Stress

[Tengu]

Yup, I had to say it, we all suffer from it, and it can cause all sorts of problems, physical and mental.

And it can kill you.

I had a rough time at Uni...but I have been advised to go back and complete the course.

it will be easier on me, as I will have less work to do (No Placement, with a 5 hour commute...) and I now know the place.

But I need to deal with Stress.

What do you suggest?

 

[Robbi]

Drink heavily

 

[Broch]

I was running my own companies from the age of thirty. I was doing 80 hour weeks most weeks and had the house on the line to the banks and working to pay twenty other peoples mortgages. If I hadn't found ways to cope with the stress I would have been dead a long time ago.

I think there were two fundamental strategies for me (and no, drinking is not a sensible proposal for true stress). I studied and learnt how to meditate - not in a deep 'finding the meaning of life' kind of way but a simple ability to focus out of reality and set my mind at piece. The other strategy was to always have an escape plan. If everything went wrong what was my exit? You really start to worry when you realise the escape plan is better than plan A

 

[Tengu]

Yes, thats a start

 

[Woody girl]

I like to listen to my favourite music and drink camomile or lemon balm tea. Herbal remedies are pretty good but are subtle so don't expect a sudden change. St John's wort is excellent for lifting your mood. I use it often. As soon as I feel my mood shifting towards anxiety and stress I start taking it. Go to Holland and Barratt or a local health food shop. Sometimes chemists have it too. Have a look around and compare prices and strength and invest in the best you can afford.
Secondly have a hobby that gets you out of where you are or can be practiced in small moments. Knitting socks is one of mine as you know. Tai chi I found helpful in the past. Photography is easy nowadays with most phones able to take decent photos.
I think you will cope fine. You know things will be less intense this year so just relax and it will be ok. Try not to wind up the worry basing it on what it was like last year.
Positive mental attitude! Good luck my friend.

 

[saxonaxe]

I know there are many different causes of stress, but are there different types of stress? I don't know, I'm not a Medic and I have the IQ of a Jam Doughnut. No doubt someone will be along with a text book answer ( or a Wiki one... )

I do know one solution, and getting Ratted as Robbi suggests is not it, as apart from being expensive that will lead to further problems, although watching someone on a self prescribed course of Vino Collapso can be entertaining...

Seriously Tengu, a stress problem arises when a person undergoes a massive build up of adrenaline over a period of time. Planning,Training, Rehearsal, change the plan, rehearse the new drills, over and over again...Hours, days, weeks sometimes, then... That's it lads, cancelled...stand down..Aaargh!! ..

In those cases the resultant stress...on proper Medical advice was dealt with, dissipated, not sure, but smoothed away, cured? by hard physical exercise. We used to play a game called 'Combat Hockey' in the Gym. Plastic sticks, plastic ball, no rules...
..

That allows frustrations that cause stress to be worked out of the system. No time to brood about anything, just get stuck in. The only one stressed afterwards was the Medic..

So... Do you play Squash? Batter a Squash ball. Mountain Biking perhaps? Ladies Rugby? It does work I promise you..But back to the question, What type of stress is it? If it's a stress that Academics suffer then count me out...

 

[Tengu]

People who tell you Academia is safe environment are wrong.

Academia is just like school, only a bit bigger. You can have best friends there, and some folk are just petty bullies

 

[Woody girl]

If you get bullied you do need to tell someone. There should be a specific department to help out with this sort of thing at the uni. They can be a great help and support you.
Believe it or not I get bullied too, but I stand up to them. Being a pacifist at heart I find confrontation very stressfull. It's not nice at all. Once they realise you are not going to stand for it they give up. Trick is not to get upset and rant at them. This just gives them more fuel.
I would advise you to talk about this with your student counselor. That's what they are there for.

 

[Janne]

You just get on with it. Life is stressful.

 

[Fadcode]

Well you are over the first hurdle by identifying it, you need to take time out, this can be a walk, writing a short story, or daft as it may seem do something really stressful, but achievable, which will give you confidence to face other stresses. eg: learn to play the piano, a guitar, something simple but in a way difficult, and obviously something that doesn't really matter in the long run.

One of the problems in a learning environment such as uni, is everyone is competitive, and everyone is struggling and under stress, and they tend to show it in different ways, such as bullying, being nasty, stand offish etc, you are all in the same boat, so don't take everything to heart, once you finish and leave uni, nothing that has happened there will matter.

