When Should College Students Consider Getting Help with their Problems?

When Should College Students Consider Getting Help with their Problems? -------Nkechi Anyanwu

  Researchers say that college students experience more stress and are more depressed today than in the past. Academic circumstances are said to create the most stress for students such as tests and finals, grades and competition, professors and class environment, too many demands, papers, career and future success. Personal circumstances said to cause the most stress for students are relationships, finances, parental conflicts and expectations, and roommate conflicts. These daily events and life hassles clearly wear out ones coping skills at a certain point and can also affect the student’s health. The effects involve the classic fight and flight response with all the psychological attendant behavior such as, raised blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, impaired immune function, GI track problems, and so on.   

    One should consider getting help when psychological stress lingers and interferes with the person’s sense of wellbeing and ability to function, feelings that one is unable to cope effectively, hopelessness or depressed feelings, and when one starts to experience physical symptoms that have no underlying cause.  

      Talking to someone when things are bothering them is one of the most effective ways of handling stress. When talking to someone about the problems, some people may prefer to join support groups or individual counseling; some may do better with career planning and relationship workshops. The student should find out what services works better for him/her and address the problem immediately. Furthermore, when fostering a healthy adult life, some things that can help buffer stress are; exercise, engaging in healthy eating and maintain a reasonable body weight, control alcohol intake and avoid smoking, and engage in responsible sexual behaviors.