INTRODUCTION
Stress and anxiety is the big
problem to many students in Tanzania. Many students fall in stress because of
the environments of the study that they meet with, this work has provided in
detail the meaning of stress and anxiety, and then in this work there are the
causes of the stress and anxiety. Then
in brief we have explained the relationship between anxieties to other problems
or diseases from there effect of stress and anxiety to our students in Tanzania
has followed apart from causes. After explaining the all about, I have provided
the way of dealing with the stress and anxiety to students and children in
general. Conclusion also has shown clearly
ant the end of this work this is to show the wind up of the work. Finally there
is the References used in this work.
WHAT
IS STRESS?
Stress
has been defined in different ways over the years. Stress is internal or external influences that
disrupt an individual’s normal state of well-being. Or Stress is your
body's way of responding to any kind of demand which can be caused by both good
and bad experiences. When people feel stressed by something going on around
them, their bodies react by releasing chemicals into the blood. These chemicals
give people more energy and strength, which can be a good thing if their stress
is caused by physical danger. But this can also be a bad thing, if their stress
is in response to something emotional and there is no outlet for this extra
energy and strength.
TYPES
OF STRESS
Following are descriptions of the three types of stress that
The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child has identified based on
avail-able research:
Positive
stress results from adverse experiences that are short lived, Children may
encounter positive stress when they attend a new daycare, get a shot, meet new
people, or have a toy taken away from them. This type of stress causes minor
physiological changes including an increase in heart rate and changes in
hormone levels. With the support of caring adults, children can learn how to
manage and overcome positive stress. This type of stress is considered normal
and coping with it is an important part of the development process. Middlebrooks (2008:3)
Tolerable stress Middlebrooks, (2008:6) states that tolerable stress refers to adverse experiences that are more intense but still
relatively short-lived. Examples include the death of a loved one, a natural
disaster, a frightening accident, and family disruptions such as separation or
divorce. If a child has the support of a caring adult, tolerable stress can
usually be overcome. In many cases, tolerable stress can become
positive stress and
benefit the child developmentally. However, if the child lacks adequate
support, tolerable stress can become toxic and lead to long-term negative
health effects.
Toxic stress, Middlebrooks, (2008:6) states that toxic
stress results from intense adverse experiences that may be sustained
over a long period of time weeks, months
or even years. An example of toxic stress is child maltreatment, which includes
abuse and neglect. Children are unable to effectively manage this type of
stress by themselves. As a result, the stress response system gets activated
for a prolonged amount of time. This can lead to permanent changes in the
development of the brain. The negative effects of toxic stress can be lessened
with the support of caring adults. Appropriate support and intervention can
help in returning the stress response system back to its normal baseline.
WHAT IS ANXIETY
Anxiety is an emotion that is
distressing. Sometimes, it may have no specific cause, unlike fear, the cause
of which can be seen and dealt with by fighting or running away. This feeling
of anxiety is frequently generalized from one situation or stimulus to another;
Freud referred to this as `free-floating anxiety'. If the individual does not
relate the feeling of anxiety to one specific cause, it becomes extremely
difficult to resolve satisfactorily. Davies (1987:57) suggests that “An
anxiety-producing situation occurs at the same time as another stimulus (for
example, a child may learn that pain is associated with a doctor), so that
whenever the stimulus-object appears, anxiety is aroused” All of us experience anxiety at some time
and cope with it well, for the most part. Some people are anxious about
specific things, such as speaking in public, but are able do well in other
activities, such as social interactions. Other people may have such high levels
of anxiety that their overall ability to function is impaired. In these
situations, counseling or other services may be needed.
CAUSES OF STRESS AND ANXIETY
Many different things can cause stress
from physical such as fear of something dangerous to emotional, such as worry
over your family or job. Some of the most common sources of stress are,
Conflict, Stress
may be the result of conflict with parents, children, teachers, students, lovers or others with
whom we
Come into conflict, situations for instance jobs, driving or internal
conflicts resulting from situations in which we find ourselves. Manassis, (1996:12).
