Essay on Stress Management

500 words essay on stress management.

Stress is a very complex phenomenon that we can define in several ways. However, if you put them together, it is basically the wear and tear of daily life. Stress management refers to a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies for controlling a person’s stress level, especially chronic stress . If there is effective stress management, we can help one another break the hold of stress on our lives. The essay on stress management will throw light on the very same thing.

essay on stress management

Identifying the Source of Stress

The first step of stress management is identifying the source of stress in your life. It is not as easy as that but it is essential. The true source of stress may not always be evident as we tend to overlook our own stress-inducing thoughts and feelings.

For instance, you might constantly worry about meeting your deadline. But, in reality, maybe your procrastination is what leads to this stress than the actual deadline. In order to identify the source of stress, we must look closely within ourselves.

If you explain away stress as temporary, then it may be a problem. Like if you yourself don’t take a breather from time to time, what is the point? On the other hand, is stress an integral part of your work and you acknowledging it like that?

If you make it a part of your personality, like you label things as crazy or nervous energy, you need to look further. Most importantly, do you blame the stress on people around you or the events surrounding you?

It is essential to take responsibility for the role one plays in creating or maintaining stress. Your stress will remain outside your control if you do not do it.

Strategies for Stress Management

It is obvious that we cannot avoid all kinds of stress but there are many stressors in your life which you can definitely eliminate. It is important to learn how to say no and stick to them.  Try to avoid people who stress you out.

Further, if you cannot avoid a stressful situation, try altering it. Express your feelings don’t bottle them up and manage your time better. Moreover, you can also adapt to the stressor if you can’t change it.

Reframe problems and look at the big picture. Similarly, adjust your standards and focus on the positive side. Never try to control the uncontrollable. Most importantly, make time for having fun and relaxing.

Spend some time with nature, go for a walk or call a friend, whatever pleases you.  You can also try working out, listening to music and more. As long as it makes you happy, never give up.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Stress Management

All in all, we can control our stress levels with relaxation techniques that evoke the relaxation response of our body. It is the state of restfulness that is the opposite of the stress response. Thus, when you practice these techniques regularly, you can build your resilience and heal yourself.

FAQ of Essay on Stress Management

Question 1: What is the importance of stress management?

Answer 1: Stress management is very efficient as it helps in breaking the hold which stress has on our lives. Moreover, you can also become happy, healthy and more productive because of it. The ultimate goal should be to live a balanced life and have the resilience to hold up under pressure.

Question 2: Give some stress management techniques.

Answer 2: There are many stress management techniques through which one can reduce stress in their lives. One can change their situation or their reaction to it. We can try by altering the situation. If not, we can change our attitudes towards it. Remember, accept things that you cannot change.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

tutor

  • Travelling Essay
  • Picnic Essay
  • Our Country Essay
  • My Parents Essay
  • Essay on Favourite Personality
  • Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
  • Essay on Knowledge is Power
  • Essay on Gurpurab
  • Essay on My Favourite Season
  • Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

Google Play

  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

A Plus Topper

Improve your Grades

Stress Management Essay | Essay on Stress Management for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Stress Management Essay:  Stress is a complex phenomenon that can be defined in several ways; however, put together; it is the wear and tear of everyday life. Stress management can be defined as a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies to control a person’s stress level, especially chronic stress.

Effective methods and techniques of stress management help an individual break the hold that stress has on their lives. This, in turn, helps people in leading a healthier, happier, and more productive lifestyle.

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long and Short Essays on Stress Management for Students and Kids in English

We provide students with essay samples on a long essay of 500 words and a short essay of 150 words on the topic Stress Management for reference.

Long Essay on Stress Management 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Stress Management is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

The increasingly busy lives that people choose to live today cause a lot of stress on their minds. Stress is a mental tension that is caused by taxing, demanding, and burdensome circumstances. Stress affects one’s mental stress and mood and has adverse effects on their physical health.

When a person is highly stressed, a hormone known as cortisol is released into the bloodstream, suppressing the proper functioning of one’s digestive, reproductive, and immune systems. This is why it is essential to practice stress management to keep one’s mind and body healthier.

Stress management is making constant changes to one’s life if they are in a stressful situation by various techniques and methods. Stress management includes preventing stress by practicing self-care and relaxation; also managing one’s response to stressful situations when they occur.

