School is stressful. Freshman are losing their happy-go-lucky shine, sophomores are trying to balance school with pledging, juniors are seriously starting to die inside and seniors, let's be honest, have been dead for a while now. Being in school is a great experience but, with rising levels of stress nation wide, it is becoming less so.
A 2008 survey by the Associate Press and mtvU found that 80% of college students are stressed. This, of course, poses a question: who on earth is the 20%? It also poses a much more serious question: how can we get that 20% to grow?
Stress originally protected our ancestors from threats. You get a boost in energy, heart rate, and blood pressure as your body is flooded with hormones, allowing you to escape whatever tricky trap you're caught in. Today however, we don't generally have to worry about being attacked and eaten by predators but our bodies still react in this way to other perceived threats. Essentially, your body's alarm bells stay ringing as loud as they possibly can when it isn't really necessary for your survival. We don't need science to tell us this isn't generally good, but, since evidence exists anyways, you might as well hear what it says.
There are generally two types of stress, according to the American Psychological Association: minor and chronic. Minor stress would be like when your stomach hurts or your palms get sweaty before a major presentation. It may not have long lasting consequences- unless you have pre-existing conditions- but it impacts your ability to perform and your level of comfort. Chronic stress, however, affects you both mentally and physically in the long term. You may have low concentration, high irritability, or be fatigued. The mental affects often compound stress, making the physical affects more dramatic. Stress is related to chronic headaches, developing diseases, higher risks for coronary disease, depression, anxiety, and a myriad of unhealthy coping mechanisms. Stress, whether for an instance or a year, has a highly negative impact on our lives. But how do we stop stressing in an environment where there is constantly something to stress about?
The Journal of Personality and Individual Differences published a study in 2012 on appreciation. They found that those who "appreciated" the positive aspects of their environment had higher life satisfaction as opposed to those who did not. Life satisfaction is defined by the Positive Psychology Program as "one’s evaluation of life as a whole, rather then the feelings and emotions that are experienced in the moment." So, the 2012 study showed that those who appreciated the little moments in life had a better life as a whole.
When linking life satisfaction with stress, it is important to note that more than stress leads to a low life satisfaction and that a high life satisfaction doesn't take away stress as a whole. However, looking at the affects of stress and the characteristics of a life satisfaction, it is clear that taking steps to achieve a higher life satisfaction would also lower stress. So what does it mean to "appreciate" life?
We have to stop and smell the roses. This doesn't have to be literally, although I find that it is nice to do. It just means that we enjoy individual moments and keep them in our minds. Hang out with good friends. Take delight in a soft blanket or a good song or cup of coffee. Watch a show on Netflix or a dorky video on YouTube. Have a chat with your favorite family member or friend back in your home town. Watch the wildlife, whether it be cats or hummingbirds or crickets. Go stare at the stars. Have a picnick. Stop and take a picture of a flower bed with butterflies. Will any of this make your exam, essay, project or whatever stresses you out go away? Of course not. But it will bring balance to your life. It's so much easier to see the bad and worrisome in life; that's what causes us stress. So why not push some of the good, the beautiful, the funny, the loving, and the happy up to the forefront of your thoughts?Appreciate the good. Become a part of the aforementioned 20% and work on making it 100%. Our lives are so much better when we stop, admire, maybe take a picture of, and smell the flowers.
