After four years at McGill, Amelia McKinley*, U3 psychology, believed she had reached a relatively seasoned level of mastery in the pursuit of her undergraduate degree, guaranteeing that her final semester would be completed with ease. Much to her surprise, however, she confronted a debilitating level of stress during midterm season this October. In previous years, Amelia navigated through work without becoming too overwhelmed, but this semester she found herself at an unrecognizable crossroad, blurred by a “fog of panic” with no clear solution in sight.

She believes her unparalleled stress levels were ignited by an unforgiving midterm schedule, causing her to feel like she was “up against an impossible amount of work.” Amelia could barely recognize herself.

“Instead of just trying to tackle work like I normally would, I became paralyzed with fear and my brain shut down entirely,” she says. “I would look at a page of material I [knew] and [I would feel] like I had never read it before.”

According to Dr. Stepanie Pantel, a psychologist at McGill Mental Health, Amelia’s stress was “the mind and body’s way of responding to a demand.” Pantel distinguishes the difference between the physiological, cognitive, and emotional reactions to stress. “Increased blood pressure and heart rate, dizziness, nausea,  dry mouth, [and] headaches” are bodily reactions to stress. In addition, “negative self-talk, inability to concentrate, restlessness and difficulty making decisions” are common psychological effects.

Pantel asserts that our response to stress is often governed by the body’s protective hardwiring when it senses imminent danger, which triggers the fight-or-flight reaction, also known as the ‘stress response.’ In this case, the body responds whether the danger is real or imagined. An amalgamation of intangible, lurking, and often undiscovered stressors can elicit the same reaction as a set of life threatening or  jeopardizing circumstances—like a car speeding towards you in the wrong lane.

Unlike Amelia, Violet Arsenault*, U3 biology and math, maintains a conscious awareness of the presence of stress in her life. There is a correlation between stress symptoms and clinical depression specific to her case. Last year, Violet was diagnosed with depression, and keeps track of stress symptoms as a measurement of her psychological well-being.

“I always find myself toeing the border of crippling stress,” she recalls.

At the pinnacle of her undiagnosed illness, Violet completely withdrew from expected tasks. She ignored midterms and assignments, didn’t attend lectures, and stayed in bed for up to five days at a time. She explains the double-edged sword that characterizes the connection between stress and depression.

“If you are depressed, you don’t want to do work. If you don’t do work you’re going to become stressed out about it… it’s a vicious cycle.”

Violet recalls feeling unable to climb out of the rut of inactivity she was in. “When my stress levels became too high, I opted out of life. Not only did this make me completely behind in work, I then became more stressed out because I felt completely hopeless.”

According to Pantel, stress management techniques are vital to ensure that symptoms do not evolve into more significant issues. Though Violet alleviated her symptoms after diagnoses and treatment, her stress did not disappear. Yet, identifying depression as the source of her battle with stress enabled her to achieve a level of cognitive clarity, which she describes as on par with that of her peers.

“Certainly, I think I can manage stress much better now, because the medication I take allows me to make choices that make me happy: exercise, eating better, sleeping regularly, working hard.”

Despite her new level of clarity, residual effects remain from self-taught approaches to schoolwork while battling undiscovered depression.

“I have developed really terrible study habits. I usually won’t do anything, and then at the last moment when the stress really hits me, I’ll buckle down and make it in time,” she said.

The starting-line position Violet now finds herself at—facing the impact of stress keeping her from her textbooks—highlights the prevailing paradox at the heart of many students’ tumultuous relationship with stress. A healthy level acts as a boosting mechanism to kick-start work, but once the point of nipping procrastination in the bud is surpassed, the friendly hand of stress can transform into an unsuspected enemy.

Pantel agrees that stress is not always negative, and indeed a certain degree is essential for motivation—the weight of its impact is dependent on how we perceive stress, and how we interpret the events surrounding it. Benjamin Cohn*, U3 political science and economics, shares  this notion, and celebrates the beneficial element of stress.

“[It] has impacted my educational career positively, in that it increases my motivation to discover ways in which I can alleviate what causes me stress, which [means] doing better in school,” he states.

