It's 2:30 a.m. and the Deryl Hart Reading Room in Perkins Library is filled with stressed-out students with bags under their watery red eyes, hunched over textbooks and armed with highlighters, laptops and coffee, ready for a long morning of studying. Some have been up all night-fighting against their desire to sleep and for the goal of finishing that paper, that last problem set or math question. Others are just getting started after their jobs and meetings for various campus organizations.
"I don't know how I'm getting through some of these days, some of these weeks," said Deanna Atchley, a junior pre-med philosophy major.
She said the stress caused by her workload and extracurricular activities can get to be overwhelming: "Sometimes I literally reach tears."
While these reactions tend to come at only the most chaotic points in their lives, students say stressful events are a daily part of their college experiences. And experts say students must use their inevitably stress-filled college years to learn to deal with the pressures they will face throughout their lives.
Stress can cause a vicious cycle. Students try to get more work and activities done by staying up later and neglecting sleep, possibly catching quick naps between classes and ending up feeling tired for the rest of the day. When they don't have time to eat-and they usually don't-they grab some fast food between meetings or before heading to the library to study, where they stay up late again and continue this trend until their bodies give out or they just can't concentrate anymore.
Junior electrical engineering and computer science double major Micah Rowland has experienced this cycle but still pushes himself as much as he can. Rowland's classes, meetings and activities often don't allow him to start working until 11 p.m.
"I can pretty much stay up as long as I want as long as I keep pushing myself," he said. Rowland has seen the sun rise while working in Teer Library several times this year, and bedtimes of 7 and 8 a.m. are not unusual. "If I'm doing a homework assignment that's due tomorrow morning, I probably won't quit," he said.
This mentality is something that Dr. Dan Jones, director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Appalachian State University and an expert on stress and stress management, said is prevalent in college students.
"Some people are perfectionists and they are so driven and motivated that they think they can do everything, and most of us can't do that," he said. "Actually, nobody can."
What makes some people seem less affected by stress is not necessarily how much they have on their hands, but the way in which they respond to it.
"What's the difference between excitement and stress? It's in how you interpret the experience," said Joe Talley, staff psychologist for Duke's Counseling and Psychological Services.
Devoting time to focus on yourself by talking with friends or professionals, participating in relaxing activities like massage therapy and cutting back on activities are some ways of dealing with stress. Although the kinds of stress relief techniques will vary from student to student, some kind of chill time is necessary to stay sane.
Most students rely on their friends to help them cope with stress and form support networks in order to deal with their issues. Still, many admit that they do not manage their stress as productively as they should and say that although it sometimes takes a while, they often feel the backlash. Pre-med sophomore Carl James said his poor eating and sleeping habits coupled with his academic and extra-curricular load have had serious physical consequences. "After a while it takes its toll," he said. "I'm sick literally almost every week."
Jones said the building up of stress can be dangerous for students. "It kind of snowballs on you," he said. "Some people just take on so many activities and responsibilities and they have a desire to do everything and to always be the best."
And at a school like Duke, Talley said, this is particularly true.
"This is a different type of university; therefore, you get different types of students and different competitiveness," he said. "You're playing academics at a Final Four school. It is a compressed, stressful environment."
Jones said giving yourself a reality check is important in dealing with stress. "People feel like they should be perfect," he said. "But the demands of life often don't allow us to do our best at everything."
Talley said that not asking for help is one of the biggest mistakes students can make.
"I would be willing to bet that there are a number of people who don't [seek help]," he said. "People look at asking for help as defeat. People want to feel like they've got it all down."
This approach can have long-lasting effects. "Stress tends to literally eat away at our bodies. A good deal of people are sitting on it until they have to have a quadruple by-pass," he said.
Talley said that learning how to manage pressure is a skill that students need to master while in school, because the working world will be filled with just as much stress. "I'm still learning how to say no," said Atchley, who admits that much of the strain she feels is self-made. "But I don't want stuff to go undone."
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