Describes effective and practical strategies for reducing tension and developing positive attitudes toward academic endeavors

Several recent studies have found that anxiety is increasing among college students. In today's competitive college environment, students frequently find themselves overwhelmed with worry and anxiety as they struggle to make the grade academically, fit in socially, discover who they are, and ponder their futures. This book helps students (and their parents and counselors) deal effectively with predictable anxieties associated with college. The authors offer suggestions and techniques, based on extensive research on the treatment of anxiety, to help students cope more effectively with the common sources of anxiety. In addition, the book describes the most common and debilitating disorders of anxiety, such as panic attacks, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, that affect more than 10% of Americans and most frequently have their onset during the college years. The initial section of the book begins by describing the scope of the problem of anxiety as it relates to college students. The next section discusses the nature of anxiety reactions, noting the contribution of factors such as biological predisposition and developmental factors. Finally, the third section provides general strategies for managing anxiety such as doing relaxation exercises, challenging negative thoughts and perspectives, and facing fears. Vignettes about college students dealing with anxiety are included throughout.

College students are subject to a massive input of stresses which require successful and ever-changing coping strategies. These stresses include inside and outside pressures by the world to succeed, financial worries, concerns about uncertain futures, social problems and opportunities since college is often the meeting place for future mates, and homework and tests in multiple and complex subjects requiring preparation and focus with often conflicting priorities. Unsuccessful coping often results in anxiety, heavy drinking, depression and a host of other mental health problems. This book presents new and important research in this important field.

These immediate, user-friendly, and effective strategies are designed to help you overcome anxiety. They include step-by-step exercises that you can do in the moment without having to understand the subtleties of the most often used therapies for treating anxiety.

The pressure young adults are under -- from themselves and their parents -- to succeed in school can be immense. Ottens explains how to defuse and channel that dangerous stress.

In The ABCS of Coping with Anxiety: Using CBT to Manage Stress and Anxiety, James Cowart offers a concise collection of tried-and-tested strategies from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and makes them accessible to people who are learning to cope with their anxiety on a day-to-day basis. Anxiety is a normal part of our human nature. For spurring you to make decisions or perform, it can actually be helpful. However, an unchecked pattern of intrusive negative thoughts can escalate the severity and persistence of the level of anxiety experienced over time. As this worsens, it is not uncommon to feel an increasing lack of control - ultimately leading to a chain of self-defeating behaviors that may negatively affect all aspects of your daily life. Yet, while it is not possible to directly control our emotions (or what others think or do), it is possible to learn and apply coping skills that can help you face feared situations - rather than escape or avoid them. James Cowart's aim in The ABCS of Coping with Anxiety is to share a toolbox of CBT techniques garnered over 40 years' clinical practice that will enable you to manage your anxiety on a sustainable path toward taking back some of that control. These self-help strategies focus on developing key coping skills designed to reduce fear and anxiety, and are complemented by a user-friendly, step-by-step program of practical exercises that can be personalized to meet each individual's unique needs. Informed by his extensive experience and therapeutic knowledge, and with real-life case studies to guide you along your own journey, James's easy-to-remember ABCS approach is as transformative as it is simple: A is for accepting the thoughts and feelings you can and can't control; B is for breathing slowly and naturally to relieve and relax muscle tension; C is for countering any unrealistic or catastrophic thoughts with truth and logic; and S is for staying with it so you can face your fears and anxieties until they are reduced. Each step is explored in detail in the first four chapters, and further discussion is also dedicated to using the ABCS with different types of anxiety (including social anxiety, specific phobias, panic attacks and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)) and coping with related depression, anger and impulsivity. Punctuated with research-informed insight and instruction throughout, The ABCS of Coping with Anxiety offers hope, relief and reassurance in helping you master your anxiety and work toward greater independence. Suitable for those living with anxiety and for the health professionals - including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and counsellors - working with them.

Stress in College Athletics: Causes, Consequences, Coping addresses the causes and consequences of stress in college sports and offers effective coping mechanisms that will help individuals understand and control stressors and emotions in their environment. Athletic administrators, coaches, student athletes, parents of athletes, educators, and social and behavioral science researchers will benefit from this examination of what stress is, the different types of stress, and what factors can contribute to anxiety. Containing insight from hundreds of student athletes, coaches, and administrators, this vital book offers you proven research, clear explanations, and recommended suggestions that will enable you to cope with stress and not let it affect your job or your game. Examining how both males and females perceive stress, Stress in College Athletics explores developmental differences between the genders to explain the ways in which the two groups react to and deal with stress. Discussing the challenges that you deal with every day, this valuable book offers you several proven suggestions and methods to help reduce stress, including: Using coping techniques, such as physical exercise (other than the sport you play), recreational activities, muscle relaxation, biofeedback, and meditation Doing things for others and looking to your own spirituality in order to alleviate anxiety Eliminating factors such as fatigue and inferior health in order to avoid the negative emotions of jealousy, fear, and anger that can lead to tension and anxiety Learning how to relieve stress in your immediate environment (on the sidelines, in the audience, or during a test) through simple, effective, and inconspicuous exercises Adapting procedures for self-modification of behavior, such as identifying a behavior you want to change, thinking about the result of that behavior and how often it occurs, and reforming that conduct Through practical research, theories about stress and its causes and effects, and insight from peers, this excellent resource offers suggestions for further inquiry in the field of college athletics and stress. Complete and thorough, Stress in College Athletics will provide you with the necessary tools to help you create a personal stress management system that will improve your well-being in and out of the athletic forum.