Population was meagre; resources were aplenty; jobs were calling; higher education was not the most preferred goal of the youths; even educated youths opted to engage in farming to earn livelihood; people were more or less self-sufficient. That was the story just three decades back. Suddenly the scenario changed. Population exploded; resources depleted; jobs were scarce; higher education pursuits became the must goal for survival; land shrank and only cultivation could no more provide livelihood; the economic roll-over created a transitory panic among the people. This is the story now.

The suddenness of the socio-economic changes caught us unaware, and we started experiencing a degree of intense intolerable stress hitherto alien to us. This also brought us host of psychosomatic and other stress related illnesses. Stress is our body’s response to the demands made on us by events, environment, and circumstances when the demand is perceived to be more than the resources at hand. As this demand-resource imbalance occurs, stress takes place mainly with the good intention of keeping us healthy, and also to inform us that not everything is ok.

We all go through stressful moments, almost every day, owing to various contributors. Every profession, every set-up, every packaging of our life has its own unique profile of stresses and stressors. So is true about the genre ‘students’. The focus of today’s discussion is student stress. There could be hundreds of reasons for a student to experience stress. Below are listed a few major contributors:

• Change in curriculum.

• Change in institution

• Excessive demands on their performance by parents, relatives, etc

• Faulty perception/irrational beliefs like “I am not good in studies”

• Lack of support from the parents, etc on developmental related activities.

• Romance

• Lack of peer group support

• Financial problems at home

• Unhealthy environment at home

• Lack of thorough preparation for exams

• Hostel-related issues

• Problems in expression and questioning

• Learning disabilities.

• Issues related to learning methodology

• Wrong food habit

• Inhibitions

• Cramping of studies instead of chunk study approach

• Too much involvement in social/union-related activities

Stress signs can be categorized into four distinct areas like body, feelings, behaviour and thoughts — (body) backache, muscle tension, nervous stomach, breathing problems, frequent urination, fatigue, dizziness; (feelings) irritable, sad, worried, tense, angry; (behaviour) erratic sleep pattern, eat (too much or too little, drink alcohol, use drugs; and (thoughts) forgetting things, lack of concentration, negative thought patterns, feeling helplessness, feeling of hopelessness. During stress the heart beats faster; blood flow to the brain and muscles increases up to 400 per cent; digestion stops (so it doesn't use up energy that's needed elsewhere); muscle tension increases; we breathe faster to bring more oxygen to the muscles.

We have the tendency to label a student as ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘inefficient’, ‘useless’, etc based on our own faulty worldviews and faulty perception. This doesn’t augur well for the student. Students need to be understood, their issues need to be discussed, and solutions are to be found to their satisfaction. We must accept the fact that parents need to play a vital role in giving a shape to their child’s destiny. The home still remains the primary educational institution where the child learns about human emotions, the social skills, the response and reaction patterns, and most importantly, it is at home only where the child scripts its worldview by observing its parents and the significant others. If a child is handled and treated properly during its developmental phases, a social contributor is born. If the child is raised in an unhealthy environment where his emotional needs are crushed or not empathically attended to, a social terror is born. We reap what we sow.

Likewise, the educational institutions have a vital role to play too in shaping the future of each of its students. The need of the hour is to accept the students as the partner in the learning phenomenon than to consider students merely as passive entities. The modern social environment has increased the tasks of the teachers manifold. Teachers no more play the role of only an educator, but they are now wanted to play active role as a ‘non-professional counsellor’ in addition to their syllabus based roles. If the home environment of a student is not conducive to their healthy growth and development, the teacher as the friend-philosopher-guide is required to attend to and address to the emotional needs of the students. Teachers should be able to identify the stress factors affecting the students. Both the teachers and the parents need to play supportive roles in assisting the students in their march to the future so that their goals are actualized.

The teacher has a vital role to play in understanding and addressing students stress. He should be able to identify the signs and symptoms, and take measures to assist the students in coming out of the stress. In the modern time context, a teacher is looked upon by the students in particular, and the society as a whole, as a person who has the innate/trained abilities to help out the students. A teacher is regarded as the non-professional counsellor (if they are is not trained in counselling).

The parents must try to understand their children, respect their wishes and desires, and empathize with their emotions. Healthy and conducive family environment is to be created. If the family is facing some financial problems the children are to b taken into confidence. Parents should not put much pressure on their children to excel. The students should be allowed to decide their future.

Parents should play supportive roles, and not hostile roles. It is observed that in many homes the parents treat their children as “good for nothing who will bring bad name to the family”. What the parents failed to achieve in their own lives should not be projected on their children. Let the child decide their own goals. Don’t impose goals, and definitely not unrealistic goals.

It has been estimated that two-third of all visits to physicians are for stress-related problems. Recent evidence indicates that the physical changes associated with stress may contribute to the leading causes of death — heart disease and cancer. Stress can cause chronic fatigue, digestive upsets, headaches, and back pain. Stress can affect the blood cells that help you fight off infection, so you are more likely to get colds and other diseases. Constant stress can increase blood pressure and can increase the risk of stroke. Stress can increase the danger of heart attacks, particularly if you are often angry and mistrustful. Stress can make an asthma attack worse. Stress triggers behaviours that contribute to death and disability, such as smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse, and overeating. Stress makes it harder to take other steps to improve health, such as giving up smoking/drugs or making changes in diet.

It is very important for us to deal with the stress. Go through whatever relaxation procedures work best for you. Techniques such as yoga and stretching, mindfulness can be effective. Meditation is an effective tool which helps to achieve relaxation by clearing the mind of stressful outside interferences. Meditation involves achieving a state of consciousness in which the individual focuses on a single thing, such as a key word, sound, or image.

Regular exercise too helps. People who run, swim, or bicycle regularly have less stress than others. When your body is in first-class condition, your mind and emotions will also benefit. Regular exercise is one excellent way to handle stress, and it reduces the bad effects of stress. Exercise can make you look better, sleep better, concentrate better, and withstand disease better. It will also improve your mood and make you feel better about yourself. The best exercise for stress-proofing is aerobic activity, which uses your whole body. This includes jogging, bicycling, brisk walking, aerobic dancing, swimming, rowing, skating, and stair-stepping.

Keeping a sense of humour during difficult situations is highly recommended as a stress management tool. Laughing releases muscle tension and helps a person maintain perspective. Activities as simple as watching a funny movie, listening to a tape of a comedian's routine, or sharing time with a humorous friend can provide a psychological lift and relieve stress. Regular leisure activities are important in reducing stress. Many people benefit from making time for positive leisure pursuits rather than, for example, spending time watching television in the evening (although that, too, can be relaxing to some degree).

Relaxing hobbies include gardening, painting, bicycling, photography, carpentry, collecting, and many others. In order to obtain the most relaxation and enjoyment, the satisfaction should come in doing the hobby, not in the results.

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Prodyot Pran Saikia