207, p. 656). On the contrary, chronic stress serves no purpose, is detrimental to health, and can lead to a variety of complications such as changes in brain structure, weakened immune system, decreased cardiovascular health, and decreased mental health (Mariotti, 205). In this study, the severity of stress and its effects are clearly expressed which underline the concern that almost hal
f of students are experiencing higher than average stress as previously mentioned in the study done by ACHA (208).
Understanding what causes stress (stressor) is also very crucial so that we are able to focus on specific coping skills for a specific stressor, reduce our encounters with them, or even eliminate the stressor all together. Canadian adults report that families, relationships, work, and major life changes mark the biggest sources of stress (CMHA, 204), but stress experienced by post-secondary students highlights other areas of ones life. Stressors experienced by post-secondary students can be related to stage of life, personal factors, or academics (Versavel, 204). Adapting to independent living, transitioning into adulthood, building new social support networks, changing relationships with parents, and obtaining personal security are all stresses related to stage of life (Al-qaisy, 200). Financial concerns, school/personal life balance, and lack of free time are all commonly identified personal sources of stress for post-secondary students (Chernomas & Shapiro, 203). Additionally, working part-time can make everything else seem even harder. If a student has poor time management skills and is working through a heavy course load, this will further exacerbate stress. With this in mind, the primary source of stress amongst college and university students relates to academics. Worrying about exams, workload, and marks in general have been cited as top sources of stress for some students (Altiok & Ustun, 203).