Stress is not good for the body. Stress is a survival instinct or response when the body thinks that it is in danger. This is why one’s sympathetic nervous system kicks in, increasing the heart rate with which there is a burst of the energy hormone adrenaline, which helps in dealing with any situation. This is also known as a flight or fight response.

The problem starts when a person deals with constant stress and worry or unaware of ways to manage stressful situations. Stress management becomes extremely important in people’s lives for leading a quality life, having healthy relationships, and preventing any adverse effects on health. There are various stress management models, with each having distinctive explanations of mechanisms for dealing with or controlling stress. Much more research is needed for a proper understanding of which method operates and is effective in practice.

The first step of stress management is to identify the sources of stress in one’s life. While it is easier to address major stressors such as an unhealthy or toxic relationship, job changes, or the process of moving, locating the actual reason for chronic stress can be complicated.

Apart from causing mental and physical strain, stress can also cause tension and even illness – it can affect all areas of one’s life. Stress management serves as beneficial as it reduces heart diseases, digestive problems, blood pressure, and many more physical ailments. Stress management also helps in dealing with mental health issues such as anxiety or panic disorder.

There are various techniques in reducing stress in one’s life, from meditation to exercising and even journaling. Yoga is a popular physical form of stress management technique. A morning or evening jog and other forms of cardiovascular exercises help release the happy hormones – endorphins – into the system that helps prevent stress throughout the day.

Meditation is another form of mental technique which helps in dealing with stress. Apart from these, making changes in everyday habits such as maintain a proper sleep schedule, avoiding cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs, making sure that one’s diet consists of proper nutrition; spending time doing things that bring them joy goes a long way in letting go of the stress that one comes across every day.

Short Essay on Stress Management 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Stress Management is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Stress is a complex phenomenon and is the body’s response – which serves as a survival instinct – to any danger. Stress is a state of mind reflecting certain biochemical reactions in a human body, which is projected by a sense of anxiety, panic, or depression.

Stress management becomes necessary as it helps an individual break the hold that stress has on one’s life. Stress can harm one’s mental and physical health, so managing stress helps one live a healthy life. Stress management helps achieve a balanced life’s ultimate goal, with proper time for work, family, relationships, fun, and relaxation. It also gives the resilience to work under pressure and face challenges head-on.

However, as not every individual is affected by the same things, similarly not the same things cause everyone’s stress. So, the stress management technique for every individual is different.

10 Lines on Stress Management in English

  • If individuals live their lives at high-stress levels, they are putting their entire well-being at risk.
  • Stress has several physical and mental symptoms.
  • Many practical stress management methods are available, some being used by health professionals and some for self-help.
  • Evaluation of the effectiveness of various stress management techniques can be difficult as only limited researches exist currently.
  • Managing stress helps in improving lifestyle and helps in facing the problems of everyday life head-on.
  • Exercising serves as a great way of relieving stress.
  • Stress can cause adverse effects on the immune, digestive, and reproductive systems.
  • Stress is associated with anxiety and depression.
  • Stress is present in everyday life activities, and stress management helps use the proper techniques by which these activities can be handled well.
  • Staying physically active serves a great purpose in managing stress.

FAQ’s on Stress Management Essay

Question 1. What are some ways of relieving stress?

Answer: Exercising, reducing caffeine intake, spending time with friends and family, journaling, yoga, and meditation can relieve stress.

Question 2. Why is stress management important?

Answer: Stress causes heart diseases, increased blood pressure, ulcers, decreased sexual drive, and impotence. Stress can also cause emotional eating and a lack of motivation. Stress management helps in leading a happier and healthier life.

Question 3. What are some psychological and emotional signs of stress?

Answer: Stress causes depression, anxiety, anger issues, irritability, restlessness, makes one feel unmotivated, overwhelmed and focused. It can also cause a lack of sleep or sleeping too much.

  • Picture Dictionary
  • English Speech
  • English Slogans
  • English Letter Writing
  • English Essay Writing
  • English Textbook Answers
  • Types of Certificates
  • ICSE Solutions
  • Selina ICSE Solutions
  • ML Aggarwal Solutions
  • HSSLive Plus One
  • HSSLive Plus Two
  • Kerala SSLC
  • Distance Education
  • Career Advice

Stress and Student Success

By  Karen Costa

You have / 5 articles left. Sign up for a free account or log in.

stress management students essay

I’ve spent a decade teaching college success strategies to mostly nontraditional first-year students. At times, I would stare at my course roster, hoping that an answer to the success riddle would appear. “Why do you leave?” I’d ask. “What else can I do to help you?” While I use countless teaching strategies in my courses, I’ve been tracking something even more fundamental: a unified field theory for student success in higher education.

