Academic Stress: Sources, Impacts, and Coping Strategies

The Academic Work Environment as a Stress Source

As a student, my work environment contributes a considerable amount to the stress I face in daily life. Perhaps if I were working full-time like my parents, my work environment would contribute even more stress than it does now. Regardless, I am almost certain there are ways in which my status as a student — and the environment that comes with it — adds to the stress I feel, sometimes surpassing that of someone in a traditional working environment. At least those people are able to specialize in what they do, whereas the general requirements imposed on students do not allow for the same luxury — at least not until later in one's academic career.

My academic environment contributes to my stress levels because it tasks me with doing certain things I would never do otherwise. I have been fortunate enough to take many different classes throughout my academic career, and some of them I have genuinely enjoyed. However, I had a very difficult time with math and science courses taken as general requirements. Taking those classes had a significant — and decidedly negative — impact on my grade point average.

Grading Pressure and Continuous Assessment

Maintaining my GPA is another source of stress directly related to my scholastic environment. Many people have jobs in which they can simply perform their work, regardless of whether they do so poorly or exceptionally. As a student, however, I have had to endure what feels like a limitless number of years in which every grade, quiz, and paper compounds upon the last and plays some contributing role in my future. It always feels as though one slip-up will render all other efforts meaningless. Perhaps that assessment is not entirely accurate, but it certainly feels that way sometimes. The constant need for testing and evaluating a student's capabilities is, for me, the most stressful aspect of the academic work environment.

In all honesty, the most significant sources of stress in my environment are the teachers themselves. Some are genuinely congenial and more adaptable in their methodologies than others. Other teachers, however, seem to care little for individual students or for the effect their instruction, assessments, and assignments may have on those students. Many of the latter type are well aware that the demands of their classes — when considered alongside those of other courses — are considerable and stressful for students to endure.

The Role of Teachers in Student Stress

These instructors seem to hold an antiquated attitude, believing that because previous students suffered through such a workload (possibly including themselves at one point), overburdening students with scholastic responsibilities is acceptable. Research on student stress consistently highlights demanding academic environments as a primary contributor to psychological strain. Regardless of historical precedent, this approach certainly adds to the stress I experience in my academic environment.

Another source of stress in my environment is the way much of education is administered in contemporary times. Even students who take classes in a physical setting are frequently required to use the internet in some capacity — whether for researching assignments, submitting work through plagiarism-detection websites, or accessing resources and communicating with teachers through online platforms. It often feels as though I spend a great deal of my time simply staring at computer screens.