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22 November, 2017
As a freshman, Katya is going through a difficult transition from high school to college.
She has to cope with the stress alone as she is living away from her family, and there is a
pressure of losing the scholarship if she does not score high grades on the chemistry exam. Due
to the novelty of the situation, high self-expectations and lack of the family and friends support
Katya has developed test anxiety which manifested in the form of a panic attack.
My personal experience
Katyas case echoes my experience of being overwhelmed with the overload of the
studies on the one hand, and the challenge of doing both full-time study and work, on the other.
Moreover, the first semester of the first year in a college, it seems, was the most challenging as it
demanded the total concentration of my mental, physical and emotional energy to study
large amount of new information. The abrupt change from a routine in which I had a control over
my time, to a situation in which I cannot dedicate time to some leisure activities as my mind is
preoccupied with studies and work, is overwhelming. Although the research has revealed that
time management has more of a buffering effect on stress than does satisfaction with leisure
paramount importance. Although in the course of time I gradually get used to the pressure and do
not experience panic attacks, I still get disturbed sleep patterns due to my late night studies.
Recommendations
To help Katya and prepare her for an efficient performance on the exam in a two-day
period, I would ask her to contact her family member or a friend with whom she can discuss her
fears. In fact, college counselors are assigned to play an essential role in reducing anxiety
symptoms or even preventing the potential signs of stress (McCarthy et al., 2006). The emotional
support to an individual who is at the pick of anxiety is essential for reducing the psychological
strains. It has been supported by research that an individuals social network is an important
factor protecting him/her from the harmful effects of life demands (McCarthy et al., 2006).
Also, the studies have attempted to use personal, health, academic environmental factors together
to predict stress in college students. The results indicated that academic issues are at the forefront
of things that cause students stress (Dusseriel et al., 2010). Therefore, the primary responsibility
for supporting students in attaining academic success in and out of class is suggested to be on the
staff working in student support areas who should help students cope with illness and create an
Conclusion
Stress is an inevitable part of students life. Apart from the health and university
professionals being involved in students' stress management, students should educate themselves
about health issues to recognize the preliminary symptoms of stress and initiate preventive steps.
Nurturing healthy habits such as scheduling the work at the beginning of the semester by
breaking it to down to multiple small and measurable tasks; fueling one's body with healthy
nutritional food, exercising and keeping in touch with friends can help the student cope with
Reference:
Bhujade, V.M. (2017). Depression, anxiety and academic stress among college students:
Dusselier, L., Dunn, B., Wang, Y., Shelley, M.C., & Whalen D.F. (2010). Personal,
McCarthy, C.J., Fouladi, R.T., Juncker B.D., & Matheny K.B. (2006). Psychological
Misra, R., & McKean, M. (2000). College students' academic stress and its relation to