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Stress and Alcohol: How to Avoid Two Major Pitfalls of College Life
Copyright 2005 Linda Slater Dowling
A lot of hard work and planning goes into choosing your college
and then preparing for college life. But although your stacks of
extra-long sheets, dorm-size refrigerators, photos of friends
and family and textbooks for every subject imaginable can go a
long way toward making your college experience a happy one, two
of the most important aspects of college life cannot be
bought--and are often overlooked.
Learning how to deal with the effects of stress and an abundance
of alcohol is essential for every college student. Whether it's
your first year or your last, the information that follows can
be carried with you through college and then applied to your
life beyond it.
Stress: You Can't Always Avoid it, But You Can Deal With It
You are living in a stress-filled society. In fact, stress is so
widespread that the American Institute of Stress (AIS) reports
that 75 to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians
are for stress-related illnesses.
Some stress is actually good, like the type that makes you stay
alert and focused when danger could be present. Other stress,
the type that occurs when you're worried about a problem for a
long period of time or because you're overworked, is bad and
will eventually contribute to health problems.
College students, who are simultaneously trying to juggle an
academic career and social life while planning for their future,
are particularly vulnerable to stress. Why? Because college
students may not realize just how much stress can affect their
health, and choose to forgo sleep and healthy eating in favor of
all-night study sessions or parties.
But stress, of course, is not something that you only have to
face during your college years. Some 43 percent of all adults
suffer from stress-related health problems, according to the
AIS. Common complaints include back pain, stomachaches, ear and
sinus infections, headaches and overall tension. Stress has also
been shown to weaken the immune system, leaving you vulnerable
to a host of diseases.
If stress is causing you major problems (you no longer feel like
yourself or feel you cannot cope), you should seek advice from a
health care professional. But for those facing everyday stress,
the type that inevitably occurs from, well, life in general, the
National Mental Health Association offers these tips for
reducing stress in your life:
Learn to say no! Only take on activities that you can manage.
Meditate and visualize how to manage a stressful situation with
ease. Resist the urge to be Superman or Superwoman. Remember
that no one is perfect! When you're feeling overwhelmed, take
things one step at a time. Exercise. It's a great stress
reliever. Lead a healthy lifestyle--get enough sleep, eat well,
limit alcohol and caffeine and exercise. Take time for yourself.
Don't overlook your hobbies. "Me-time" is essential for stress
relief.
Alcohol: Why You Need to Know When Enough is Enough
Though you may think of having a few drinks with friends over
the weekend as an innocent way to relax after the busy week,
college drinking can easily, and often does for many students,
spiral out of control.
In fact, according to a college alcohol study by the
Harvard
School of Public Health:
A full 6 percent of college students meet criteria for a
diagnosis of alcohol dependence (or alcoholism). 31 percent meet
criteria for alcohol abuse. Two out of every five students
report at least one symptom of the above conditions, which puts
them at an increased risk of developing an alcohol disorder.
And although alcohol is readily available, overindulging (if you
have a hangover, you've definitely overindulged) can cause
serious health problems, both immediately and over time. The
World Health Organization (WHO) reported in its 2002 World
Report that alcohol is one of the 10 leading causes of death and
injury in developed countries and caused an estimated 20-30
percent of:
Esophageal cancer Liver disease Epilepsy Motor Vehicle Accidents
Homicide and other intentional injuries
And at colleges themselves, alcohol is related to a number of
scary outcomes. According to the National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), for students between the ages of
18-24:
1,400 students die each year from alcohol-related unintentional
injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. 500,000 are
unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol. More
than 70,000 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or
date rape. 400,000 students had unprotected sex and more than
100,000 report having been too intoxicated to know if they
consented to having sex. About 25 percent of college students
report academic consequences of their drinking including missing
class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and
receiving lower grades overall.
How to Cut Down on Drinking
If you suspect you may have a drinking problem, please seek help
from a health care provider. In this case, stopping drinking all
together (not just cutting down) is necessary. If you are
looking for ways to cut back on your own drinking for health or
other reasons, the NIAAA offers these suggestions
(www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov):
Write down your reasons for cutting down or quitting. Set a
drinking goal. Include a limit for drinks per day and drinks per
week. Keep a drinking "diary," in which you write down when and
how much you drink for three to four weeks. Keep a small amount,
or no, alcohol at home. Sip your drink slowly, eat and drink
water while drinking and wait one hour between drinks. Take a
break from all alcohol from time to time. Learn to say no. You
don't have to drink because others around you are drinking. Stay
active. Get support from friends and family to help you reach
your goal.
Finally, whether you are seeking to limit alcohol or stress in
your life, don't give up. Changing habits and routines takes
time, so don't expect changes to happen overnight. Give yourself
the credit you deserve for making small steps, and watch how the
small steps add up to a healthier and happier future.
About the author:
Linda Slater Dowling, a certified natural health professional,
is CEO & founder of the Nutritional Institute, home of the new
STUDENT FORMULA Natural Health Products. For a FREE e-book on
"Eating Right on a Budget" visit their Web site at
http://www.studentformula.com . You may also want to sign up for
their popular "Be Smart, Be Healthy, Be Natural" e-newsletter.
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