Stress Management and Personal Sustainability

One of the top memes of 2020 included side-by-side pictures with the captions, “My Plans,” and “2020.” Folks are being careful to avoid setting too high an expectation on 2021, in the wake of the past year. In the education sector, many challenges emerged, including: 

·       Total enrollment across higher education was down 2.5% in Fall 2020 (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center). This decline was due to undergraduates, particularly first-time first-year students.

·       Student enrollment particularly declined for men (at a rate 7x higher than women). Men’s college enrollment rates have been declining for some time now, and 2020 worsened the trend. 

·       Large numbers of students opted to take a gap year for the 2020-2021 school year. 

·       Mental health concerns increased significantly. One study (the SERU COVID Survey) reported that 1/3 of students screened had depression, anxiety, or both. This is 1.5 to 2x higher than rates reported in the previous year. 

It is crucial in times like this to carefully consider one’s stress management. Many events are beyond individual control, yet how we respond to these events has a significant impact on our quality of life, and our physical and mental well-being. A study published in the journal, Sustainability, found that Hardiness predicted lower levels of stress and emotional exhaustion among COVID-19 emergency workers. 

Hardiness is a psychological term referring to functioning well amidst significant stress. It’s also a term used in gardening, for plants that can survive difficult growing environments, such as extreme temperatures. While some people may be born with qualities that give them an advantage during difficult times, psychologists believe that everyone can improve their hardiness potential. There are 3 C’s that usually characterize stress-hardy individuals: 

1.  Challenge. Some people see challenges as overwhelming obstacles. Stress-hardy people learn to see challenges as something to be overcome. Challenges can be motivating, rather than deflating. Instead of being paralyzed, challenges spur hardy individuals to action. 

2. Control. For many people, at the heart of depression and anxiety lies a sense of uncontrollability. While most people recognize that there are always events that are beyond one’s control, too many things hitting at once can contribute to this feeling of uncontrollability. While the particular events, such as sudden illness or job loss, may indeed be beyond one’s control, it’s important to find areas where one can have personal control. Usually, one of the best key areas is self-growth and improvement. Choosing education to improve one’s knowledge and job prospects is a perfect example of what someone can do to exert personal control. I keep a quote in my workspace from Nelson Mandela that says, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Setting health and diet goals would be another great example or making a needed life change. 

3. Commitment. The quote, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration” (attributed to Thomas Edison, but based on a lecture by Kate Sanborn), gets at this idea of committing and persevering. It’s helpful to have a purpose and goal to commit to. Finding meaning in what you are doing helps one to commit to putting forth effort. It can be helpful to take the time during an enforced downtime to re-evaluate what you view as important, and to reorganize your life in a way so that you are committing your time and effort to the things that are most important. 

The more that one engages in these three C’s, the more your 2021 plans will be sustainable. May 2021 be your best year ever, as you engage in these resilient practices.