My Stressful Experience

1. The stressful experience I will be discussing is related to a stressful experience at university as well as a work related stressful experience. Recently I had experienced a situation where my laptop crashed this caused tremendous feelings of stress and anxiety as it was limiting and hindering myself to complete three assignments, to conduct research, complete part-time work which I do remotely from home and submitting documents. The triggers for this situation was three assignments and interviews that needed to be transcribed by a specific due date. This situation was extremely stressful as it is my final year at the University of Cape Town and because I work two part-time jobs, a laptop is a necessity as my time is limited. This is because

Put forward, if stress is used positively it can be seen as a motivator to improve quality and quantity of the outcome (Kumari & Gatria, 2012). By viewing this stressful situation as a positive challenge, paired with a proactive mindset I could have reshaped my environment in order to solve the problem. For example, I do not have a laptop so if I go to campus early or stay later I can work on my assignments and work in the computer labs and library resources thus, finishing my work before the due date and submitting on time. Changing the environment and perception of the stressor, I can channel a positive outcome (Zu et al., 2017). However, it is important to note that most positive outcomes of highly stressful situations are in fact influenced by the individual’s personality, skills, characteristics and coping strategies (Schiffrin & Nelson, 2010, Zu et al., 2017). Ideally, dependent on the individual some perceive stress as motivation to better improve themselves (Schiffrin & Nelson, 2010). Therefore, by solving my problem (adapting my environment) I in fact improved myself as an individual. Furthermore, by doing so I have unintentionally prepared myself to approach the next stressful situation with more ease (Schiffrin & Nelson, 2010, Zu et al., 2017). Another significant positive outcome could be improved mental and physical health. As demonstrated above, but challenging my perception of the situation and by successful solving and working through the stressful situation I am improving my mental health as well as preparing it for future stressful situations (Schriffin & Nelson, 2010). Physical activity has often been a primary factor is coping with stress thus, improving an individual’s health (Hartfield, Havenhand, Khalsa, Clark & Krayer,