Stress and its coping Strategies 1

Understanding stress and Applying and Evaluating Coping Strategies

Maryam Nadeem Sheikh

21-10420

Forman Christian College University

Psychology 100A

Dr. Elizabeth Schwaiger

Stress and its coping Strategies 2

Introduction:

Stress is a fundamental physical reaction in which our body responds by releasing certain

hormones and chemicals. It can be defined as “a negative emotional experience accompanied by

predictable biochemical, physiological, and behavioral changes that are directed toward

adaptation either by manipulating the situation to alter the stressor or by accommodating its

effects” (Baum, 1990, p. 653). Stress can be acute or chronic depending on the situation of the

individual. It is to be noted that stress in not always negative sometimes it proves beneficial for

us in circumstances like exams or work due dates by giving a boost of energy by releasing

hormones like adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine. Everyday events like helping someone in

a math problem, choosing a gift for a loved one or having to choose between two things or

opinions can also be a lot stressful for some people. I even often go through many stressful

situations but I'm getting effected the most by academic stress. Academic stress can be defined

as" a mental distress with respect to some anticipated frustration associated with academic failure

or even unawareness to the possibility of such failure" (Lal, 2014, p.123). Academic stressors

include fear of giving presentations, fear of failing a course or a quiz, fulfilling our parents'

expectations, time management, lack of motivation, not understanding the instructor, financial or

health issues and grade competition. The fear of public speaking and presenting in front of a

crowd is a major stressor of my academic life. This fear is also known as Glossphobia. It is

considered as the top phobia in America leaving behind the fear of death and spiders. It can be

categorized as acute stress as it is for a short period of time. It might often lead to pressure and

frustration. This pressure is mostly due to the fear of not giving a good enough presentation or

humiliating ourselves in front of others or may also be due to competition among all the students
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of being the best public speaker. The frustration is due to the chances of our failure and to do

something which we aren't good at. Our body responds to this speech anxiety by increasing our

heart rate, by dilating pupils, rapid and short breathing, stiffness of neck, dry mouth and by

releasing stress hormones like adrenaline. Some people might also face shaky voice and hands,

nausea, dizziness etc. Many people avoid such events due to the fear of having a panic attack.

Presenting in front of a huge crowd and trying to make them understand your point is a very hard

task for me and later on answering their questions is also extremely stressing and nerve

wrecking. Presenting is something that needs a lot of training and we can only become better at it

with excessive practice.

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Literature Review:

The articles I'll be discussing are psychological stress, appraisal, emotion and cv

response by Pamela. J. Feldman and Academic Stress among College Students: Comparing of

American and International Students by Ranjita Misra and Linda G. Castillo. Stress is something

that every person goes through almost everyday. It can be chronic or acute. Some people are

good at in coping with it while some get highly effected by it. Being a student, we go through

different kind of stress everyday which include lack of motivation, mismanagement of time, lack

of concentration, bad grades, parental pressure, no support from friends or teachers, failing a quiz

or course and so on. If not given attention this could affect our mental and physical health and

we might not even achieve our goals. "A survey was conducted on college student stress at many

schools throughout the United States. The survey found that four out of 10 college students

report they feel stressed often. One out of five say they feel stressed most of the time. One out of

four students report experiencing daily stress and 9 percent report thoughts of suicide." Edison

Media Research. (2008). Students face higher stress when they try to finish their work in a

specific time and fail to do so. "Students report experiencing academic stress predictably, with

the greatest sources of academic stress being found in taking and studying for exams and with

respect to grade competition and the large amount of content to master in a small amount of time

(Abouserie, 1994; Kohn & Frazer, 1986)" (Academic Stress among College Students:

Comparing of American and International Students, p.133)

Stress and its coping Strategies 5

Stress can highly alter our mood and emotion .It is normal to experience mood swings

because of stress. In condition of stress most people like to stay alone and isolated. They try to

avoid any kind of social interaction while some people try to release their stress by aggression

and being mad on others. Stress might even lead to depression which may cause sleep problems,

self-hatred, insecurity, loss of appetite, restlessness, frustration and helplessness. Constant stress

can alter our attitude and our thoughts. To top it all off, stress can influence a man's mood to

such a degree, that they can start experiencing issues relating and working with associates and

demolish what was once adoring associations with family and companions. Stress can easily

transform a happy and social person into an audacious and rude person.

Stress can also have a negative effect on our health. Stress can trigger headaches. It can

make us feel emotionally depressed. It can also lead to increase of stomach acid which may

further lead to heartburn. Falling asleep becomes harder due to stress and might even cause

insomnia. When we are stressed, our muscles become tensed up and we feel difficulty in

breathing. Long term stress makes our immune system weak and we become less resistant to

infections. Increased heart rate can affect our arteries and this also increases the chances of a

heart attack. Stress can also increase the chance of getting type 2 diabetes as it causes are liver to

secrete more sugar. Our blood vessels become tight due to stress and it can also cause blood

pressure. It also may disturb our menstrual cycle. It can also affect our sex drive. Our digestive

system also slows down because of it.

Stress is of various forms but the most common among people is stress of public

speaking or speech anxiety. If the thought of giving a presentation sends chill down your spine

then you are not alone. Many people around the globe battle with it. It does influence us

physically and mentally but how much it can harm us depends upon how we cope with it. If we
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keep stressing about it without doing anything to help it, in the end it will only get worse.