Benjamin finds solace in completing schoolwork, consequently relieving stress and thereby feeling satisfied. He admits, however, that the formula to embrace stress, finish schoolwork, and achieve contentment, is not successful when he faces uninspiring facets of coursework. To preserve the stamina in the ongoing battle to stay on top of work, he uses study drugs, such as Adderall or Vyvanse, as his weapons of choice. Benjamin stocks up from friends who have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and are willing to share or sell their prescriptions on the side. He is conscious of the connection between completing work and maintaining peace of mind, but is handicapped by a genuine lack of interest in a particular subject or aspect of a course.

He uses study drugs to “concentrate on work that doesn’t always have cognitive primacy, like long, drawn-out readings.” Though they enable him to sit for hours attacking tedious tasks, he affirms that the usefulness of ‘study drugs’ is limited to certain situations. These medications ignite extreme levels of concentration in those unaffected by ADD, provoking a detrimental level of attention to detail. Often, they even prompt the user to draw nonsensical or overly abstract connections.

“I couldn’t use study drugs in situations that required a lot of clear and creative thinking or linear thought,” Benjamin confirms.

Paralleling the experiences of Violet and Benjamin, and their use of medication, it is key to recognize that some students’ battle with stress is often compounded by the day-to-day struggle with other issues. Violet  asserts that the treatment of her depression placed her on a leveled playing field with her classmates. Yet, the treatment of one cognitive disorder does not cure the other. In the same vein, Benjamin’s use of study drugs to maintain a consistent degree of stress-free living complicates the relationship between stress, mental illness, and maintaining control through medication—regardless of whether one is diagnosed with an illness or not.

Isaac Gielen, a U4 secondary education student and former floor fellow at McGill Residences, guided over 150 students through the challenges of their first year. Often, he maintained advisory relationships after students left residence. As a central guidance figure to newcomers from all corners of the globe, Gielen recognized a salient stressor among McGill’s fresh faces. He noticed a significant disconnect between the challenges belying the day-to-day grind of an undergrad, and how the reputation of excellence at McGill creates preconceived notions of assured success and satisfaction.

Interestingly, Gielen explains, the reputation of McGill elicits self-doubt for students who become generally dissatisfied with their respective programs. He recalls students believing that their unease was illegitimate, describing it as “this mentality that‘my program isn’t giving me much, but McGill is such a celebrated school, it must be fine and I must be the problem.’”

[pullquote]“Our battles with stress will only make us stronger, ensuring that term papers, midterms, and exams are rightfully understood as the small hurdles to jump along the long university marathon.” [/pullquote]

Gielen calls attention to the disconnect between the expectations of school versus the multifaceted struggles it ensures. Many on the margins of academia—even parents, siblings or friends—may not be aware of  their loved ones’ constant exposure to stress.

On the other hand, professors’ proximity to students, by virtue of involvement in the university itself, allows an empathetic understanding of the weighty pressures caused by looming deadlines, exams, and the perpetual need to succeed. Dr. Jody Mason, professor in the department of English, tracks general levels of student stress through interpreting student behaviours in lecture.

“I try to monitor student response in class; if students are clearly not reading or keeping up with the material, I always attempt to pull back or re-organize the material in some way.”

Although  being stressed does not fall under the category of a medical excuse many professors require, Mason accommodates stress symptoms with a “generous late policy, which gives students up to five days to submit late work with a very minimal penalty.” Despite the reasonable mediations Mason employs, she notes that students often simply fail to submit work.

Considering the various causes and manifestations of stress, methods of prevention must be examined. For example, students should maintain physical well-being by sleeping and eating well, as well as exercising regularly. Psychologically, identifying personal strengths and weaknesses is important; aiming for perfection will inevitably lead to dissatisfaction. Students should place reasonable demands on themselves.

Pantel also emphasizes the often forgotten, yet simplest of all preventative tools: keeping a balance between studying and recreation by not letting the pleasures of life be overthrown by schoolwork.

Stress may pop into a student’s life when they least expect it. For some, stress could be a manifestation of depression symptoms, while for others, stress perhaps serves as a motivational tool. Yet, regardless of the way it manifests, each student at the university is bound to develop a relationship with stress in some way or another. Evidently, although stress is ever-present, we have the power to mold and shape it into what we want. Our battles with stress will only make us stronger, ensuring that term papers, midterms, and exams are rightfully understood as the small hurdles to jump along the long university marathon.

*Names were fabricated to maintain the anonymity of those interviewed.