An insight from John Medina’s Brain Rules was a bread crumb on this search -- one that has led me to conclude that stress is the underlying reason for the majority of student withdrawal: “Stressed brains don’t learn the same way,” Medina argues. In addition to the numerous physical consequences of stress (heart attack, stroke, poor immune response, etc.), chronic stress also negatively impacts student learning. Years of anecdotal educational experiences flashed before me when I first read this rule: a parade of students’ faces, at once ambitious and discouraged.

I would argue that higher education is now serving more students with more stress than at any prior point in history, yet we have done little to educate ourselves about the strategies that brain science knows can help students better manage their stress, induce relaxation and consequently improve their learning experiences. As students despair and ultimately withdraw, we are sitting, unknowingly, on a silver bullet.

What Science Knows vs. What Education Does

I recently asked a friend of mine who works with teachers for her thoughts on stress and learning. “Well, I think some stress is good for learning,” she said, hesitant. She’s right. Akin to Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development , there is a sweet spot for stress and learning. A little for a short time is actually good. Too much for too long is catastrophic. “What about the teachers you work with?” I asked. “Are they taught to understand how stress impacts learning?” She answered with only a smirk, another victim of the disconnect between what science knows and what education does.

What science knows about stress and learning is this: there is a tipping point where normal stress, an inevitable part of the human condition, transforms from ally to enemy. Medina explains that in brain science this concept is called the “allostatic load,” or the point at which stress become toxic. The portions of the brain that are responsible for memory, planning, organization and learning begin to fail. At a biological level, they cannot function -- despite anyone’s best intentions. If learning is a fistfight, students who’ve breached their allostatic load are fighting with both hands tied behind their back. So are their professors.

What education does a great job at is championing the value of active learning strategies, things like problem-based learning, flipped learning, collaborative learning -- right-sounding terms that are met with a combination of fatigue and disdain by many war-weary professors. There’s tremendous support for the value of active learning, but for many of our students, stress stands as a massive barrier in its path.

If what science knows and what education does were to meet, stress management would become part of the fundamental fabric of our learning institutions, allowing active learning to meet its intended targets.

Becoming (Para)Sympathetic Educators

With the move from elite, to mass, to what is now arguably universal access to higher education, it’s worthwhile to remember that the students we now serve are not shielded by privilege from the stresses of life. I once administered a life-change stress index to my class of first-year students, most of them first-generation college students. Their scores were off the charts: far higher than the amount of change and stress I was dealing with as a working mother. I stopped giving the assessment that term, feeling ill-equipped at the time to address its results.

Years later, after additional self-study in brain science and completion of a yoga teacher training program, I can define stress, I understand the anatomy and physiology of it, and I am able to recommend and practice strategies to manage it. But I believe I’m in the minority among educators.

Despite how chronic stress can make us feel, as if we’re trapped in a permanently unpleasant solution, effective and often simple strategies can decrease stress. Stress operates as a function of the sympathetic nervous system, a topic covered in brilliant simplicity in Herbert Benson’s The Relaxation Response . Benson, a Boston cardiologist, “discovered” what Eastern approaches have known for millennia: that nature gave us the perfect antidote to stress -- the parasympathetic nervous system. Benson found that a series of straightforward (and secular) meditation techniques could induce what he called the relaxation response, a biological answer to stress.

Stress and Success

In my former role as a director of student success at a community college, I kept one report on my desk for handy access, a retention touchstone of sorts. “ With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them: Myths and Realities About Why So Many Students Fail to Finish College ,” a Public Agenda report for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, identified something that I was seeing on a daily basis as I worked to help students persist and graduate: a pervasive sense of overwhelm. The study concluded that, “The No. 1 reason students give for leaving school is the fact that they had to work and go to school at the same time and, despite their best efforts, the stress of trying to do both eventually took its toll.”

