Stress in Young Adult
Stress can do a lot to people; it can change a community, it can affect relationships, lifestyle, and if not treated it can lead to a worse situation like depression and some are being suicidal. In our society, one of the most affected in stress are the young adults. There are a lot of factors why they feel that, because in their stage they want to fit in the community. It is in their time where they experience self organization and role confusion, trying to achieve goals in life and if they fail in doing something, they’re going to feel the stress on how to cope up on that situation.
In the article entitled “Young Adults Are Most Stressed Generation: Survey” by Reinberg S. (2013) stated that, “Young Americans between 18 and 33 years old — the so-called millennials — are more stressed than the rest of the population, according to a new report from the American Psychological Association. What’s stressing them out? Jobs and money mostly, said Norman Anderson, CEO of the American Psychological Association, during a Thursday morning press conference. On a scale of 1 to 10, the millennial generation stands at 5.4 stress-wise, significantly higher than the national average of 4.9, the association found after surveying more than 2,000 Americans. “Clearly there are a number of pressures facing young people that might account for this increase in stress,” Anderson said. “These individuals are growing up in an era of unprecedented economic upheaval. This coincides with the time they are finishing school and trying to establish themselves in society.” These young adults also don’t feel they’re getting support from the health system. Only 25 percent of millennials give the health care system an A grade, compared with 32 percent of the rest of the population, according to the report, Stress in America: Missing the Health Care Connection. In addition, 49 percent said they aren’t managing their stress well, and only 23 percent think their doctor helps them make healthy lifestyle and behavior changes “a lot or a great deal.” Only 17 percent think their doctor helps them manage their stress.”
In the article stated, the researchers agreed with the opinion of the author and the response to its surveys. Everyday, stress levels among young adults are increasing. It is already part of their daily routine. What stressing them more is the people around them and the status quo. Addition to this, healthcare professionals have a very low rating in helping stressed people that can be an outcome of depression or sickness. It may be a downfall of a community or economy.
In the Journal entitled “Effects of Lifetime Stress Exposure On Mental And Physical Health In Young Adulthood: How Stress Degrades And Forgiveness Protects Health” by Toussaint L., Et. Al. (2014) stated that, “To examine risk and resilience factors that affect health, lifetime stress exposure histories, dispositional forgiveness levels, and mental and physical health were assessed in 148 young adults. Greater lifetime stress severity and lower levels of forgiveness each uniquely predicted worse mental and physical health. Analyses also revealed a graded Stress × Forgiveness interaction effect, wherein associations between stress and mental health were weaker for persons exhibiting more forgiveness. These data are the first to elucidate the interactive effects of cumulative stress severity and forgiveness on health, and suggest that developing a more forgiving coping style may help minimize stress-related disorders.”
The journal showed that stress and mental health were weaker for persons exhibiting more forgiveness. It is either you take stress to motivate you to do better or to let it stop you from achieving your own goals. Many people think of forgiveness as letting go or moving on.
In the TIME Magazine entitled “The Most Stressed-Out Generation? Young Adult?” by Sifferlin A. (2013) stated that, ” Many living with high stress are at a tipping point, faced with potential physical and emotional-health challenges if they are not able to get the support they need to manage their stress well. If untreated, consistently high stress could become a chronic condition, which can result in serious health problems including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. Research shows that stress can even contribute to the development of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and obesity, or exacerbate existing illnesses.”
Financial Stress
Financial stress is a widespread experience. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), 72 percent of Americans are stressed about money at least occasionally and 22 percent feel extremely stressed about their finances. This is pretty significant because financial stress is linked to health problems like depression and sleep problems. With the rising cost of living, many Americans are feeling the crunch of financial stress.
People experiencing financial stress may be more likely to numb their anxiety by drinking, smoking, overeating, or practicing other unhealthy coping behaviors. This in turn leads to more stress. With less money in the budget, people who are already under financial stress tend to cut corners in areas like healthcare to pay for basic necessities like food. Small problems can go unchecked and turn into larger problems. This also leads to more stress. When under financial stress, people often experience trouble sleeping, which can add up to a sleep deficit, impairing immune functioning and cognitive abilities and causing additional moodiness. Credit card debt can cause unhealthy emotions that can take a toll on your health. People can experience anxiety, frustration, and a sense of hopelessness as the debt piles up and increasing amounts of money are needed just to pay the interest. This causes additional stress, which compounds with the stress from poor coping and self-neglect, to become a menacing amount of stress.
Sometimes it’s just general stress that affects our sleep—our body’s stress response gets triggered, and stays triggered, and our body’s systems get out of balance, resulting in sleep problems.
