NancyMascorro

ProfessorSilva
HealthEducation
7December2014
BeingaFreshmanistough,everythingisnewtoyouandthereisalotofpressurewhen
tryingtosucceed.MygoodfriendKatyahasa3.0gradepointaverage,andeventhoughshe
studiesregularly,beforeanytestshesuffersanxiety.Shewonascholarship,butinordertokeep
it,shemustdowellonherChemistryexam.Unfortunately,theanxietyhasgottentohertothe
pointwhereshehadapanicattackthisafternoonwhiletryingtostudyforit.Katyaneedshelp
andIwilldoanythinginmypowertohelphersucceedandkeepherscholarshipsheworkedso
hardfor.
I,personallydonotsufferfromanxietyattacksbutIdoknowwhatitisliketobeundera
lotofstress.SomethingIfeeleverytimeasemesteriscomingtoanend,becauseitismakeitor
breakittime.Honestly,thissemesterhasfeltlikethelongestandtoughestformebecauseIam
takingtwoothercoursesbesidesthisonethatdonotinterestmeinanysortofwayanditisso
hardtotakeacourseinsomethingthatdoesnotinterestyou.Inthepast,Ihavepassedmy
favoriteclasseswithanAandthatisbecauseitwasabreezeformeandenjoyabletolearn.Now
IamattheendofthesemestercrammingasemestersworthofmaterialinacoupleofdaysandI
amprettystressedanditdoesnothelpthatIhavebeensickthesepasttwodaysandhavedone
nothingbutbeinbedalldaysnuggledincovers.Iamnotthetypetobingeeatwhenstressed,
Ithinkpeoplebelievewhattheyhearanduseitasanexcusetogowildonthesnacks.Besides
school,Ihavefeltstressatmyworkplace,Iamaserveratarestaurantandwegetprettybusy

everynight.SometimesIgettothepointwhereIwanttopullmyhairoutbecauseIhavetables
thatneedtobeattended,drinksthatneedtobedelivered,orderstobetakenandinput,etc.For
meImakeitmoreofafunchallengethatIcannotwaittobeoverwithandIlovewhen
everythingisallsetanddoneandIgettorelaxandtakeadeepbreath,thatisthebestpart.
IcameacrossanarticlecalledStressandHealth:Psychological,Behavioral,and
Biologicaldeterminantsanditgoesintodepthabouttheconsequencesofstressandhowitmay
increasesmokinghabits,drugabuse,insomniaandcauseeatingdisorders.Itstatedthat
populationsthatliveinmorestressfulenvironmentssmokemoreheavilyandexperiencehigher
mortalityfromlungcancerandchronicobstructivepulmonarydisorder(Colbyetal.1994).Life
eventsstressandchronicallystressfulconditionshavealsobeenlinkedtohigherconsumptionof
alcohol(Linskyetal.1985).Inaddition,stressmayleadtodepression,anddepressionisa
gatewaytoanunhappydangerouslife.InanotherarticleIcameacrossaboutnewscholars
copingwithstressittalksaboutthebeginningofthesemesterjittersthatrequirescopingwith
stressandstatedthattheabilitytocopewiththevariousproblemsthatariseintheiracademic
maybeinfluencedbytheirselfefficacyintheirabilitytofulfilltheiracademicgoals.Italso
mentionsthatstressexperiencedbystudentsmustbeovercomeinordernottointerfereintheir
performancetomeetthepressureofbeingastudent.TheonlywayKatyawillgetpassedher
anxietyistohandleitfirst,eventhoughthatisthehardestpart,dealingwithitisntimpossible.
IfIwereKatyaIwoulddefinitelyseekprofessionalhelp,becausemyfutureisnotoneto
bemessedwith,andifthereisascholarshiponthelineIwoulddowhateverittakes.Iwould
expecttogotothedoctorandbehandedanxietypillsormaybeevenforthemtodirectmetoa
therapistwhomIcantalkandventtoandmaybethatwillhelp,butIwoulddosomethingabout

theproblem.Pickingoutascheduleyouwillbecomfortablehavingfor16weeksisimportant.
First,onemustmakesuretheyaretakingenoughunitsbutnottoomuchthattheycanthandle
andendupdoingbadinclassesthatwillequaltoalowgradepointaverage.Secondly,onemust
pickdaysandtimesofclassesthatgowellwitheachotherandarebacktobacksothereareno
longgapsinbetweenclassesandalotlesscommutingfromcampustohomeandviseversa.
Lastly,oneshouldmaketimeforthemselves.Youwillgocrazyifyoudontmaketimefor
yourself,thatisthekeytoneverbeingstressed.


WorksCited
Ironson,G.,Siegel,S.,&Schneiderman,N.(n.d.).StressandHealth:Psychological,Behavioral,
andBiologicalDeterminants.RetrievedDecember7,2014,from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2568977/

Rachmanm,D,Fauzia,R.,Yuniarrahman,E.,Safitri,J.,Meiliyana,D.,&Sholilah,Q.(2014)
CopingStressNewScholarsViewedfromSelfEfficacytoMeettheAcademicDemands.
InternationalJournalOfAcademicResearch.RetrievedDecember7,2014,from,
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezp.pasadena.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=3926f3633b954d
5089eb6a88264526b3%40sessionmgr4002&vid=5&hid=4214