According to a study, 73% of world population has the fear of public speaking and as compared

to men, women are most likely to have this fear. Being a decent open speaker can enable you to

propel your profession, develop your business, and frame solid joint efforts. It can enable you to

advance thoughts and move individuals to activity on issues that influence them

straightforwardly. "It is proposed that an individual will be more responsive to stressor that is

particularly relevant to his or her personality.(Bolger and Zuckerman. 1995)" (psychological

stress, appraisal, emotion and cv response, p.356). Hence, it is seen that this fear also depends

on our personality. If we are very shy and timid and avoid social interactions then we are more

likely to have this fear. "Individuals who report greater Psychological vulnerability to an

impending stressor are expected to exhibit greater physiological responses." (psychological

stress, appraisal, emotion and cv response, p. 356). The various reasons for this stress could be

due to the anxiety of public speaking. Some people might even go through anxiety sensitivity or

the fear of the fear. This condition also increases their stress of public speaking. Sometimes our

own thoughts worsen the situation.

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Program Targeting three Coping Strategies:

Baseline stress level:

When I took the test of South Asian Tension Scale, I scored 30 on it. This score was

before I started implementing the coping strategies. The stress I was facing at that time was

mostly due to a presentation which I had next week. Due to it I was usually in a bad mood and

felt quite frustrated. I was also facing insomnia because the thought of public speaking in front of

a huge gathering was crowding my mind with all the things that could go wrong during it,

including me forgetting my whole speech or messing everything up.

Three Coping Strategies:

The three coping strategies to overcome my fear of public speaking and to reduce stress

are: Exercise, Breathing, practicing and understanding fear is normal. I chose exercising because

as it helps footballers and players to calm their nerves before their big game, it might also help

me to calm down for my presentation. Studies have proved that by controlling our breathe we

can reduce stress. Breathing promotes relaxation. Controlled breathing can cause positive

changes in our body including balanced level of oxygen in blood, high physical energy, reduced

level of stress hormones, positive thoughts, less stress and better immune functioning. Practice is

also an essential strategy as it is said, "Practice makes a man perfect". By practicing I might be

able to feel more confident and present better in front of the audience. By accepting the fear is

normal I might be able to fight my fear. If we do something that we fear again and again, at some

point we will no longer have that fear. By practicing this fear can be overcome.
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My experience of Implementing the coping strategies:

On day one, before practicing my speech I decided to do basic exercise in the morning

which includes Pilates and kick boxing and some yoga. I actually felt quite fresh and light after

my exercise session. After taking a fifteen-minute break I stared practicing my speech. First, I

practiced in front of the mirror and then with my sister and also asked her to pay attention to my

performance so she can tell me later on, what I was lacking. Second day, I skipped exercise to

give my muscles a break and instead of it, practiced to control my breathing. I breathe in for 4

seconds and then I breathe out for 4 seconds and I continued to do that for a minute. After doing

this I realized that the feeling of fear I used to had before giving my speech had become less.

After this, I again presented my speech in front of my sister like yesterday. This time she noticed

that my voice sounded more relaxed and confident. The third day, in the morning I began with

my exercise which included kick boxing and yoga. After taking a 10-minute break I practiced in

front of sister, this time I felt quite powerful about my speech and the feeling of fear was less. On

the fourth day to test that if my strategies have actually worked I decided to practice in front of

my friends. Before that I did my breathing control exercise. When I presented in front of them I

did fear a little but it was quite less as compared to the first time. On the fifth day, after doing my

yoga and kick boxing I again presented in front of my friends but, with more confidence as

compared to yesterday. I repeated this same routine for the next two days by doing exercise and

practice on one day and, then breathing and practice on the other day.

Level of Stress After Implementing the Strategies:

After implementing the coping strategies for a week, I again took the south Asian tension

scale test and scored 24 which was less than the one I did a week ago. After applying my coping

strategies, I experienced less stress regarding my fear of public speaking, I felt more confident
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and powerful. And when I gave my actual presentation, after a week of implementing those

coping strategies my speech anxiety had reduced to a great extent. During the presentation my

voice wasn’t shaky, I remembered all the material and I answered all of their questions calmly

and confidently. Those three coping strategies helped me a lot in managing my stress level and in

reducing my fear of public speaking.

Conclusion:

Overall these coping strategies proved to be very helpful in reducing stress and my fear

of public speaking. After applying them I actually felt a change and also felt that now I have

become more comfortable with public speaking. These strategies increased my confidence,

reduced my stress, calmed my nerves and made me feel better about myself.
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References

Baum, A. (1990). Stress, Intrusive Imagery, and Chronic Distress, Health Psychology, Vol. 6,

pp. 653-675.

Biegel, G. M. (2009). The stress reduction workbook for teens: Mindfulness skills to help you

deal with stress. Oakland, CA: Instant Help Books. A division of New Harbinger Publications,

Inc.

Hussain, A., Kumar, A. & Husain A. (2008). Academic stress and adjustment among high school

students. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 34, 70-73

Calgaous M. Glenn. (2012). Survey of college academic stressors: Development of a new

measure. International General of Human Sciences. Vol 9, 442-444

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Lal Khrisna. (2014). Academic stress Among Adolescent In Relation to Intelligent And

Demographic factors. American International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and

Social Sciences.123-129

Carol H.(2017). The Effect of Stress on mood and memory. Retrieved from

https://www.totalwellnesschoices.com/how-stress-affects-mood-and-memory/

Holub Juraj. (2014). Five ways to get rid of stress before public speaking. Retrieved from

https://blog.sli.do/5-ways-to-get-rid-of-stress-before-public-speaking/

Lake Rebecca.(2015). Fear of Public Speaking Statistics and How to Overcome Glossophobia.

Retrieved from https://www.creditdonkey.com/fear-of-public-speaking-statistics.html

Mills Harry. (2008). Mental And Emotional Impact Of Stress . Retrieved from

https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/mental-and-emotional-impact-of-stress/

Jenkins, C.D. (1979). Psychological modifiers of response to stress. Journal of Human Stress, 5,

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