2022 article

Mental Health, Stress and Student Well-Being

Neupert, S. (2022, June 22).

By: S. Neupert 

Source: ORCID
Added: March 21, 2023

Everyone experiences stress. But the types of stress that people experience and the ways that people respond to them differ. Stress can take the form of major life events (like death of a parent), chronic, ongoing stress (like the COVID-19 pandemic) and daily hassles (like arguments). Stress is typically associated with worse mental and physical health, but the negative consequences of stress depend on the person and the situation. This talk will show some of my research that highlights for whom and under which circumstances well-being can be optimized in times of stress. I will show data from 515 adults in the U.S. and results of age differences in risk and resiliency factors for COVID-19-related stress. Another study focused specifically on healthcare professionals during the pandemic. We document significant challenges faced by these professionals compared to age-matched controls in terms of anxiety, depression, tiredness, concern for their own health, and coping. I will end the talk with results from a recent study where we showed the benefits of planning ahead for the future which helped to prevent stress. But when stress does happen, we show that trying to be mindful helps to avoid the negative emotional consequences of stress.