Stress. That little voice in your head that keeps you tossing and turning. A slight skip in your pulse and quiver in your hands. An ominous fog that threatens to turn into a destructive storm. When you think of stress, do stress-related illnesses come to mind? According to the American Psychological Association, stress-related ailments accounted for about 75% of all doctor’s office visits in 2014. Large amounts of this pressure or chronic stress often relate to the top five leading causes of death including, cancer, lung ailments, heart disease, accidents, liver failure, and suicide.

You have probably seen fear ignited in the eyes of most ISB students when the IB program is mentioned. Maybe you have experienced that little voice in the back of your head reminding you of that summative assessment in chemistry. Perhaps it is a spike in your heart rate before a race. When you are faced with a high-intensity situation, your body often responds by releasing stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.

The hysterical strength phenomenon is a relatively new concept that is also commonly known as “superhuman strength.” Ransom Riggs, a writer for Mental Floss reports that the average human uses a very minimal percentage of the total strength and ability available in their muscles. There are stories of average individuals lifting cars to save children pinned beneath. Nick Harris, weighing a mere 185 pounds, lifted a vehicle to save a six-year-old girl stuck beneath. It is not a regular occurrence to see a person lifting a vehicle, and seems next to impossible. But, it all has to do with the “fight or flight” response which releases ample amounts of stress hormones in your system. These hormones act similar to an Amphetamine or performance-enhancing drug occasionally used by athletes. This sudden improvement in stamina and endurance allows regular people to wear a cape. The body is preparing itself to meet a goal or accomplish something challenging. This same exact concept applies to stressful situations in school. Stress hormones pulse within the mind of a student in preparation for that English commentary or playing assessment in band. The body is preparing itself to meet a difficult task.

Doctor Kelly McGonigal, a TED presenter, studied the effect that one’s perspective on stress has on their health. She confesses, “something I have been teaching for the last ten years is doing more harm than good.” We carry negative cognitive definitions of this word as it has always been presented to us in a negative light, as something unwanted and unhealthy. McGonigal speaks of a study that changed her mind. 30,000 adults in the United States were tracked for an eight year period. The study began with two simple questions. “How much stress have you experienced in the last year” and “do you believe that stress is harmful to your health?” Individuals who reported larger amounts of stress had a 43% greater risk of dying, but this number only reflected on those who answered “yes” to the second question. The subjects who thought positively of stress had the lowest chances of dying. If this study were to be applied to student’s performance at school, perhaps marks would improve. The way that you perceive your stress impacts you monumentally and predisposes the effect, it will have on you. Redirecting this societally interpreted negative idea into something constructive or used as motivation will lead to overall improvement in performance.

“Perspective has a major effect most of the time. Some people have a really hard time having perspective on stress and it can feel really overwhelming.” Comments Mr. Ruhl, school psychologist at ISB.

Although this study has been proven effective for typical amounts of school-induced stress, it is important to understand the difference between stress and chronic stress.“I’ve seen kids who have had situations in their life that have been under stress for a long, long time; it can overwhelm a system and typically when we’re stressed we have that fight or flight feeling.” Ruhl explains. This relates to students who harbor this constant stress in the back of their mind, their bodies are constantly releasing large amounts of Cortisol and adrenaline or this feeling of being on edge. “If this continues to happen this can cause great amounts of fatigue in the body.” Ruhl compared this feeling to the jolt one feels as a dog runs out of nowhere, but constantly.

This emotional toll follows an individual around without reason. It can be debilitating mentally and physically making carrying out everyday tasks next to impossible.

It is important to have a few coping mechanisms you can turn when dealing with overwhelming amounts of stress. Although talking to a trusted adult or friend is effective it can also be daunting, and often the last resort. You can start with a few strategies that don’t take much time at all.

Exercise. Easier said than done but a minimum of 20 minutes will show massive changes in your concentration and improve your ability to focus. Some fresh air will help in clearing your mind.

Self Awareness. Taking a few minutes of silence to focus on your breathing is important. Tune into your body and ignore your surroundings.

Balance. Take into account the amount of time you spend on different aspects of your everyday life. Make time to do something you enjoy.

When you are feeling stressed next time, take these steps to try and calm your mind. Hopefully, you can overcome this obstacle and focus on the next step.

Madison Mehta