Two recent and popular theories of student success, Angela Duckworth’s grit theory and Carol Dweck’s mind-set theory, further coalesce around the idea that stress sits at the core of persistence decisions. Grit theory argues that some students better manage the trials and travails of life; they’re grittier by nature. Duckworth calls for us to teach students to build their grit muscles. Isn’t building grit just a sound-bite-friendlier term for stress management?

One of Medina’s criteria for defining stress is that it must include a sense that control over one’s situation has been lost. Dweck’s mind-set theory suggests that many students have a fixed mind-set, believing that their abilities and circumstances are set in stone, or out of their control. Teaching students to view their minds, abilities and, yes, their stress levels as malleable can empower students and increase success. Wouldn’t providing stress-management instruction to students and teachers help to further develop this growth mind-set?

The Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education has been exploring this and other questions about mindfulness in education since 1997. As interest in mindfulness practices in higher education grows, some recent studies are pointing to the possibility that meditation and other contemplative practices can improve student success. This thesis is confirmed by the work of stress expert and psychologist Stuart Shanker . In his book Self-Reg , failure to manage time and the existence of other executive function challenges are not character flaws. Rather, these are symptoms of students who are caught in vicious cycle of stress. By teaching people to first self-regulate their stress, Shanker and his team have then witnessed improvements in the ability to focus, plan and delay gratification.

The Case for Care

Medina discusses the negative impact of high-stress work and home environments on learning. What about high-stress campuses and communities? In homes where parents yell and argue, children suffer. Like sponges, they absorb the stress around them, stress hormones are released in response and the brain cells that learn, remember and plan are paralyzed. It’s not a stretch to wonder if campuses where tensions abound have the same effect on student learning. If so, collegiality and communication take on an additional layer of import. Is your campus community built on a culture of care, not only for our students, but for our fellow faculty and staff?

Today, we work and live in a world where if you aren’t talking about racism, sexual assault, the challenges faced by returning veterans and the like, you aren’t taking stress and wellness seriously. Genuine institutional engagement in social justice is not only about addressing the scourge of structural oppression, it’s smart stress management and sound education.

While there are many ways an institution could broach the question of whether they exhibit a culture of care, consider the following as one helpful “care index” a campus could use to self-evaluate: compare the number of marketing professionals you employ to the number of mental-health professionals. If the first number outweighs the second, it’s time for an institutional gut check.

The Tipping Point

As an industry, higher education has approached its own tipping point, a moment in time when our collective allostatic load is nearly overflowing. The question is, will we apply the solutions at our disposal before the load is breached? Stress-management strategies based in sound brain science are one of our best hopes for improving student, faculty and institutional success.

Four students sit around a desk, looking at papers and laptops.

Persistence and Retention Rates Exceed Pre-Pandemic Levels

New data show the highest persistence and retention rates in a decade, with Black students at public four-year colleg

Share This Article

More from career advice.

Woman at office desk in front of bookcase smiles as she talks to young man, whose head you see from the back

Hiring for Humanity

To create an office culture marked by trust, humanity and collaboration, Diana Lawrence poses a rather unexpected que

split screen image of fork, spoon, and knife balanced against each other on one side and the word Menu in script on the other

In Praise of Lunch

Amid the stress and clutter of our daily lives, and the divisions straining our politics and culture, we need sustain

Word “accepted” with asterisk written in white letters on a black background

Bad-Faith Counteroffers

Black and other minoritized faculty don’t receive equitable ones if they receive them at all, which harms both them a