Difficulty in handling money can be a cause of stress which leads to other health issues that can affect anyone especially students that are struggling in school. People who are undergoing stress most probably have sleep deprivation that causes inefficiency in work or in school that can be the cause of low or even failing grades. But certain amounts of stress help people to keep moving forward and finish tasks before their deadlines. It develops competence and sense of responsibility.
Pinto and Mansfield (2006) reported that on average, two of every three undergraduates take out a student loan and/or use credit cards to finance their educations. While educational loan debt continues to climb, in more recent reports a smaller proportion of college students have credit cards (Norvilitis, 2014). Outstanding student loan balances in the United States total roughly $1 trillion (Federal Reserve Bank, 2013) and student debt is the only form of consumer debt that has risen since 2007, having doubled since the recession with a five-year average growth of 11% (The Vanguard Group, 2014). Two sources reported to the US GAO (2014) that the percentage of college students with credit cards declined from 53% in 2004 to 49% in 2010 to between 29 and 33% in 2013. However, Northern, O’Brien, and Goetz (2010) designed and psychometrically evaluated a measure of financial stress specifically for college students.
However, Northern, O’Brien, and Goetz (2010) designed and psychometrically evaluated a measure of financial stress specifically for college students. Collectively, financial pressures create financial stress for some college students, as stated on the research conducted by Blake Mathews and Brenda J. Cude. Having a degree means a lot of budgeting and financial management among families. This can cause a lot of stress especially on the parents of students. But stress can mold an individual through knowing what to prioritize which is education. Students are stressed not only in school but also on how to budget their time for school works and allowances. But this kind of stress can also have a good side thus developing a sense of discipline and self-control.
“Concerns that debt loads and other financial worries negatively affect student wellness are a top priority for many university administrators. Factors related to financial stress among college students were explored using the Roy Adaptation Model, a conceptual framework used in health care applications, responses from the 2010 Ohio Student regressions.. the results show that financial stress is widespread among students – 71%of the sample reported feeling stress from personal finances. The results of the proportion tests and logistic regressions show that this study successfully identified important financial stressors among college students. Two of the most important financial stressors were not having enough money to participate in the same activities as peers and expecting to have higher amounts of student loan debt at graduation. The results also indicate that students with higher financial seld-efficacy and greater financial implications for student life administrators, policymakers, financial counselors, and financial therapists are discussed.” According to the Factors related to financial stress among college students by Stuart Heckman, HanNa Lim, Catherine Montalto of Ohio State University.
This article talked about the stress of students and how they can cope with their stressors especially on finances. Finances has been a primary issue among students thus being their primary source of stress in school.
Lifestyle of College Student
According to the research article The Perception of College Students about a Healthy Lifestyle and its Effect on their Health by Hanaa Ghaleb Al-Amari*, Nedaa Al-Khamees “Health contributes to general well-being and overall lifestyle. In order for a person to enjoy a quality of life, good health habits must be achieved because basic health determines what a person can do.” Having healthy lifestyle can make a person to have a healthy mind. A healthy mind that is free from stress. Free from stress that a person can be able to function well as an individual and can be able to cope with their everyday responsibilities.
Mary Gormandy White (2017) “College students often engage in multiple activities outside of school. In addition to taking several classes at one time, students may also be juggling jobs, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, family responsibilities, and more.” College can be stressful especially in dentistry because time management is important to accomplish all of the requirements and at the same time to manage non-academic related things.
A Study on Stress And Its Effects On College Students Dr. R. Sathya Devi. et al. (2015) “College is the best time of life. These critical years can also be undermined by depression, anxiety and stress. Students are very likely to experience some or many stressors which may test their ability to cope: adapting to a new environment, balancing a heavy work load, making new friends, becoming more independent, and dealing with myriad of other issues.” Going off to college involves significant adjustments to daily routine; sleeping and eating habits, time-management skills, and stress levels will be altered in one way or another.
Adapting to this new life stage and the inevitable stress that comes with it (both good and bad) affects students differently. Striking a balance between school and personal life takes discipline and strong time-management skills.
Synthesis
Some stress is normal and even useful. Stress can help if you need to work hard or react quickly. For example, it can help you win a race or finish an important job on time. But if stress happens too often or lasts too long, it can have bad effects. It can be linked to headaches, an upset stomach, back pain, and trouble sleeping. It can weaken your immune system, making it harder to fight off disease. If you already have a health problem, stress may make it worse. It can make you moody, tense, or depressed. Your relationships may suffer, and you may not do well at work or school.
