How You Think About Stress Matters

How You Think About Stress Matters
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How You Think About Stress Matters
Over the years, stress has been viewed as a major factor that leads to illnesses such as heart attacks, ulcers, and depression among others. For a university student, for instance, myself, there are numerous stresses that I face and they vary from time to time. One of the main stress factors that I face is financial constraints, in that there is always trouble having rent bills, school fees, and up-keep money all accessible at one moment. Being a student, these are very basic a vital factors for a successful study. Also, fear of family conflicts like parents divorcing as well as poor performance in school hence gets unemployed or land in a poor paying job.
Thus, having learned about comprehending how my body responds to stress in a human body, I made the initiative of making a difference in the manner in which I manage my stress. When there is proper management of stress, things tend to work out somehow. For instance, being awarded a supplementary exam for a unit course in college is one of the least of my expectations as a student. Yes, as much as it might be scary letting my parents know about, I am ready to face. It is worrying for any parent and bears more weight on me as the students since I am worried that my parents may feel like I am not appreciative. Hence, I need to approach this whole situation from a positive minded angle, otherwise biting myself up will not help in any way.

Being financially stressed at times might be hard to get along all by oneself. Thus, talking to friends and relatives has been helpful in many cases. In that, there are instances where I have had my extended family come in to help with money or offer short errands in which once they are done I get paid for the services. When this happens, my stress levels fall significantly. My friends too have been there for me. Seeing how much they are dedicated and supportive to see me happy is a motivation. It has always been a blessing sharing my struggles with these people around me who so much care about what is going on in my life(McGonigal, 2016).
Yes, no man is an island. That said I have had to also help my friends and relatives too in stressful situations. Currently, my closest friend’s mother passed on three months ago. It does not get any easy to have to lose someone so special like a mother. The days seem long and hopeless. Lucky enough, we got each other’s back. It is believed that helping an individual in such situations is helpful. Through the social support one is in a better situation to handle stress through the releases of oxytocin hormones that are tasked with helping in relieving stress. Oxytocin functions are better enhanced when one seeks social support through friends, family members or through physicians; it best functions when there are social contacts as the hormone is released in plenty. Through social help, one becomes resilient to stress.
In a nutshell, we are in a better position to manage our stress levels through the manner in which we either take it positively or negatively. According to Kelly McGonigal, one’s belief could change the whole view about stress. We find meaning in following that which we cherish however much stressful it might be. That way we are in a better position to trust ourselves that we will get through it (McGonigal, 2016). 

Reference
McGonigal, K. (2016). The upside of stress: Why stress is good for you, and how to get good at it. Penguin.