Objective of this article is to throw light on the various factors that impact student’s life. It examines the stress levels and effect of it on students. The aim of the study is to examine these factors and find the counter-effect activities that could lead to a better and positive life. A quantitative method is used to measure the extent of effect of these factors in their lives and these factors are then categorized further into four groups, namely Social factors, Personal factors, Academic factors and Environmental factors. The possible limitation of this study can be the population size which is the N-Block students of VIT University Vellore.
Social factors include relationship and social status i.e. participation in social events. Personal factors include physical and mental status of an individual. Academic factors include performance in academic sectors which include
...s classroom environment and educational interests. And Environment factors include habitat change and surrounding atmosphere.
Introduction
The aim of the study to project light on stress factors faced by students in their day-to-day life and to find suitable measures to overcome them. As one mentions “stress”, a stress cloud automatically starts generating in the head with increased fear levels and heartbeat of the body. Even thinking about stress gets such reaction from body, so it becomes essential to study about them when one actually faces it.
Students are the common victims to stress. Be it moving from one class to another in ten minutes and then professor not allowing the person in class for getting late by a minute or being covered with assignments and tests regularly, students face it every moment of life. Pressure from parents, teachers, society and sel
expectations cause chaos in their life.
Further, going through all this pressure, the person is supposed to be happy and perform well in life. Therefore it becomes important to understand them and help them to be happy and themselves. Everyone around are working hard to make them someone else rather to make them what they are-”unique”. Most importantly, the Indian education system which has several flaws in it keeps on removing the real talent and liberty given to an individual and prepares them for never ending race.
To make the world, a better place for learning such study is a prerequisite.
Literature Review and Main Content
Introduction to Stress and Its Symtoms:
Stress is the way in which an individual reacts to a particular situation. It can be a positive stress or a negative stress. Positive stress is good for body and helps and individual to perform tasks really well but on the other hand, negative stress not only causes failure in tasks but deteriorate one’s physical and mental health.
In general life, people refer to negative stress when “stress” word is named. The body responds to stress in several manners but here are the common symptoms:
Anxiety- a state in which a person becomes restless and loses his/her calm.
Worry- a state in which the person keeps on thinking in a negative way to every situation
Depression- a state in which the person feels soulless and loses his sense of attachment to the world.
Agony- a state in which the person feels lonely, sad, useless and hurt.
Fear- a state in which the person frightens to perform any task and feels under confident to do anything.
Factors for Stress:
Comparison:Â Society and student keeps on comparing himself to
other people knowing that he/she is a unique person. Everybody is given a specific talent by nature but people ignore that to make themselves someone else that they can never become.
Peer Pressure: Parents, teachers and friends keep on pressurizing the student to do good and bad things to an extent that the person feels hard to come out from.
Acknowledgement in Society: In order to become popular, the person keeps on thinking rather than doing something and ends up with nothing.
Change in Environment:Â Coming from a nutshell to the real world is the most toughest and beautiful thing to do. For one who shifts into new condition easily becomes efficient and if not, it can destroy the person.
Change in Sleeping Pattern:Â Due to excess of work and hostel atmosphere, students get less sleep and their sleeping time changes which cause health issues and diseases like insomnia.
Change in Eating Pattern:Due to excessive work and timing issues, students skip their meals and symptoms like headache and dizziness is observed.
More Responsibilities:Â Students perform all the tasks like college works, personal works and social works by own.
Economic Situation:Â Economic status of family creates undue pressure and responsibility on student to outshine in the family and to raise their financial status.
Health Problems:Â Physical appearances become a huge issue for many people when they compare themselves with fellow students and cause nervousness and stress issues in the person.
Past Memories: Past fears and failure are difficult to handle. Only people with courage and merits could overcome them.
Intelligence Level:Â Speed of learning is different for different people. Students curse their intelligence rather than working hard and thereby depreciating themselves.
Personal Traits: Individual responses to any problem play an important role in
life. As the saying goes, “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” This ability to respond positively to any situation comes with taking challenges and gaining confidence.
Workload:Â Students are required to revise study materials daily and given many digital assignments and quizzes on daily basis. Therefore leaving no option but to copy and cheat for assignments in order to complete them.
