People develop ways to cope with stress over their lifetime from past experiences, expectations and environment. Coping mechanisms are triggered once we assess a situation to be stressful. However, not everyone copes with stress in an effective way. Therefore stress management can help to develop health, productive ways to handle stress. Most people wouldn’t admit they can’t handle stress and deny they needed stress management. Even though more than likely we could all learn a thing or two about stress management techniques.
Stress is a natural part of everyday life. Even though stress can be bad and harmful over long periods of time, it also can be positive, challenging and motivating. If we evaluate the attitude and the habits that accompany stress, then we can change our perspective and learn effective coping skills and stress management techniques.
The first objective of stress management is to identify the sources of stress in our lives. Whether it’s your house, career, job, family, money, figure out what is causing you to stress out. Now that you have figured out what is causing your stress, how do you cope with stress? Do you have bad habits that you turn to, change your attitude, make excuses? Are your coping mechanisms healthy or unhealthy? Healthy coping skills motivate you to be productive and reduce stressful situations. Unhealthy coping mechanisms are unproductive and can lead to procrastination, anxiety, and depression. Some unhealthy coping strategies include smoking, drinking, over or under eating, eating TV, withdrawal, drugs/pills, ad oversleeping. These bad habits will lead you down a road of destruction and unhappiness. To change your habits and remove stress from your life, you have to do two things: 1. Change the situation and 2. Change the reaction. 
To change the situation you can avoid stressors. For many people this can be as easy as learning to say No. For others it’s learning to control your environment, avoid hot topics and avoiding people who stress you tout. Setting limitations on what you are able to do and the time to get them done. If you can’t avoid a stressor, learn to alter it instead. Be assertive in expressing your feelings. Offer a compromise. Manage your time to avoid conflicts.
To change your reaction you need to adapt or accept the stressor. Adapting to stress requires changing ones perception and thoughts about stress. Instead of thinking about the situation in a negative light or getting mad, think positively and try to find a positive perspective. Is there a bigger picture that makes the situation look like just a challenge to overcome. Accepting stress means not trying to control things that are uncontrollable. Look for a silver lining or an upside to the situation. Learn to share your feeling sand forgive when things don’t go as planned. These strategies can reduce the level of stress that occurs in your daily life.
Other helpful tools to maintain a healthy life include adapting a healthy lifestyle and making time for relaxation. Making time for fun and relaxation is very important. Make plans and put it into your schedule that way you are locked in. This will help to eliminate exhaustion and burnout caused by stress. Exercise, and diet also keep your body healthy and immune system strong. Avoiding caffeine, sugar, alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes also maintain a healthy body. Make sure you practice a daily sleep regiment of 7-8 hours to rest and restore your brain. All of these techniques combined work together as a stress management system to eliminate stress and keep a health body, mind and spirit.

Graduated with a BA in exercise science and have worked in the medical field since. My focus is alternative medicine however all aspects of health interest me. Check out my health website! Everyday Health, Live your Life to the fullest! http://www.universalhealthinfo.com/Stress_Management.html

Stress affects all students, from graduate level to those in the kindergarten. The term stress refers to the response you have when facing circumstances that force you to act, change or adjust in some way to keep things balanced. It is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences. In the right dose, stress can be healthy or even enjoyable. However, stress can be very damaging for students when it becomes excessive. It can harm students’ health, happiness, performance, relationships and personal development. This article will deal with management of negative stress.

Causes Of Stress In Students

Causes of stress in school children include; bullies, a mismatch between student and teacher, concerns about not having enough friends, not in the same class as friends, peer pressure, lack of family time, over scheduling of extra-curricular activities, insufficient sleep, poor diet, lack of preparation, noise pollution among others.

As the students progress to a different level the causes of stress often increase. When students go to college or university, they have to contend with leaving their parents and beginning the process of finding their own identity as adults and their place in the world. The main causes of stress here will therefore include; the new university or college environment, payment of fees, the new relationships formed, the competitive circumstances, exams, lack of proper time management techniques, peer and parental pressure.

How Students Can Manage Stress

Students can manage stress using various techniques. The most important of these are;

Learning to manage their time wisely. This is done by setting up a study schedule, breaking up studies into smaller chunks. In short, students are advised to formulate, with the help of their teachers and parents, study timetables and adhere to them.
The student will also need to have a system of organization for note-taking, keeping track of assignments and other important papers.
Creating a good study environment is also a great tool for stress management. Students have different study habits. While some need a completely quiet room free from interruptions, others actually study better listening to quiet music in the background. A student should pick which is best for him or her.
Determining the most appropriate learning style: whether the student is a visual, kinesthetic or auditory learner. Tailoring your study practices around your particular learning styles makes success easier to attain and keeps stress at bay.
Using relaxation techniques like deep breathing, visualization or imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation and yoga. Additionally, being optimistic will help students become healthier, less stressed and more successful.
Learning how to budget money, spend wisely and pay bills on time, if any, is very important for the student’s survival and will lower stress levels.
Lastly, students must take care of their bodies and minds by getting proper nutrition, getting some form of physical exercise and getting enough sleep. Seven hours of sleep each night is recommended for optimum body and brain function. Naps, not exceeding one hour, should also be taken when needed.

Following these tips will help you greatly to reduce the stress and it might even help to improve your performance on exams.

If you are interested in this topic you should read the extensive guide to stress management for students on the web site that is dedicated to stress management.