Survival Stress,
You may have heard the phrase "fight or flight" before. This is a
common response to danger in all people and animals. When you are afraid that
someone or something may physically hurt you, your body naturally responds with
a burst of energy so that you will be better able to survive the dangerous
situation (fight) or escape it all together (flight). This is survival stress. (Mutie, 2011;34)
Internal Stress, this is one of the great causes
of the stress, says that “Internal
stress is when people make themselves stressed, This often happens when we
worry about things we can't control or put ourselves in situations we know will
cause us stress”. Some people become addicted to the kind of hurried, tense,
lifestyle that results from being under stress; they even look for stressful
situations and feel stress about things that aren't stressful.
Environmental Stress, This is a response to
things around the student that cause stress, such as noise, crowding, and
pressure from work or family. Identifying these environmental stresses and
learning to avoid them or deal with them will help lower your stress
level. (Mutie,2011:26).
Fatigue and Overwork This kind of stress builds
up over a long time and can take a hard toll on the body, It can be caused by
working too much or too hard at your job(s), school, or home. It can also be
caused by not knowing how to manage your time well or how to take time out for
rest and relaxation. This can be one of the hardest kinds of stress to avoid
because many people feel this is out of their control.
Peer
pressures, mutie, (2001:45) say that Peer pressure is very strong during the adolescent years. Since
so much time is spent with peers, the influence can be more powerful than that
of parents, teachers, or other authority figures. During the day, teenagers
spend more time with peers than with their family members, Friends, or peers,
with whom your teen associates directly affects the perspectives and values the
teen holds and directly influences the decisions your teen makes.
Major life changes, this is the one among the problems that causes
stress to a person, this is especially to the one that has experience a good or
better life but when it comes to the hard situation one may fall to the anxiety
and stress because he/she hasn`t experience hardship situation in life before.
Relationship difficulties, difficulties
in relation may seriously cause stress to the person, and this is very serious
issue in today`s time as many people are facing challenges in relationship,
conflict in relationship may led someone to have deep feeling about it in which
may result into serious stress problems. (Mutie,2011:45)
Financial problems, financial
problem is among the challenging issues that face many
people in the world, many people struggles on how to get money for their basic
need, failure of getting the required money is automatically led to serious
stress to an individual one.
Being too busy, this is
the other causes of the stress and anxiety, being too busy may automatically
cause stress as the result of the body fear responses. (Manassis, 1996:35).
Inability to accept uncertainty, this is
the situation where by one does not accept him or herself, that is he or she
doesn`t trust himself on doing various issues, this situation may cause stress
because it may involve one in deep thinking about how he may going to resolve
certain problem as he is think that he is not able to do that. (Mutie, 2011:46)
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF STRESS
Memory problems, a stress
may result to the memory problems, one may fail to remember properly because of
the stress that affects him or her
Inability to concentrate, Stress can
affect both your body and your mind, student under large amounts of stress can
become tired, sick, and unable to concentrate or think clearly. Sometimes, they
even suffer mental breakdowns (Mutie,2011;35)
Poor judgment, poor
judgment is one of the serious symptoms that you may recognize the student or
the person.
Seeing only the negative,
Moodiness, Irritability or short temper, Agitation, Inability to relax, Feeling
overwhelmed, Sense of loneliness and isolation.
Not only that but also there is
other signs and symptoms of
stress and anxiety these include
the following, Aches and pains,
Diarrhea or constipation,
Nausea, Dizziness, Chest
pain, Rapid heartbeat, Loss of sex drive, Frequent colds, eating
more or less, sleeping too much or too little,
Isolating yourself from others, Procrastinating or neglecting
responsibilities, and
Using
alcohol, cigarettes or drugs to relax,
EFFECT OF STRESS AND ANXIETY TO STUDENTS
High levels of stress hormones,
including cortical, can suppress the body’s immune response. This can leave an
individual vulnerable to a variety of infections and chronic health problems.
(Middlebrooks, 2008:6)
Sustained high levels of cortisol can damage
the hippocampus, an area of the brain responsible for learning and memory.
These cognitive deficits can continue into adulthood.
Pain of any kind, stress
causes pain a stressed student may feel aches and pain which are influenced by
the stress especially head ach and stomach ache , many stressed students are
disturbed by the stomach and headache
(Manassis,1996:34).