  • Become a Member
  • Sign up for Newsletters
  • Learning & Assessment
  • Diversity & Equity
  • Career Development
  • Labor & Unionization
  • Shared Governance
  • Academic Freedom
  • Books & Publishing
  • Financial Aid
  • Residential Life
  • Free Speech
  • Physical & Mental Health
  • Race & Ethnicity
  • Sex & Gender
  • Socioeconomics
  • Traditional-Age
  • Adult & Post-Traditional
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Digital Publishing
  • Data Analytics
  • Administrative Tech
  • Alternative Credentials
  • Financial Health
  • Cost-Cutting
  • Revenue Strategies
  • Academic Programs
  • Physical Campuses
  • Mergers & Collaboration
  • Fundraising
  • Research Universities
  • Regional Public Universities
  • Community Colleges
  • Private Nonprofit Colleges
  • Minority-Serving Institutions
  • Religious Colleges
  • Women's Colleges
  • Specialized Colleges
  • For-Profit Colleges
  • Executive Leadership
  • Trustees & Regents
  • State Oversight
  • Accreditation
  • Politics & Elections
  • Supreme Court
  • Student Aid Policy
  • Science & Research Policy
  • State Policy
  • Colleges & Localities
  • Employee Satisfaction
  • Remote & Flexible Work
  • Staff Issues
  • Study Abroad
  • International Students in U.S.
  • U.S. Colleges in the World
  • Intellectual Affairs
  • Seeking a Faculty Job
  • Advancing in the Faculty
  • Seeking an Administrative Job
  • Advancing as an Administrator
  • Beyond Transfer
  • Call to Action
  • Confessions of a Community College Dean
  • Higher Ed Gamma
  • Higher Ed Policy
  • Just Explain It to Me!
  • Just Visiting
  • Law, Policy—and IT?
  • Leadership & StratEDgy
  • Leadership in Higher Education
  • Learning Innovation
  • Online: Trending Now
  • Resident Scholar
  • University of Venus
  • Student Voice
  • Academic Life
  • Health & Wellness
  • The College Experience
  • Life After College
  • Academic Minute
  • Weekly Wisdom
  • Reports & Data
  • Quick Takes
  • Advertising & Marketing
  • Consulting Services
  • Data & Insights
  • Hiring & Jobs
  • Event Partnerships

4 /5 Articles remaining this month.

Sign up for a free account or log in.

  • Sign Up, It’s FREE
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Therapy Center
  • When To See a Therapist
  • Types of Therapy
  • Best Online Therapy
  • Best Couples Therapy
  • Best Family Therapy
  • Managing Stress
  • Sleep and Dreaming
  • Understanding Emotions
  • Self-Improvement
  • Healthy Relationships
  • Student Resources
  • Personality Types
  • Guided Meditations
  • Verywell Mind Insights
  • 2024 Verywell Mind 25
  • Mental Health in the Classroom
  • Editorial Process
  • Meet Our Review Board
  • Crisis Support

Top 10 Stress Management Techniques for Students

Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

stress management students essay

Akeem Marsh, MD, is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who has dedicated his career to working with medically underserved communities.

stress management students essay

Most students experience significant amounts of stress. This can significantly affect their health, happiness, relationships, and grades. Learning stress management techniques can help these students avoid negative effects in these areas.

Why Stress Management Is Important for Students

A study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that teens report stress levels similar to adults. This means teens are experiencing significant levels of chronic stress and feel their stress levels generally exceed their ability to cope effectively .

Roughly 30% of the teens reported feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or sad because of their stress.

Stress can also affect health-related behaviors. Stressed students are more likely to have problems with disrupted sleep, poor diet, and lack of exercise. This is understandable given that nearly half of APA survey respondents reported completing three hours of homework per night in addition to their full day of school work and extracurriculars.

Common Causes of Student Stress

Another study found that much of high school students' stress originates from school and activities, and that this chronic stress can persist into college years and lead to academic disengagement and mental health problems.

Top Student Stressors

Common sources of student stress include:

  • Extracurricular activities
  • Social challenges
  • Transitions (e.g., graduating, moving out , living independently)
  • Relationships
  • Pressure to succeed

High school students face the intense competitiveness of taking challenging courses, amassing impressive extracurriculars, studying and acing college placement tests, and deciding on important and life-changing plans for their future. At the same time, they have to navigate the social challenges inherent to the high school experience.

This stress continues if students decide to attend college. Stress is an unavoidable part of life, but research has found that increased daily stressors put college-aged young adults at a higher risk for stress than other age groups.

Making new friends, handling a more challenging workload, feeling pressured to succeed, being without parental support, and navigating the stresses of more independent living are all added challenges that make this transition more difficult. Romantic relationships always add an extra layer of potential stress.

Students often recognize that they need to relieve stress . However, all the activities and responsibilities that fill a student’s schedule sometimes make it difficult to find the time to try new stress relievers to help dissipate that stress.

10 Stress Management Techniques for Students

Here you will learn 10 stress management techniques for students. These options are relatively easy, quick, and relevant to a student’s life and types of stress .