 

[Broch]

You just get on with it. Life is stressful.

Not the most helpful comment IMHO Janne. Real stress can lead to long term health problems and needs dealing with early on.

 

[Nomad64]

You just get on with it. Life is stressful.

Seriously Janne, what is a post like that intended to achieve?

I guess it is difficult to keep track when you are spewing out 10-20 posts a day but you may recall that not long ago when another member of this forum was having a tough time you felt the need to boast about your medical training in ”councelling” (sic). Despite being rapidly deleted in a rare moment of self awareness, part of that post remains as a result of the incredulous reaction of another forum member (see below).



For someone (let alone a medical professional trained in counselling) to tell a person seeking help with possible mental health issues to effectively “man up and get on with it” Is a bit like a dentist telling patients that toothache is inevitable, just suck a clove and stop moaning.

If you struggle to see things from other people’s perspective, imagine how you would feel if you got a similar reaction the next time you were trying to elicit sympathy for one of the many and varied ailments and afflictions you feel the need to share with forum (bad ankles, bad knees, bad back, deafness, allergy to beestings, IBS, incontinence, exzcma/psoriasis - I am sure there are others I’ve missed!).

If the mods want to delete this post along with #9 on this thread, I would have no objection.

 

[Woody girl]

You just get on with it. Life is stressful.

Do you know tengu? Have you met her? Many of us on this forum do and have. This is a most calus and uncaring attitude.
Perhaps you should examine your attitude towards others. Bullying and stress are not nice to suffer , this sort of attitude just adds to the load someone carries.
Its hardly supportive to say things like that.

 

[Turnip]

mindfulness and exercise, mindfulness helps deal with your mind set and can give you perspective and a proper nasty work out helps get you away from the stress and the feel good afterwards boosts your mood and your confidence!

 

[Turnip]

but most importantly, talk to people! getting things out in the open can do so much!

 

[SaraR]

Yup, I had to say it, we all suffer from it, and it can cause all sorts of problems, physical and mental.

And it can kill you.

I had a rough time at Uni...but I have been advised to go back and complete the course.

it will be easier on me, as I will have less work to do (No Placement, with a 5 hour commute...) and I now know the place.

But I need to deal with Stress.

What do you suggest?

Figure out what's causing you stress. Then try and think about it as if you were advising somebody else. Is it something you can change/do anything about? If so how can you change things to minimise stress? If you can't change it, you might be able to *think* about it differently and basically stopping yourself getting into a negative spiral. Also having something unrelated that allows you to take your mind off it is great (I learnt Welsh for instance), but keep in mind that your brain and body don't know the difference between learning for studies and learning for hobbies, so you still need something truly relaxing (walking, knitting, gardening, bushcraft, whatever). Also be ruthless about other nonessential committments that add to your stress. You want to go back and finish your course so that needs to be a priority for now. And finally, remember to enjoy it! I assume you picked your course because you either really like the subject or because it will open up access to something you want to do, focus on that!

 

[Janne]

My comment is horrible, I know, but I refer to a previous thread and the advice given by a lot of members.

Stress is unavoidable. We all live lives that are stressful. We all have to deal with it.
We can discuss and verbalise as much as we can, but the solution is only one:

We must realise that stress is a normal part of life, and the more ‘unusual’ situation, the worse the stress feels.
Learning puts more strain on the brain, so is much more stressful than the ‘average dull day’.

 

[Woody girl]

I'm gobsmacked!
You admit your comment is horrible, so why the heck did you make it?. Then you try to mitigate by saying it was in relation to a previous thread... so therefore has no relevance to this particular thread.
I can't put down here what I'd like to say for two reasons . It would be rude and I do try not to be rude. And also I'd be banned! Perhaps you should just apologise meekly instead of trying to make pathetic excuses.
Nobody's buying mate!

 

[Janne]

I apologise for an overly blunt comment.

 

[oldtimer]

When I had a stressful job, running a school with a full-time teaching commitment while simultaneously studying for an Open University degree, I learned to distinguish between pressure and stress. I received a lot of advice on how to manage stress bur little of it worked in practice.

Now I am long retired, live a stress-free life and have time to think, I suspect that pressure is what you put on yourself and stress is what other people put on you.

Undertake less and let the other people manage their own problems!