This essay is about handling the stress of University studies. We will be looking into many ideas and different people's views on how to handle stress. I will also be giving my own opinions on how I think stress can be controlled or relieved. The first thing we must do is ask ourselves one very important question, what is stress? According to an Australian born physician, Hans Selye, stress is the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it. The body responds in many ways. One is the loss of blood and the other is to the lack of sleep. Both of these are nonspecific responses, however all demands made on the body evoke generalized, nonspecific responses. For example, they all enable you to concentrate as would normally be expected, they activate ones sympathetic nervous system, and they also increase the amount of the hormone epinephrine that is being released into your body. When people say they have been under a lot of stress they are usually referring to a couple of unpleasant experiences. Now that we have an idea on what stress is, the next question we should ask ourselves is what is or can cause stress.
There are many different things that cause stress. One may be if you have a big term paper due and you want to do your best to impress your instructor. Another may be peer or family related. All in all it is things, events, situations, and people that cause stress. It is how we perceive them that will determine whether or not stress will be a result from the encounter. Not only negative situations are the cause of stress; joy and happiness can also cause stress even though they are positive. In a sense, it is we then who choose our own stressors. Selye noted that with the absence of stress there is death. Current researchers are also discovering that too little stress may be a major cause of depression or boredom. It is therefore up to us to choose the best stressors and the optimal level of stress.