Get Enough Sleep

Blend Images - Hill Street Studios / Brand X Pictures / Getty Images

Students, with their packed schedules, are notorious for missing sleep. Unfortunately, operating in a sleep-deprived state puts you at a distinct disadvantage. You’re less productive, may find it more difficult to learn, and may even be a hazard behind the wheel.

Research suggests that sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness are also linked to impaired mood, higher risk for car accidents, lower grade point averages, worse learning, and a higher risk of academic failure.

Don't neglect your sleep schedule. Aim to get at least 8 hours a night and take power naps when needed.

Use Guided Imagery

David Malan / Getty Images

Guided imagery can also be a useful and effective tool to help stressed students cope with academic, social, and other stressors. Visualizations can help you calm down, detach from what’s stressing you, and reduce your body’s stress response.

You can use guided imagery to relax your body by sitting in a quiet, comfortable place, closing your eyes, and imagining a peaceful scene. Spend several minutes relaxing as you enjoy mentally basking in your restful image.

Consider trying a guided imagery app if you need extra help visualizing a scene and inducting a relaxation response. Research suggests that such tools might be an affordable and convenient way to reduce stress.

Exercise Regularly

One of the healthiest ways to blow off steam is to get regular exercise . Research has found that students who participate in regular physical activity report lower levels of perceived stress. While these students still grapple with the same social, academic, and life pressures as their less-active peers, these challenges feel less stressful and are easier to manage.

Finding time for exercise might be a challenge, but there are strategies that you can use to add more physical activity to your day. Some ideas that you might try include:

  • Doing yoga in the morning
  • Walking or biking to class
  • Reviewing for tests with a friend while walking on a treadmill at the gym
  • Taking an elective gym class focused on leisure sports or exercise
  • Joining an intramural sport

Exercise can help buffer against the negative effects of student stress. Starting now and keeping a regular exercise practice throughout your lifetime can help you live longer and enjoy your life more.

Take Calming Breaths

When your body is experiencing a stress response, you’re often not thinking as clearly as you could be. You are also likely not breathing properly. You might be taking short, shallow breaths. When you breathe improperly, it upsets the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your body.

Studies suggest this imbalance can contribute to various physical symptoms, including increased anxiety, fatigue, stress, emotional problems, and panic attacks.

A quick way to calm down is to practice breathing exercises . These can be done virtually anywhere to relieve stress in minutes.

Because they are fast-acting, breathing exercises are a great way to cope with moments of acute stress , such as right before an exam or presentation. But they can also help manage longer-lasting stress such as dealing with relationships, work, or financial problems.

Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Another great stress management technique for students that can be used during tests, before bed, or at other times when stress has you physically wound up is progressive muscle relaxation ( PMR ).

This technique involves tensing and relaxing all muscles until the body is completely relaxed. With practice, you can learn to release stress from your body in seconds. This can be particularly helpful for students because it can be adapted to help relaxation efforts before sleep for a deeper sleep.

Once a person learns how to use PMR effectively, it can be a quick and handy way to induce relaxation in any stressful situation, such as bouts of momentary panic before a speech or exam, dealing with a disagreement with your roommate, or preparing to discuss a problem with your academic advisor.

Listen to Music

A convenient stress reliever that has also shown many cognitive benefits, music can help relieve stress and calm yourself down or stimulate your mind depending on what you need in the moment.

Research has found that playing upbeat music can improve processing speed and memory. Stressed students may find that listening to relaxing music can help calm the body and mind. One study found that students who listened to the sounds of relaxing music were able to recover more quickly after a stressful situation.

Students can harness the benefits of music by playing classical music while studying, playing upbeat music to "wake up" mentally, or relaxing with the help of their favorite slow melodies.

Build Your Support Network

Halfpoint Images / Getty Images

Having emotional support can help create a protective buffer against stress. Unfortunately,  interpersonal relationships can also sometimes be a source of anxiety for students. Changes in friendships, romantic breakups, and life transitions such as moving away for college can create significant upheaval and stress for students.

One way to combat feelings of loneliness and make sure that you have people to lean on in times of need is to expand your support network and nurture your relationships.

Look for opportunities to meet new people, whether it involves joining study groups or participating in other academic, social, and leisure activities.

Remember that different types of relationships offer differing types of support . Your relationships with teachers, counselors, and mentors can be a great source of information and resources that may help you academically. Relationships with friends can provide emotional and practical support.

