Claudia Mcintosh

From teachers to students, no one is immune to stress in college.

Most students find college so stressful because course work is more difficult and classes are larger than they’re used to.

“I think students and teachers both get stressed out over difficult material,” says Nicole Ryks, 18, an animal science/pre-vet freshman from Renville, Minn. “If the material is too hard, the students won’t understand it and will have to spend a lot of time studying it. The teachers probably get stressed out if they have to explain material numerous times to each individual.”

Amanda Gerlach, a first-year graduate assistant who teaches Wellness 100, says she can relate to student and teacher stress.

“My stress is high based on the workload of being a teacher and a student. I can relate to how teachers feel and to how students feel about getting assignments done,” she says. “I’m a first-year teacher, and learning to teach a class properly and advise students is probably my biggest challenge.”

Now that we are past midterms and Hobo Days, hopefully things will slow down long enough so that we can catch our breaths.

But soon it will be time to start thinking about finals and end-of-the-semester research papers, which means we will inevitably get stressed out all over again.

Stress seems to come in a vicious cycle, and although we understand that it is part of college, many of us don’t understand the profound effects it can have on our bodies and minds.

Probably the most significant thing that stress can do is ruin interpersonal relationships. When one or both of the people in the relationship feel overwhelmed, it can cause feelings of distrust and anger over relatively minor things. Stress can also affect school and work performance because it can impair the ability to make intelligent decisions and efficiently finish tasks.

Stress has been named as a cause of various types of cancer, and it can lessen resistance to diseases such as the flu or common cold. It can, and often does, cause exhaustion and depression. These are only a few of the effects that stress can have on a person, so one shouldn’t look at high levels of stress as insignificant or “something you can’t deal with.”

What can be done about stress? Recognize that there is going to be some stress in college, and you can’t control that. You can, however, learn to overcome it by not procrastinating or getting involved in too many things. Use your resources effectively to make the most of your study time.

“I prefer studying with friends because we can all contribute knowledge.” says Patrick Shaffer, 18, biology/pre-dentistry freshman from Gregory. “If I am stuck on a problem, my friends can show me how to do it, and I can help them with their work. We all gain from each other’s knowledge.”

Everyone learns differently, and as college life goes on, you will find the most effective way to study, whether it be alone or with a group. Making the most of your study time will help to get better grades and have more time to relax, which in turn, will help conquer stress.