Today we will talk about college students and stress. Are you a student or will be soon? How do students relax and reduce stress using the creative process? Do you use art creation for relaxation and stress reduction?
Firstly I will tell you about what kind of stress students experience. But the most important part of this article will be an amazing college student’s Latrics essay about how tertiary students reduce stress by art creation.
College Students and Stress
Time in college or university is very stressful for almost all of us, and we all need to think about ways to manage our stress levels and find ways to relax and rest. Because only we can manage our stress and relax properly, we can be healthy, happy and successful in everything we do.
College students have a lot of stress, and it includes tests, exams, deadlines, and many other activities in school and outside. You all have a life outside of school. Right? To juggle many responsibilities is a difficult thing to do for any of us. Believe me, I know the feeling and this is why today I talk about college students, stress and how they can reduce stress and become more productive and happy.
For me, drawing and painting are amazing ways to say goodbye to stress, anxiety and feel better. Creative activities can always improve my mood and my ability to deal with stress and every day’s activities.
RELIEVE STRESS BY DRAWING and see how everything can change for you.
Below you can read Latrics’s essay about students and art creation as an amazing tool for stress management.
How tertiary students unwind stress through art creation?
Tertiary students experience much stress nowadays. They want better academic results and good relationships. These concerns may cause stress, which may cause frustration or even depression. Tertiary students will be the backbone of our society.
If society does not face up to the problem and take action, it may not be able to sustain itself. Art creation is the most effective method that helps tertiary students to unwind from stress because art creation can distract them from negative thoughts, help develop their social skills and turn distress to eustress.
Art creation can distract tertiary students from negative thoughts. H. Kao and others (2014) observed that Chinese calligraphic handwriting (CCH) has a satisfactory result in stress reduction. CCH keeps a relaxed condition, diminishes muscle tension and pulse while it was also claimed that “CCH integrates the mind and body during writing in the form of enhanced cognitive facilitation and verbal ability”. Participants need to remove distracting thoughts to concentrate on writing which makes attendants feel calm and keep focus.
Another example is paper cutting. Japanese artist Sachiko Abe used to be in a psychiatric hospital. She wanted to commit suicide but finally, she found a method to help her—cutting paper. She stopped thinking about death and became calm.
Hence, creating artwork can make people’s minds clear and they will stop worrying about daily struggles or issues. Therefore, tertiary students can forget about stress while making art.
Art Creation and Social Skills
Art creation can also help develop tertiary students’ social skills. Studies show that social skills refer to “the communication skills that allow people to interact effectively and appropriately with others”. A study by Segrin (2017), shows that people with poor social skills are more likely to get more stress, which can adversely affect health. People who suffer from loneliness and stress are less willing to connect with others.
Art creation is a good way to improve communication skills and conduce to stress reduction. Students can make art with friends. While creating, they can have conversations with each other.
Having constant contact with different people can improve their communication skills. They can feel more comfortable and confident when communicating with people.
Social skills are inversely linked to mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, the more sociable tertiary students are, the less stress they receive, therefore art creation is the best way to unwind stress.
Distress to Eustress
Finally, art creation can turn distress to eustress. Distress, according to Selye (cited in Suedfeld, 1997), is bad stress: it leads people to break down due to competition and high expectation from others. Tertiary students want to maintain a good balance between study and relationships. If they are underperforming, the task may fail, and they will be frustrated and depressed, which can cause distress. However, distress can be turned into eustress.
Eustress is a condition where situations are recognized as challenges to be overcome, and facing such stress smoothly is an origin of confidence and pride.
Students can set drawing as a daily or weekly goal. They can draw some simple doodles or Zentangle which only takes 10 minutes to draw.
It is easy for students to achieve, students can feel the satisfaction because they can achieve the goal that they set by themselves. Therefore, making art can turn daily distress to eustress which is beneficial to students.
Tertiary students are stressed because of studying and relationship problems, which cause mental problems. Art creation can distract them from negative thoughts, help them socialize and turn distress into eustress. Art creation can be promoted in tertiary school because making art can be a good habit for students to release stress. In conclusion, art creation is the most effective method that helps tertiary students to unwind from stress.
Conclusion
Thank you, Latrics, for an amazing essay and great thoughts! Thank you for being part of this website!
College students experience stress almost daily and it is important to remember that creativity and art creation are great ways to reduce stress, socialize and feel better. In my opinion, art creation is one of the best ways to say goodbye to chronic stress, become more productive and enjoy your life more.
What do you think about art creation? Did you ever try to use creating art as a way to reduce stress and relax? How did you feel after?
Does art reduce stress? CLICK HERE and read more about how it can help you to change your life.
Thank you! Until next time!
Linda Mo
Founder of How To Reduce Stress Naturally