Alcohol, classic cure-all for students' stress
By Alix Bogehold
Coffee breaks, naps, exercise and parties: what do they all have in common? These are some of the ways in which college students relieve stress. However, to get a blink of an eye's relief from daily stress, more and more students are turning to alcohol and drugs.
Since alcohol and drugs are so easily accessible on college campuses, students are using them as a release. Positive coping methods, including exercise, eating a balanced diet, going to movies, taking a small weekend getaway or even spending time alone, are all notably less convenient because of the living situations and conditions in college. Time is limited, transportation may be difficult to find, petty cash or extra spending money is routinely absent, and the availability of home-cooked meals, as an alternative to the tasty Easy Mac or Top Ramen fare, is stifled by a lack of time. Therefore, alcohol and drugs are a quick, easilyâ€"accessible solution for many college students to use in order to relieve their stress.
Stress can be brought on by both positive and negative experiences. Common causes of stress among college students are academic and athletic pressures, independence, changes in environment, and family related issues. The pressure of being a "trophy child" with great success impacts many factors in students' lives. High expectations are put upon them, and once met, are raised even higher.
Changing expectations are due in large part to the fast pace of today's society. Technology is constantly mobilizing and speeding things up. People are finding ways to get more than one thing done at a time, ultimately overloading their already-saturated schedules. Being hard workers (with seconds-long attention spans) who thrive on change is easily one of the most definitive characteristics of our Millennial Generation. We drive ourselves to meet the expectations society places upon us and go above and beyond them.
Our drive to succeed eventually leads to dramatically increased stress levels. A study by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute reported that 30 percent of freshmen are frequently overwhelmed with all they have to do. It was also found that 38 percent of women reported having high stress levels, compared to 20 percent of males. This difference could result from the fact that women tend to spend more time and effort on goal-orientated and potentially stress-inducing activities, while males spend more of their time on recreational activities providing a tension release.
These increased stress levels eventually cause people to turn to alcohol and drugs as a means of coping with life's frustrations. The body reacts to stress by releasing two types of chemical messengers. These are hormones in the blood and neurotransmitters in the brain. They alter the metabolism of food so that the brain and muscles have sufficient stores of metabolic fuel for activities that help a person cope with stress. Scientists have discovered neurotransmitters called opioid peptides, which are chemically similar to opiate drugs such as heroin and morphine. These opioid peptides may inhibit the release of a hormone called corticotrophin-releasing factor and other stress-related neurotransmitters in the brain, thereby hindering stressful emotions. It is for this reason that people are depending on alcohol and drugs to inhibit their stress for brief periods of time. So until there is a significant decline in stress for this generation, the use of alcohol and drugs will likely maintain (and probably increase) its popularity and pervasiveness on college campuses.
Alix Bogehold is a freshman.