Students find stress-relief methods

A look at how the Point Park College community copes with different everyday hassles.

Published 4/23/98

Stop the insanity!

At least that's what many Point Park College residents - both students and faculty - say when they enter Point Park's hallowed halls.

It doesn't matter if the person is receiving his first paycheck, putting in a two-week notice, attending student orientation or walking out with a college diploma. All of these people deal with an unrelenting foe that doesn't discriminate.

Creeping throughout the buildings of the Playhouse of Point Park College, Academic, Thayer and Lawrence halls is a silent predator set to pounce on the next unsuspecting victim who doesn't have an assignment completed or a lesson prepared for thier next class.

It's stress.

No matter where you go or what you do in life, stress will always rear its ugly head. That's no different here at Point Park, where stress appears to anyone with a beating heart.

Stress can take many shapes, sizes and forms, and its face is never-ending to Point Park residents. Stress comes in many degrees and everybody handles it differently.

Problems

Melvin Moten, assistant bookstore manager, says dealing with students during the first several weeks of classes is the most stressful period to him because that's when the majority of textbooks are sold.

In addition to lines of students griping about a $50 art textbook, Moten also has to deal with books not being delivered to the college on time and books that are not eligible to be sold back to the school because they are outdated.

Moten isn't alone in his dreading the first several weeks of class. Other Point Park employees say their most stressful times come during the first couple weeks of school, where everything is followed to by a chaotic beat.

Melissa Pettner, financial aid secretary, said the lines of howling students trying to get their financial aid forms in order was an ordeal she had to deal with over a period of time.

Pettner said the worst times of stress were when she started her job in August of 1995.

"At first it bothered me, but I soon got used to it when I realized the students were frustrated, too," she said, noting that the students raising the most volatile complaints were those who hadn't completed their financial aid forms and were trying to fill out applications that should have been done before the semester began.

"They need more money to stay in school, and they get mad, and they needed avenues to take out their anger," she said.

Although they come to Point Park for an education instead of a paycheck, students have similar problems with stress. However, their problems differ somewhat.

Freshman Amy James, 18, said the constant deadlines she faces in her assignments is enough to pull her hair out.

"I'm new to the college scene, and this first year is difficult for me to handle. All the responsibilities I have, especially English, are nothing like I had to face in high school," James said.

James shares the sentiments of coping with homework, midterms and research projects with many students not only in Point Park, but nationwide. There are other problems that certain students have to put up with, however.

Wayne Davison, a electronic engineering technologies major, has a different pit of stress when it comes to Point Park. This 40-year-old, part-time student, said his part-time status makes it difficult for him to schedule the classes he needs.

"When I try to schedule a class I need, another class which I have to take with it always seems to be available at the same time," Davison said, noting that the classes themselves aren't that challenging to him.

Remedies

There are devices that can help Point Park residents cope with the 15-week ordeal they deal with. From herbal medicines to stress relievers, the market has made it easy for a person to take out his aggressions.

Silicone putty is one alternative. Developed for people suffering from arthritis or a stroke, its squishy texture can also be used as an outlet for someone experiencing a bad day.

Other spheres that aren't quite as soft are Chinese Worry balls. These two metallic spheres are used worldwide as stress relievers. Like its silicone counterparts, these balls' primary purpose is to reduce muscle tension in a person's hand. Only instead of squeezing down, the person rotates the balls around in his hand.

Some other alternatives include Mother Nature herself, or at least in a package for $9.99. Titled "Moorthepary Mud," the product claims when applied to the face the therapeutic mixture, which looks like everyday soot, will go beneath the skin and massage tension-filled nerves.

Point Park residents don't necessarily have to go out and buy expensive treatments to lift the stress monkey off their backs. Sometimes the answer to life's difficult moments come from an old sitcom or a new, upcoming event in their life.

James said sitting in front of a television and watching "Seinfeld" reruns is gratifying, and Pettner said the biggest escape from the life of angry students and demanding workloads is by planning for her wedding, which is scheduled in July.

Moten said he has no real remedy to escape stress. Instead, Moten chooses to trap his stress instead of dealing with it head-on by locking it up at the bookstore before he heads home.

"You have to keep work from your actual life. When the day's over and you lock the door, it's important to keep it in there," he said.

Click here to return to news index.