Stress Cycles: What They Are and How to Manage Them

20% of students reported being stressed six or more times in the past year according to a Harvard Medical School study. Recent college students and stress statistics reveal that a quarter of students have gone through a stressful event in the past 12 months. These situations can cause setbacks in their academic progress. Understanding stress and its cycles is the first step in supporting your students.

The article comes from Stanford's Student Learning Programs team at the Center for Teaching and Learning. This piece, which is written for Stanford students, describes what stress cycles are and how to manage them. 

We could start by talking about all the reasons to feel stress at the current moment. But instead of adding them to what seems to be an ever-growing, overwhelming list, I just want to begin by asking you to take a moment to think: How are you?

How are you feeling, and what are you feeling? Name the emotions, if you would like. Take a moment to sit with them. Stress might be one you’ve thought of—and if it is, keep reading to learn more about what a stress cycle is and how to complete it, rather than letting it spiral out of control.

Stress Cycles

Stress is more than a feeling or a single-time occurrence. Rather, it’s a cycle with several steps, starting with an external event that removes us from the resting or ground state and ending with a feeling of security stemming from the fact that we have faced the dangerous thing and are now safe. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to end.

Medical researcher A.Z. Reznick demarcates the stress cycle as follows:

• Resting ground state
• Tension and strain phase
• Response phase, which can be passive and/or active
• Relief phase, which is both physiological and psychological

Since it’s a cycle, it ends again with the resting ground state if the cycle has successfully been completed. For a more thorough breakout of the steps, see Reznick’s research here.

Not completing the stress cycle with beneficial coping mechanisms can prime the body for additional stresses later on, which can lead to a breakdown. If the stress cycle isn’t completed, it means that we are still experiencing that stress; we haven’t given ourselves the chance to recover from it or to tell ourselves that the danger is passed. Thus, we are still living in that hyper-aware state that stress puts us through, which can lead to increased sensitivity to any additional stressors that we may encounter during this time. It’s a self-feeding circle…

While you may not be able to control everything that happens in the world or eradicate the external stressors you face (i.e., school assignments may seem relentless!), one thing you can change is your response to them.

Completing the Stress Cycle

So what are some ways to make sure we’re completing our stress cycles?

We can do this by creating places, moments, and experiences where we feel safe and can assure ourselves that the stressful thing has passed. This doesn’t mean completely forgetting the experience, because that’s not realistic; rather, it means reframing what has happened and stepping back from the bright, glittery awareness of uncomfortable or bad things.

Drs. Emily and Amelia Nagoski, twin sisters who wrote Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, are well acquainted with this topic, according to an article on The American Institute of Stress website. Amelia was hospitalized twice for illnesses related to stress, and Emily’s Ph.D. is in public health. In their book, they recommend “engaging in activities that mimic what our primal selves would do when they experienced a threat.”

This includes rest, safety, and running (or some other form of physical escape from the “danger”). Some concrete examples of this to implement when you’re feeling stressed are included below, and more are included in this Women’s Health article written about Burnout. Examples below are inspired by personal experience, and by the book.

If you have an hour to decompress:

• Exercise away the stressor. Dance, take a Stanford “Zoom-ba” class with friends, go on a run if weather and ability permit, or try out that new YouTube channel’s workout recommendations.
• Give yourself a scheduled hour to do whatever you want and try not to scold yourself for “not being productive.” Practice self-compassion when you can!
• Call someone who cares for you and talk with them. I like to call my grandmother while taking a walk outside because it gets me away from Zoom and outdoors while also giving me the chance to connect with a loved one.
• Take a nap if you need one. But if you can’t sleep and find yourself worrying instead, get up and journal out those worries, letting them flow without judging or critiquing what your subconscious is telling you to say.
• Take up or continue a creative practice. Consider what a strong emotion like stress means to you, and try to capture it in a painting. Or tell a short story about what you wish you could’ve done to handle a stressful event. Catharsis works!

If you have five minutes (or less):

• To mimic the release of stress from exercise, tense your whole body, hold, and then release slowly, starting with the muscles in your toes and working your way up to your head. You might try repeating this in different positions or in different parts of your living space. No screens required.
• Try a short, guided meditation or a visualization exercise on a free app or online.
• Set a timer and do a brain dump. Write out all your fears, worries, concerns, upcoming meetings, assignments due soon, etc. Transferring these from your mind to the paper can realign your focus on the task at hand and allow you to begin to select and prioritize next steps. (For more help and information on this, see our calendaring drop-in hours or time management workshops!)
• If you’re living with another person with whom you feel safe, ask for a hug. Twenty seconds is the amount of time recommended for the release of oxytocin.
• Text a friend or give someone a compliment. This will make both you and another feel more connected and comforted.

Bonus tip: your Academic Coaches are here for you throughout the quarter. If you need help, reach out and schedule a Zoom session with them! They can chat about anything that's on your mind.