Grades: When students don’t score much in exams and end up with poor results, they are highly stressed with scolding from parents, teachers and friends. Moreover, students are allotted rooms and facilities in accordance to their scores and hence create further competition and stress level.
Class Atmosphere: Some lecturers don’t allow students if he/she gets late by some minutes to reach the class due to any reason and shouting of teachers in class ruins the learning atmosphere of class.
Diversity of People and Working in Groups:Â Different range of people from different cultures creates communication and basic thinking problems between students and results in harsh arguments.
Rude Behavior of Teachers and Missing Lectures: With increased misbehaviour of teachers and their rude attitude, student starts bunking the classes and results in poor grades.
Examinations: With increase number of examinations every month, student finds no leisure time to spend and becomes frustrated.
Lack of Time, Interest and Motivation: Due to all these pressures, people find it difficult to cope up with life and get less motivated. Many students commit suicide daily in India and institutions try to hide the news in order to prevent defamation.
Partiality:Â Authorities become partial to the regional students and behave rudely with students from distant places.
Procrastination: “To err is human and to forgive is divine.” The
saying justifies that humans are meant to make small mistakes in order to learn something. With high stress, students avoid working seeking that it results in nothing and hence creating problems further.
Forgetfulness and Less Understanding:Â Students tend to forget some lectures, which is quite normal. In some lectures they understand more and vice-versa. So, it becomes responsibility of teachers to understand them in spite of scolding them every time.
New Environment: New weather and cultural conditions may improve or worsen the condition of students.
Lack of Breaks for Fun and Relaxation: Lack of holidays given to students and more number of special classes organized by the institution make students panic and distressed.
Atmosphere at Homes and Hostels: Hostel roommates and family members play an important role in everybody life. If they keep on motivating, one can do wonders but if they keep on cursing, it damages student from deep within.
Attraction Towards New Things: Attraction towards new activities and people and keeping focus on studies becomes at most difficult.
Unrealistic Expectations: Students expect to turn the tables in just one night which is not possible. Consistent hard work and knowing what one can and cannot do could only make someone successful.
Methods to Curb It
Needs Fulfillment: In order to get ready for learning, students are required to fulfil their basic needs which firstly include their need for food, clothing and sound sleep. Secondly, they need someone to talk and share their feelings. Thirdly, they need to be in relationships like between friends, family and all others to feel self-belongingness. Lastly, they need a positive atmosphere around them in which they feel comfortable. After that, they get prepared for learning.
Meditation: Students should exercise
deep breathing and meditate daily for sometime in order to attain mind emptiness.
Exercises: Sports, gym, aerobics, swimming and outdoor games are some of the best events to perform in order to stimulate good hormone and to keep a balance on thinking process.
Yoga: One who exercises yoga not only becomes physically strong but mentally and socially strong also.
Mindfulness: In order to control over thinking especially negative thinking, people should perform mindfulness. It is the process in which the mind is concentrated towards non stressing things.
Self-Acknowledgement: Students should motivate themselves and know their attributes in order to live a happy life.
Out of 50 students, 23 students consider Academic Factor as the source of majority stress. After that come the Personal Factor, to which 16 students agree. Environmental Factor gets vote of 6 students and Social Factor gets 5 votes.
Conclusion
Though many factors contribute to stress in students, Academic factors contribute to majority of that. To control that a refined educational model is required in which learning is made fun and not pressure because no one can do anything fruitfully if he/she is not happy.
Some methods for students to control the stress levels are discussed. These methods are scientifically proven and needs to be incorporated under some guidance to get maximum productivity. So, cooperation of society is needed to assimilate all new proven methodologies into their lives to make it worth and to make Earth a better place for students or in fact everybody.
References
- https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/thing-students-theyre-human
- http://resources.eln.io/maslows-hierarchy-needs-learners/
- http://sguditus.blogspot.com/2013/02/maslows-hierarchy-of-school-needs-steve.html
- https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/124792/Thesis%20Document.pdf?sequence=1
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256190282_A_Study_of_Stress_among_Students_of_Professional_Colleges_from_an_Urban_area_in_India
