71 per cent of Exeter students who took the ‘Stress Scale’ were dangerously stressed

University students (Exeter students in particular) are hilariously melodramatic. I’m talking “Mummy my ‘ready and ripe’ avocado is neither ready, nor ripe – I’ve had enough, I’m dropping out” dramatic. In my short time at Exeter I’ve overheard conversations much like this pretty much on a daily basis. It seems the smallest life hassle can send a student over the edge.

Now I won’t lie, since coming to University I’ve gone into meltdown over the smallest of inconveniences – on at least five occasions, I have hysterically cried over a hair band breaking. Sadly, I was unable to find an exact definition for suddenly snapping over something tiny so I am going to name it myself. May I introduce you to the newly labelled “Triggered by an Avocado” phenomena.

After the first few months at university I’d come to accept this phenomenon as an unfortunate accompaniment of daily life – I’d tell myself “it’s not me being crazy, it’s my avocado.” After a quick google, MIT medical told me that un-ripened avocados are actually toxic… for birds, horses and other domestic animals. Anyway, after I assured myself that avocados weren’t the silent middle class killer I began to wonder: How the hell can privileged Home Counties babies (albeit sans ready and ripe avocado) be at end of their tether when they have all the advantages of modern life?

The overdramatic Hamlet inspired student in her element: Alas, poor avocado! I knew him, Horatio.

My view is that people living in individualistic Western societies face different pressures and stressors. It’s easy to look at a whining middle class student cradling their avocado and laugh at their melodrama. It’s even easier for fully fledged adults to label students as spoilt babies who need to understand what real stress is but few consider the entirely real stresses of modern uni life. This “real stress” comment is one that continually aggravates me. Apparently it needs pointing out that student’s face many life changes in a short period of time, as well as balancing a multitude of entirely new responsibilities.

One student that I spoke to commented that “I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t stressed,” before pausing for a long time and adding, “no I literally can’t remember.” Whilst another noted that “if you’re socialising you feel guilty for not working, if you’re working you feel guilty for letting friends down. Its non-stop.”

It was troubling to find just how many people seemed to think that having this level of stress over a long period of time is a normal part of life as continual stress has been proven time and time again to be dangerous.

In 1967 prominent psychologists, Holmes and Rahe, compiled a “Stress Scale” listing life events that increase an individual’s chances of illness. The higher the score, the more likely the patient was to become ill.

I asked forty-five Exeter students to fill out this scale. All that they had to do was go through the checklist and check ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to 43 life events that they’ve experienced in the past year – for example “change in school/college” or “change in sleeping habits”. Once they completed the test their total was calculated and they were given a ‘score interpretation’; how stressed they were and how likely they were to get sick. Worryingly, 32 out of these 45 students scored above 300 – meaning that they have a very high chance of becoming ill in the near future with the rest having only a high chance.

Many said that sleep deprivation, finances, academic pressure and leaving home were their most significant stresses whilst at university. It’s clear to see that student stress goes much farther than an “ripenedly challenged” avocado.

“What can I say it’s deadline season”

“My life is falling apart” *awkward laugh*

“I thought I’d do worse”

This happy fellow received the coveted title of ‘The chillest of the day’

More worryingly, the number of students reporting mental health issues is increasing at an alarming rate. An NUS survey conducted in 2015, reported that 8 in 10 students – that’s a staggering 78% – report experiencing mental health issues. As well as this more than half (54%) of respondents said they did not seek support. To say that students have nothing to stress about is sheer ignorance.

If I’ve learnt anything from university, it’s that letting stress build up leads to hilariously petty breaking points. As students, we need to collectively get over the British stiff upper lip tradition and start looking out for ourselves and each other! Now days we’re lucky that the university offers fantastic help in the WellBeing center but if you’re not up for that try talking to friends and family more. Student to student, let’s promise each other right now that the next time you find yourself crying over an inanimate object you’ll bring up the funny story to someone and have a chat about the things that led to those little guacamole tears.

I stand by the point that we often are brilliantly overdramatic but most of the time we’re having an entirely normal reaction to this weird uni bubble we live in. Overall, if avocado rants help you to relieve life stress then rant on.