Stress is something we as humans are more than familiar with in our daily lives. It is a state of emotional and mental tension that builds up and makes us want to burst inside, depending on how we deal with stress.

According to WebMD, stress is, “…any change in the environment that requires your body to react and adjust in response.” Some people react to change positively, while others react rather negatively. This is in regards to physical, mental and emotional responses.

It is normal to experience stress. Many events, actions, and conditions exert stress on the body. Stress is commonly seen as bad, but it is not always that way. There are good and bad forms of stress produced from the environment, body, and thoughts.

Stress affects the human body significantly. Negative stress, called “distress,” can result in physical symptoms including upset stomach, headaches, chest pain, elevated blood pressure, and sleep problems, WebMD states. Some people use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs in a desire to relieve stress, but instead, these substances usually keep the body in a stressed state and lead to more complications.

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce and fight stress. These ways include, but are not limited to, meditation, breathing deeply, talking to a friend, laying down, laughing out loud, listening to music and exercising. In general, relaxing and giving yourself time to slow down and breathe will minimize the agony of stress.

Stress greatly impacts Xavier students, in regards to endless nights of homework and responsibilities. A junior, Jope Adaralegbe, says that, “stress gives me acne, makes it so that I sleep less and has the domino effect by falling asleep in class, which makes me miss important information. I react poorly in some situations and have a poor attitude towards people dear to me due to stress. I combat stress by listening to music and spending some alone time in my room.”

A senior, Julia Jordan, says that, “stress makes me have less patience and puts me in a bad mood. It also tires me out, which means I pay less attention in class and do not start my homework as easily as others. To fight stress, I try not to think about things as much and realize I cannot change certain things.” 

Overall, stress greatly affects the human body in many different ways and results in other problems as well.