Study shows patients suffer from stress
by Keith Ludwick, Reporter

   One of the biggest factors in modern life is that students experience more stress and more anxiety than anyone ever has in the history of the world, counselor John Huchingson said during a seminar he presented last Wednesday afternoon on SE Campus.
   The 45-minute presentation drew 29 students, the majority admitting they were experiencing excessive stress.
   “You can feel like you’re okay, but you’re not. You don’t know that you are feeling abnormal because stress for you is normal,” he said.
   Huchingson said 80-90 percent of hospital patients are there because of stress or as a result of having too much stress put onto them everyday.
   Stress may be caused by credit card bills, busy schedules, anticipation of up-coming holiday events or being involved in a difficult personal relationship, he said.
   Huchingson equated stress with our human ancestors’ being confronted by a saber-toothed tiger 15 thousand years ago.
   Blood flow increases throughout the body, breathing rate quickens and muscles tighten.
   Huchingson said that once students realize what it is they are experiencing, they can find ways of dealing with stress.
   One suggestion Huchingson offered was the use of positive self-talk. Self-talk is a way of reducing stress by recognizing it for what it is and then talking oneself through the stressful situation.
   “There is no need to fight what I am feeling. Even though it’s uncomfortable, it’s just adrenaline and it will pass,’ is an example of positive self-talk,” he said.
   If students speak negatively to themselves, Huchingson said, those thoughts will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
   Huchingson also shed light on common misconceptions involving stress. One such myth is that stress is always bad.
   “Not so,” he said. “Sometimes, you have to have stress to keep yourself motivated.”
   Another stress-related myth is that stress is everywhere and people cannot do anything about it. Huchingson explained a handout he distributed that showed tips students could put into practice to lower their stress levels.
   Those tips included reducing negative thoughts, living in the present rather than the future and taking breaks to recharge a person’s mental and physical batteries.
   Emily Hughes, a student who attended the seminar, said she enjoyed the presentation.
   “He tries to get everyone to relate,” she said.
  Students can attend future seminars on dealing with stress by contacting Huchingson on SE Campus or by checking the weekly community listings found in the The Collegian.