Heart disease, that several times students face heart problems
because of the stress; stress is the main cause of the heart problem. Medical researchers aren't sure exactly how stress increases
the risk of heart disease. Stress itself might be a risk factor, or it could be
that high levels of stress make other risk factors (such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure) worse. For example, if you are under
stress, your blood pressure goes up, you may overeat, you may exercise less, and you may be more likely to smoke. (Manassis,1996:34).
Digestive problems stress prevents
production of pancreases juice at the sufficient level or in required rate,
stress prohibit digestive enzyme to be produced. (Manassis,1996:34).
Sleep problems, many
students take their work home with them, either physically or metaphorically.
And it makes sense: with today’s
demanding workloads, it’s often difficult to come home from a day of
troubleshooting and automatically stop thinking about all the, well, trouble. Stay
at home parents and students can experience this
as well. (Mutie,2011:45)
Depression,
Bourne,
E. J. (1995:86). Says that It is well known that chronic
stress can provoke a depression “Depression doesn’t have just one cause it
seems to arise as a consequence of several different factors, one of which is
stress,” says Vibe Frokjar, a PhD and doctor of medicine affiliated with Cimbi.
“Adverse combinations of genetics, stress, disturbances during the early
development of the brain, and the brain’s uptake of serotonin appear to enhance
one another.
Obesity,
Behaviorally, stressed out students will often eat even when they’re not
hungry this is known as stress eating or
emotional eating, and the food choices made are usually not the wisest. (Bourne, 1995:87).
Autoimmune diseases, Bourne, (1995:87) says that our bodies have an immune system, which is a complex network
of special cells and organs that defends the body from germs and other foreign
invaders. At the core of the immune system is the ability to tell the
difference between self and nonself: what's you and what's foreign. A flaw can
make the body unable to tell the difference between self and nonself. When this
happens, the body makes autoantibody that attack normal cells by mistake.
Skin conditions, Bourne, (1995:87)
says that, stress actually boosts immune
function, chronic (long-term) or daily stress appears to interrupt healthy skin
function. Evidence emerging within the past several decades suggests that
emotional states such as depression, worrying, hostility, and psychosocial stress
directly influence both body function and health.
Inability to concentrate, Stress can
affect both your body and your mind, student under large amounts of stress can
become tired, sick, and unable to concentrate or think clearly. Sometimes, they
even suffer mental breakdowns. (Bourne,1995:87)
STRESS AND ANXIETY IN RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROBLEMS
Although
less is known about how anxiety is related to other problems as compared to
adults, there are some well-established patterns.
Depression, Anxiety and depression occur
together about 50–60% of the time. When they do occur together, anxiety most
often precedes depression, rather than the opposite. When both anxiety and
depression are present, there is a higher likelihood of suicidal thoughts,
although Suicidal attempts are far less frequent.( Cox, 1978:96)
Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Manassis,(1996 :48) says that At times, anxiety may appear similar to
behaviors seen with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For
example, inattention and concentration difficulties are often seen in children
with ADHD and with children who have anxiety. Therefore, the child may have
anxiety rather than ADHD.
School performance, Children
with anxiety may have difficulties with school work, especially tasks requiring
sustained concentration and organization. They may seem forgetful, inattentive,
and have difficulty organizing their work. They may be too much of perfectionist
and not be satisfied with their work if it does not meet high personal
standards. (Cox, T.1978:96)
Substance use, Cox,
(1978:97) says that, What appears to be anxiety may be manifestations of
substance use, which may begin as early as the pre-teen years? Children who are
abusing drugs or alcohol may show sleep problems, inattention, Withdrawal, and
reduced school performance. Although substance abuse is less likely with
younger children, the possibility increases with age.
Interventions Anxiety is
a common experience for children, and, most often, professional intervention is
not needed. If anxiety is so severe that your child cannot do expected tasks,
however, then intervention may be indicated. S5–2 Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders in (Bourne,1995:86).
Depressants, like Ativan, Xanax and Klonopin, slow brain function, which often causes people to lose
concentration easily and become dizzy and fatigued. Long-term effects of
depressants use include sexual problems, sleep problems, breathing
difficulties, chronic fatigue and depression. These drugs also increase your
risk of developing high blood sugar and diabetes.
