Adaptive Coping Mechanisms for Stressors Among Students

Background

Sound mental health is essential for students’ optimal perform in academics, physical, social and psychological aspects (Adedamula et al., 2022; Freire et al., 2020). However owing to the stressors within institutional environments, students are bound to be stressed. A stressor is any situation or activity in the surrounding that triggers stress (Wooll, 2022). Wooll contends that these could be externally or internally situated. For instance financial constrain, life events, physiological, lifestyle choices, relationships or the physical environment and individual’s response to sources of stress may vary from one individual to another. Therefore having emotive and anxious feelings or finding it difficult to eat or sleep may be an individuals’ everyday reactions to stress (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] n.d.-a). These reactions are categorized into: Behavioural, Physical or Psychological. Behavioural retorts refer to the efforts to avoid or flee from the stressful situation. Physical reactions involve accelerated heartbeat, trembling, sweating, headaches or heavy breathing. Psychological responses to stress may be exhibited in fright, dread and anxiety (Smith, 2022). According to Monroe and Slavich (2016) the existence of social and physical ecological circumstances which are problematic to the adaptive capabilities and resources of an organism are referred to as psychological stressors. Such environments expose people to diverse situations with both common and specific psychological and physical attributes leading to stress.