Widening your social circle can combat student stress on various fronts and ensure you have what you need to succeed.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Niedring/Drentwett / Getty Images

You may not realize it, but your diet can either boost your brainpower or sap you of mental energy. It can also make you more reactive to the stress in your life. As a result, you might find yourself turning to high-sugar, high-fat snacks to provide a temporary sense of relief.

A healthy diet can help combat stress in several ways. Improving your diet can keep you from experiencing diet-related mood swings, light-headedness, and more.

Unfortunately, students are often prone to poor dietary habits. Feelings of stress can make it harder to stick to a consistently healthy diet, but other concerns such as finances, access to cooking facilities, and time to prepare healthy meals can make it more challenging for students.

Some tactics that can help students make healthy choices include:

  • Eating regularly
  • Carrying a water bottle to class
  • Keeping healthy snacks such as fruits and nuts handy
  • Limiting caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol intake

Find Ways to Minimize Stress

One way to improve your ability to manage student stress is to look for ways you cut stress out of your life altogether. Evaluate the things that are bringing stress or anxiety into your life. Are they necessary? Are they providing more benefits than the toll they take on your mental health? If the answer is no, sometimes the best option is just to ditch them altogether.

This might mean cutting some extracurricular activities out of your schedule. It might mean limiting your use of social media. Or it might mean learning to say no to requests for your time, energy, and resources. 

While it might be challenging at first, learning how to prioritize yourself and your mental well-being is an important step toward reducing your stress.

Try Mindfulness

When you find yourself dealing with stress—whether it's due to academics, relationships, financial pressures, or social challenges—becoming more aware of how you feel in the moment may help you respond more effectively.

Mindfulness involves becoming more aware of the present moment. Rather than judging, reacting, or avoiding problems, the goal is to focus on the present, become more aware of how you are feeling, observe your reactions, and accept these feelings without passing judgment on them.

Research suggests that mindfulness-based stress management practices can be a useful tool for reducing student stress. Such strategies may also help reduce feelings of anxiety and depression.

A Word From Verywell

It is important to remember that stress isn't the same for everyone. Figuring out what works for you may take some trial and error. A good start is to ensure that you are taking care of yourself physically and emotionally and to experiment with different stress relief strategies to figure out what works best to help you feel less stressed.

If stress and anxiety are causing distress or making it difficult to function in your daily life, it is important to seek help. Many schools offer resources that can help, including face-to-face and online mental health services. You might start by talking to your school counselor or student advisor about the stress you are coping with. You can also talk to a parent, another trusted adult, or your doctor.

If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact the  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline  at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see our  National Helpline Database .

American Psychological Association. Stress in America: Are Teens Adopting Adults' Stress Habits?

Leonard NR, Gwadz MV, Ritchie A, et al. A multi-method exploratory study of stress, coping, and substance use among high school youth in private schools . Front Psychol. 2015;6:1028. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01028

Acharya L, Jin L, Collins W. College life is stressful today - Emerging stressors and depressive symptoms in college students . J Am Coll Health . 2018;66(7):655-664. doi:10.1080/07448481.2018.1451869

Beiter R, Nash R, McCrady M, Rhoades D, Linscomb M, Clarahan M, Sammut S. The prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students . J Affect Disord . 2015;173:90-6. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.054

Hershner SD, Chervin RD. Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students . Nat Sci Sleep . 2014;6:73-84. doi:10.2147/NSS.S62907

Gordon JS, Sbarra D, Armin J, Pace TWW, Gniady C, Barraza Y. Use of a guided imagery mobile app (See Me Serene) to reduce COVID-19-related stress: Pilot feasibility study . JMIR Form Res . 2021;5(10):e32353. doi:10.2196/32353

Cowley J, Kiely J, Collins D. Is there a link between self-perceived stress and physical activity levels in Scottish adolescents ? Int J Adolesc Med Health . 2017;31(1). doi:10.1515/ijamh-2016-0104

Paulus MP.  The breathing conundrum-interoceptive sensitivity and anxiety .  Depress Anxiety . 2013;30(4):315–320. doi:10.1002/da.22076

Toussaint L, Nguyen QA, Roettger C, Dixon K, Offenbächer M, Kohls N, Hirsch J, Sirois F. Effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery in promoting psychological and physiological states of relaxation . Evid Based Complement Alternat Med . 2021;2021:5924040. doi:10.1155/2021/5924040.

