Breaking the Cycle of Stress Related to Academic Pressure

People are impacted by stressors on a daily basis. Life stress, social expectations, and academic pressure can cause stress reactions, including loss of sleep, depressed mood and agitation. Arguably, all are reactions that should be avoided. That said, for college students, the most frequent source of stress, and thus, the logical place to start stress reduction, is academic pressure. Academic pressure comes from many places, from family, teachers, and from within, and can cause negative stress reactions that make academic success difficult. Thus, reducing stress and anxiety through mindfulness interventions, physical exertion, and meditation, is essential in maintaining academic standing.

Academic pressure comes from all aspects of a student’s life, including family, or home life. Many students, especially those living at home for college, experience pressure from parents to perform, academically, at a certain level. Pressure can come from a parent who wants their child to achieve success in education, or from a parent who does not want to see their investment in education wasted by underperformance. Similarly, students who are married or have children pressure themselves in an effort to not disappoint a spouse or fail to provide for a child (Alpert 209). Academic pressure from family can be the most stress inducing pressure that a student faces.

In addition to pressure from family, students face academic pressure from their school and educators. Aside from an educator wanting their students to be successful, many teachers and schools have ratings based on the academic performance of their students. If students perform well a school may see an increase in funding, an educator may be offered tenure, and a university may see an increase in enrollment. These are powerful incentives and, even if not explicitly stated, can cause teachers and schools to pressure their students to achieve more academically.

These, and the internal drive that most students have to perform well, can lead to increasingly negative stress reactions that can hamper academic success. These reactions include the inability to sleep, changes in mood, depression, agitation, and a general feeling of dissatisfaction (Crystal 740). All of these can lead to a decrease in academic performance, and thus exacerbate the feeling of academic pressure. A student can become caught in a cycle of pressure, dramatic stress reactions, and lowered performance to the extent that academic success is nearly impossible (Chemers, Hu, and Garcia 57). Academic pressures lead to lowered performance.

Breaking this cycle is difficult, but it is essential and can be achieved through regular physical activity which includes deliberate meditation or relaxation. This combination of activity and relaxation can be achieved in many ways, but it is done easily through yoga. Physical activity and mental relaxation through meditation can reduce the perception of stress and prevalence of stress reactions, while improving mental clarity, focus, and physical health. These benefits not only negate the effects of academic pressure, but also improve the likelihood of academic success.

Students can work together to achieve more. Not just on projects, but also by forming weekly meditation groups, and helping to identify stress reactions in each before they turn in to lowered academic performance.

Works Cited

Alpert, R and R. N. Haber. “Anxiety in Academic Achievement Situations.” The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology vol. 62 no. 2 (1960): 207-215.

Chemers, Martin M, Li-tse Hu, and Ben F. Garcia. “Academic Self-efficacy and First Year College Student Performance and Adjustment.” Journal of Educational Psychology vol. 93 no. 1 (2001): 55-64.

Crystal, David S., et al. "Psychological Maladjustment and Academic Achievement: A cross-Cultural Study of Japanese, Chinese, and American High School Students." Child Development vol. 65 no. 3 (2008): 738-753.