Hallucinogenics can have psychological and physical
effects on your body. Users can become paranoid, have mood swings, have
outbursts of violence or develop extreme depression.
Health effect it
makes the taker becomes unstable, taker tends to go mad and started the trains
structure and functions. If your are on
addict you have taken a head return, from which it is very difficult to return
while drugs affects your whole body, the
most important effects are in your brain where your brains natural chemicals
are changed by drug use and craving keeps you using drugs again and again.
(Hyde 4 secaro:2003:19)
Stressful
events, stressful events in life cause trouble to teenager who attends school
or stressful life events may include divorce or separation of parents, low
grades in school and poverty. Divorce or
separation of parents can affect the emotional, psychological and physical well
being of a child. The primary concern of
parents who are divorcing is the response of their children and their ability
to handle the situation to become healthy and happy despite effect of divorce
on children depends upon their age anger depression guilt adolescents and fear
(2009:4).
DEALING WITH STRESS AND ENXIETY TO
STUDENTS
Although
professional intervention may be necessary, the following list may be helpful
to teachers in working with the child or students at school, In dealing with stress and anxiety the
following might be helpful to the learner.
Dacey,
(2001;123) says that Student must be guided to identify the problems, which
problem is facing him or her. In order to cope with easily.
Dacey, (2001:123) says that a student
should be helped in avoidance of the stimulus, this is a method that individual
student may often use to reduce anxiety
Bourne, (1995:86).the student should be assisted clearly to
identify the effects that the stress and anxiety has on him or her.
Maintain a consistent, but
flexible, routine for homework, chores, and activities also Accept mistakes as
a normal part of growing up, and that no one is expected to do everything
Equally
well. Praise and reinforce effort, even if success is less than expected. There
is nothing
wrong
with reinforcing and recognizing success, as long as it does not create
unrealistic expectations and result in unreasonable standards. (Bem, 1993:54).
Student should be taught on how to
manage stress, Bem, (1993:54).says that “you may feel like the stress in your
life is out of your control, but you can always control the way you respond.
Managing stress is all about taking charge, taking charge of your thoughts,
your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems”.
Stress management involves changing the stressful situation when you can.
Student should learn how to relax,
they can’t completely eliminate stress from their life, but they can control
how much it affects them. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and
deep breathing activate the body’s relaxation response, a state of restfulness
that is the opposite of the stress response. When practiced regularly, these
activities lead to a reduction in your everyday stress levels and a boost in
your feelings of joy and serenity. They also increase your ability to stay calm
and collected under pressure. (Bem,1993:55).
Learn quick stress relief, Learn about changes you can make in
responding to stress
Everybody
has the power to reduce the impact of stress as it’s happening in that moment.
With practice, you can learn to spot stressors and stay in control when the
pressure builds. Sensory stress-busting techniques give you a powerful tool for
staying clear-headed and in control in the middle of stressful situations. They
give you the confidence to face challenges, knowing that you have the ability
to rapidly bring yourself back into balance
(Bem, 1993:57).
Students should be emphasized to Read Positive
advice and Stories Books and websites can be extremely helpful, as long as you
stick to the positive ones. The "Chicken Soup" books are wonderful in
providing inspiration and encouragement.
Sleep; Mutie,
(2011:46), Advices that student must make sure that they are getting enough sleep. Sleep allows
their body and mind to regenerate, making them better able to approach each day
in a positive light.
Spend Time with Friends, Take time away
from leading and spend it just enjoying the company of good friends. Make a vow
not to talk about negative things while out with your friends. (Mutie,
.2011:46). Pray/Meditate - Prayer can work wonders. Further, meditation is known to truly calm the soul, allowing you to approach
situations from a much better, Mutie, (2011:47) Take Some Time for yourself, Treat yourself from time to
time. Maybe you can take a nice long bath or put in your favorite movie and just
relax for a bit. Whatever it is, carve out some time for yourself.
(Mutie,2011:46).
Laugh, Laughter has been linked to many major benefits. Find reasons to
laugh more. Watch your favorite comedy, go to the local comedy club, or just
hang out with someone who you know always gets you laughing.
