Combatting Stress by Claire Bissmeyer

          It is common for identified gifted students to have unique talents and/or cognitive abilities that help them excel in their learning. Still, it is also typical of them to run into hindrances. Heightened awareness, anxiety, perfectionism, issues with peer relationships, and concerns with identity are all traits commonly found in GT students that put them at risk for emotional or social difficulties. These students tend to push themselves past the limit making them more susceptible to large amounts of stress. Stress activates your fight or flight responses, and when activated for too long, it can change the brain and damage a lot of the other organs and cells throughout the body, which leads to a variety of harmful diseases. Long-term stress can also harm the ability of self-regulation; it can become difficult to focus, regulate emotions, reflect on experiences, and engage in positive social interactions. Stress, along with the other traits, can take a toll on the GPA of gifted students. When faced with the outcomes of stress, it becomes difficult for students to be the best they can be in a learning environment, which can decrease their GPA. Lower GPA can cause these students more stress as they tend to be perfectionists continually working hard to raise their GPA. Lower GPA can cause anxiety as the students begin to fear that they won’t get into colleges where they can use their gifted abilities to thrive. It’s important to recognize stress in gifted and talented students to fix the issue before it gets out of hand. Luckily, Yoga is a crucial way to avoid and ultimately reduce stress.

            Self-compassion is one practice that can combat stress. The practice of self-compassion invites care and concern for oneself when faced with the experience of suffering. Self-compassion is related to lower anxiety and increased resilience during stressful situations and can be practiced through any and all forms of Yoga. Meditation is also a practice that can reduce stress. Meditation helps the individual focus on one set thing for a certain amount of time. It can increase awareness, well-being, and longevity. Even simple yoga practices can decrease stress. A Basic yoga class containing sets of poses and asanas help calm the mind and increase physical activity. Overall, Yoga is a great way to combat stress and help increase GPA. There was a study conducted to investigate the link between Yoga and academic outcomes. The researchers found that among students with higher participation in their research study, those assigned to yoga classes had a significantly higher GPA than students assigned to typical physical education courses. All of these practices can easily be incorporated into our daily lives. It’s okay start small, maybe take 5-10 minutes a week to meditate or take a short, guided yoga class on YouTube. Then gradually build to meditation every day or a full hour-long yoga session every week. Inviting Yoga into the lives of GT students will help reduce their stress and ultimately help them succeed in their learning, emotional, and social lives.

By  Claire Bissmeyer