Gold BP, Frank MJ, Bogert B, Brattico E.  Pleasurable music affects reinforcement learning according to the listener .  Front Psychol . 2013;4:541. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00541

Thoma MV, La Marca R, Brönnimann R, Finkel L, Ehlert U, Nater UM.  The effect of music on the human stress response .  PLoS ONE . 2013;8(8):e70156. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070156

American Psychological Association. Manage stress: Strengthen your support network .

Nguyen-rodriguez ST, Unger JB, Spruijt-metz D.  Psychological determinants of emotional eating in adolescence.   Eat Disord . 2009;17(3):211-24. doi:10.1080/10640260902848543

Parsons D, Gardner P, Parry S, Smart S. Mindfulness-based approaches for managing stress, anxiety and depression for health students in tertiary education: A scoping review . Mindfulness (N Y) . 2022;13(1):1-16. doi:10.1007/s12671-021-01740-3

By Elizabeth Scott, PhD Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

Home / Essay Samples / Health / Mental Health / Stress Management

Stress Management Essay Examples

The relationship between work stress and work life balance of it professionals.

The present study was taken with the objective to explore the relationship between factors causing work stress and work life balance of IT professionals. On the basis of results, it can be concluded that all the selected work related variables viz. work autonomy, work ambiguity,...

Research of Stress Management Techniques

Stress embodies physical, mental, or emotional factors that have the potential to cause bodily or mental harm/tension. All human beings encounter stress/stressors at some point in their lives. Stressors can affect a situation, circumstance, or individual negatively or positively. The direction of the stress depends...

Stress: Conclusion About Its Consequences on Memory and Learning

This is a stress essay: conclusion about the consequences of stress on the process of learning, memorizing and on memory at all. It is verifiable truth that stressful encounters may influence learning experiences and memory measures. Less clear is the specific idea of these stress...

No Way to a Relief: a Conclsuion About Chronic Stress

Stress is a natural response to challenging or threatening situations. It is a physiological and psychological response that helps individuals cope with adversity. However, there can be made one clear conclusion about stress - this essay explores the chronic stress as it can have negative...

The Cost of Bad Habits: Academic Performance and Unhealthy Lifestyle

Literature review is basically about linking the study which has been conducted by other researchers to our research topic. The purpose of this unhealthy lifestyle essay was to determine the relationship between unhealthy lifestyle and academic performance among undergraduates at IUMW. Lifestyle depends on many...

The Impact of Stress: Understanding Causes and Effects

Stress can be caused by various reasons in ones lifetime. There are general causes of stress which can be provoked by common life events. In this cause and effect of stress will be an attempt to reveal the topic od stress, its causes and effects. ...

Managing Stress: Strategies for Coping with Life's Pressures

Over the decades, stress has grown to become among the top causes of illness and death especially in the productive stage of human growth. Various disorders and chronic diseases resulting from stress induced effects have risen and become a norm over the past few decades...

Informative Essay About Stress

Stress is the body's way of responding to demand or pressures. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences. In many cases stress is a healthy reaction. It helps us cope with life's challenges. However too much stress, or prolonged stress can affect...

Being a Student Essay: Importance of Exercise and a Refreshed Mindset

High school has many components, some society recognizes more than others. Maybe studying the night before an exam, learning equations in math, or even on graduation day when students receive their diploma. All of which are clearly part of American high schools that relate to...

Academic Stress: Introduction to the Topic

Stress is a universal phenomenon and burning concerns which disturbs all people in all walks of life. It bothers physical as well as psychological domain on the person and create hindrance in the development of the personality and performance. It also pothered research scholars in...

Trying to find an excellent essay sample but no results?

Don’t waste your time and get a professional writer to help!

You may also like

  • Underage Drinking
  • Nervous System
  • Substance Abuse
  • Stem Cell Research
  • Digestive System
  • Anxiety Essays
  • Eating Disorders Essays
  • Mental Illness Essays
  • Suicide Essays
  • Stress Essays
  • Anxiety Disorder Essays
  • Mindfulness Essays
  • Down Syndrome Essays
  • Meditation Essays
  • Psychological Disorders Essays

samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->