(Mutie, (2011:46) Manassis, (1996:87)
says that the parent should teach the child simple strategies to help with
anxiety, such as organizing materials and time, developing small scripts of
what to do and say, either externally or internally, when anxiety
increases, and learning how to relax
under stressful conditions. Practicing things such as making speeches until a
comfort level is achieved can be a useful anxiety-reducing activity .
Kibride,
et al (2000:60) noted “the adult and street boys believe as the matter of high
priority that the assistance from personal sponsors, government and foundation
should be increased so as to provide for schooling needs or for technical
training in employable skills such as carpentry, tailoring and other”.
The parent must listen to and talk with her
child on a regular basis and avoid being critical. Being critical may increase
pressure to be perfect, which may be contributing to the problem in the first
place. Do not treat emotions, questions, and statements about feeling anxious
easily or unimportant. They may not seem important to you but are real to your
child. Take all discussion seriously, and avoid giving too much advice and
instead be there to help and offer assistance as requested. You may find that
reasoning about the problem does not work. At times, children may realize that
their anxiety does not make sense, but are unable to do anything about it
without help (Manassis,1996:87).
Do not assume that your child is
being difficult or that the problem will go away. Seek help if the problem
persists and continues to interfere with daily activities. (Manassis, 1996:87)
We can build
reliable mental health by avoiding all risks and perform the suggested ways of
keeping mental health well; the following are some of the way of improving
mental health.
i.
Find types of exercise you like;
When you have too much, you must try any
time exercise you like example, dancing, riding a bicycle, running or walking
to refresh the mind.
ii.
Social support from friends and family
members also promotes good mental health, example providing concrete help
during crisis, such as providing shelter to families victimized by natural
disasters.
iii.
Involving in physical activities,
example regular aerobic exercise help to boost self esteem, relieve depression
and improve concentration.
iv.
Develop ability to cope with adversity
can be crucial fro the mental health, example of the coping strategy include
denying the problem, sharing emotion with others and distracting one’s
attention from a problem.
CONCLUSION
Stress and
anxiety is the emotional situation that
are aroused to an individual due to various reasons which includes ,
Environmental events, Drug Abuse, Peer pressures ,Major life changes, Work, Relationship difficulties, Financial problems,
Being
too busy, Children
and family, Under
the health issues discussed under this work can be reduced by providing health
education to the society accordingly, mental illness and mental retardation as
well as drug abuse can be prevented by encouraging families and educational
centers or institute to provide considerable education or causes and the
impacts of these vital health issues.
REFERENSES
Bourne, E. J. (1995). The anxiety
and phobia workbook (2nd ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
Cox, T. (1978). Stress. Basingstoke:
Macmillan. A review of theories, causes and effects of stress
in the light of empirical research.Atkinson, R.L., Atkinson, R.C., Smith
Dacey,
J. S., & Fiore, B. (2001). Your anxious child: How parents and teachers can
relieve anxiety in children.San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 0-78796-040-3.
Doskoe, E (2013) What Is Contested Divorce?; Family
Law And Divorce,
Devorce
.Com. An Article
Drug dependence: Stress and dysregulation of
brain reward pathways. Drug Alcohol Depend 1998; 51:23-47.12.
Ellen.
E. and Bem, D.J. (1993). Introduction to Psychology, 11th edn. Orlando, FL:
Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich.
Farley,
J. E. (2003) Sociology fifth edition; Prentice Hall, Upper saddle River.
ISBN: 1-56224-003-2.
Jacobsen LK, Southwick SM, Kosten 2001,
Substance Use Disorders in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A
Review of the Literature. Am J Psychiatry
Manassis, K. (1996). Keys to parenting your
anxious child. New York: Barrons. ISBN: 0- 81209-605-3.
Middlebrooks JS, Audage NC,(2008.) The Effects of
Childhood Stress on Health Across the Lifespan.
Atlanta (GA):
Mutie, E.K, Ndambuki p.(2011)Guidance
and counseling for school and colleges,
oxford university press,National
Association of School Psychologists, Highway,Suite
United Nations
(1995),The United Nations Department of Peace-keeping Operations, Office of Planning
and Support, , The International Training Centre of the ILO, New York
Social Plugin