The year 2020 seems to be defined by stress of all kinds— COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment, civil unrest, systemic racism, and partisan politics, the list goes on. Pursuing a college degree is known for being stressful, so adding these universal stressors to an education experience can be harmful to student’s psychological health. As Íæż½ã½ã’s students finish their classes and prepare for finals, the strain and toll of all these factors could be detrimental.
Spirituality and connecting to something larger than oneself can be a great comfort and can relieve stress. Assistant Professor of Public Health Sr. Angela Ekwonye, PhD, and two Master of Public Health in Global Health students, Vy Phung MPH’21 and Nastehakeyf Sheikhomar MPH’22 recently conducted a study addressing academic-related stressors and using spirituality to manage its psychological effects. Their study and findings were published in an article entitled “Spirituality: A Psychological Resource for Managing Academic-Related Stressors†in the Mental Health, Religion & Culture journal. As the abstract of the article states, “the study examined if and how spirituality helps college students deal with academic stress.â€
Spirituality and religion are often used interchangeably in society, but the article defines spirituality as, “the relationship one has with God, or whatever one deems to be his/her Ultimate and derives a sense of meaning, purpose, and mission in life from the relationship (Ekwonye et al., 2019; Hodge, 2001). Spirituality can also be about nature, music, art, family, community, or beliefs and values that give one a sense of meaning and direction in life (Puchalski et al., 2014).†The article goes on to say, “Spirituality can help people find meaning in life and influence their feelings, behaviors, and overall mental health making it a useful tool for minimizing the emotional responses and worry evoked by academic or other challenges (Khoynezhad et al., 2012).â€
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