Stress and Relaxation

Among college students, 1 out of 5 say they feel stressed out most of the time. Do you feel stressed out? Stress comes from a variety of sources and affects the body in multiple ways. Are you able to identify the sources of your stress and the way your body reacts to it? Learning how to cope with stress and relax is a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle. How do you relax when you get stressed?

" Your breathing is your greatest friend. Return to it in all your troubles and you will find comfort and guidance."

The Teaching of Buddhist Master

Looking Back:
A Self-Reflection

Identify the top five "musts" in your life (financial, health, occupation, etc.)

Check out our worksheet.

Quiz Ideas

  • Are you having stress symptoms? Stress can impact your body in many ways and cause a wide variety of symptoms. Find out if you are having symptoms with this quiz.
  • What relaxation techniques work for you? Muscle relaxation? Visual imagery? Creative expression? Take this test and find out.

Moving Ahead:
The Challenge

Since stress can be cumulative and build up or be one large stressor, how can you reduce its effects?

Check out our worksheet.

Articles

Campus Resources

  • Wellness, Alcohol, and Violence Education and Services
    WAVES helps students make healthy, safe choices and encourage lifelong, thoughtful healthy decision-making through individualized support, creative, programming, and evidence-based education and outreach. They help students feel empowered and have the capacity to grow to their full potential and reach optimal wellness and well-being. WAVES offers information on alcohol including staying sober, sober rides, safer drinking, talking to others about their alcohol use and more.
  • Counseling and Psychological Services
    CAPS provides a wide range of free services to students, which are provided by a staff of professional clinical psychologists, social workers, counselors, learning specialists, and psychiatric providers. They offer individual counseling, group counseling, workshops, and outreach programs, as well as other resources.
  • Center for Psychological Services
    CPS offers individual, family, and couples therapy, group therapy, assessment, consultation, and mental health evaluations. They use evidence-based clinical training in assessment, consultation and intervention, and provide accessible, affordable, culturally sensitive, and state-of-the-art services to the community.
  • Student Health Services
    Student Health Services provides high quality health care, counseling, health education and prevention services to George Mason University students. From diagnosis and treatment of illness and injury, to women’s and men’s health, to immunizations and prescriptions, Student Health Services is available to all Mason students with clinics at Fairfax, Arlington and Science and Technology Campuses. There is no charge to be seen by one of our healthcare providers. There are nominal fees for treatments, and supplies.
  • Center for the Advancement of Well-Being
    CWB catalyzes human well-being by promoting the science and practices that lead to a life of vitality, purpose, and resilience. As an interdisciplinary teaching and research center at George Mason University, the center is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations thrive in a world of complexity and uncertainty. They offer free weekly well-being practices for the Mason community, various well-being events and programs, and more.
  • Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural Education
    ODIME engages the Mason community in awareness and exploration of the diversity of the campus community, identity development, and global and cultural competencies. They offer services, resources, and experiences that assist students in recognizing, cultivating, and actualizing their potential to thrive and succeed and interact with people with different identities than their own and co-create an inclusive and welcoming campus environment.

Additional Resources

  • Campus Mindworks
    Campus Mind Works is a website that supports the University of Michigan and provides them with information, resources, and access to staying healthy and managing college life. This page offers information regarding the pros and cons of stress, defining too much stress, and ways to reduce stress.
  • Mayo Clinic
    Mayo Clinic is a non-profit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. They offer newsletters, tips, and more on stress and relaxation.
  • WebMD Health
    WebMD provides valuable health information, tools for managing health and support to those who seek information. They offer information about health including topics on stress and relaxation regarding how it affects health, signs to look for, and how to reduce stress.
  • National Institute of Mental Health
    National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal Government's principal biomedical and behavioral research agency. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The web site offers a link to anxiety disorders, along with autism, bipolar, depression, eating disorders, and others. It also offers information regarding stress and the developing brain.

David S. Anderson, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Director, Center for the Advancement of Public Health
College of Education and Human Development
School of Recreation, Health and Tourism
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
PH: 571-296-2521
Email: danderso@gmu.edu

Affiliated websites:
College of Education and Human Development
Center for the Advancement of Public Health
vacalc.org