You Can Beat the Stress Before It Beats You Down: OAU Students Share Their Experiences
"Stress, often described as the emotional pressure we face in challenging situations, is an inevitable part of University life."
Obafemi Awolowo University, a prestigious school with many academically excellent students, is not without its challenges. In this article, I will share with you the impact of stress on OAU students as they juggle going to classes, reading late at night, religious activities, extracurricular activities, and making money.
Stress is the natural reaction your body has when changes or challenges occur. It can result in many different physical, emotional, and behavioural responses. However, stress is propelled by stressors.
Stressors are anything that comes as demands, challenges, or threats that cause you to push or work yourself beyond certain physical or mental limits. Summarily, a stressor is anything that triggers stress in an individual.
How Stress Affects Students:
Being a student requires effort, among other things, especially when it comes to higher institutional learning. In relation to this, Obafemi Awolowo University students are known for their academic achievements and high involvement in extracurricular activities, social events, and religious activities, with over 30 religious fellowships and churches. In all these events, students inadvertently commit themselves to one, two, or more of these activities.
In an interview with Moyinloluwa, a part 2 student of the Department of Foreign Languages, she explained that stress is that state of overwhelming pressure of not feeling like going further. She said, "Personally, it was not stressful for me in part 1 because I was offering four courses and had the time for my registration. However, I noticed that generally, it can be stressful for some students." She added that stressors come from situations beyond the control of the students, such as academic deadlines and having to do night reading coupled with the tasking day of moving from one lecture hall to another while trying to build a social life on campus. She explained that these might be too much for a student to put together, especially for part one students. Thus, she appealed to the school management to create "stress support systems" like awareness and counselling programmes on stress. So that students who are overwhelmed can speak with experts. This is to prevent students from breaking down, becoming ill, or even getting depressed, especially when they begin to see the stress as something beyond them.
Precious, a part 3 student of Nursing, shared her story about how stress has affected her. Precious stated that for her, stress occurs when something feels new and demanding, but with time, she tends to adjust to the situation. She said, "Stress is now a force that reminds me that nothing good comes easy, so whenever I feel tired and want to stop, I remind myself that nothing of good value comes easily. It is an emotional backing to protect my mind." She continued by saying, "One thing I know is that after the stressful academic period, I must rest.”
Olatomide, a part 4 student of the English Language, shared his thoughts on the intentionality of religious organisations in raising awareness of stress to their membership. He said, "I think every organisation (not only religious organisations) should educate their members on the importance of time management and the effects of stress on their entire well-being. Of course, if students feel overwhelmed with their engagements with lots of activities, they should take breaks until they are back to their normal and perfect selves." He also shared his thoughts on students withdrawing from activities when they feel overwhelmed. "In fact, if the activities they are engaged in are numerous, complicated and multifaceted, it is advised they keep a hold on some activities or put a stop to them. This way, they can focus on what really matters and relieve themselves of the accumulated stress that accompanies multitasking," he added. He suggested that religious organisations needed to be inclusively involved in raising awareness of the effects of stress on their membership. In addition, they should ensure that the students can mix religious positions with their studies by educating them on time management.
Omotola, another 300 level English student, shared her story of how exam stress broke her down. According to her, she had rushed back to school after a Christmas break, leaving other engagements. She learnt, later on, that the exam had been rescheduled. She lamented her experience during this period. "I cannot forget. It was in my part 2 first semester, and I had to do one overnight to another, preparing for tasking courses. It was not easy," she added. "The worst experience for me was when I went for my CSC exam at ICT," she said. "I was ill, and the place was crowded with so many students. I had to wait in a long queue under the hot sun for 2 hours plus, in fact, my eyes went blank under the sun. It was my worst experience," By the time she finally entered the hall to do her exams, her computer went off due to a power outage. Omotola had to restart the exam when the light was restored. When she was done, she had to prepare for an exam for the next day. She said, "It was very stressful for me." She suggested that the ICT should have shade where students could stay rather than wait under the sun. She added that a store close to the centre would be needed because the available ones are far from the exam hall.
The issue of stress may continue to occur in the university, even as the students continue to debate whether the current exam calendar would be postponed due to a somewhat short academic semester and the resumption of the part 1 students. Nonetheless, it is important to note that stress has primarily "Negative" impacts on the student, and knowing how to alleviate stress even as we approach our exams is needful. Additionally, it is pivotal to note that stress can be managed by learning time management and also engaging in relaxing activities.
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