Professor Carlos Grijalva is a professor in the
psychology department. He teaches Professor Carlos
Grijalva is a professor in the psychology department. He
teaches courses on stress and the effects of its physical
consequences.
Talking with Professor Carlos Grijalva of UCLA’s
psychology department is relaxing. His calm, collected demeanor and
insight are reassuring and fatherly.
Grijalva is like your old high school coach. He’s telling
you things you already know, but the pep talk is a much-needed
reminder of what’s important, and what you have to do to be
successful ““ like stop procrastinating and get enough sleep
and exercise.
During stressful times like mid-quarter when midterms are taking
place, it’s important to have these reminders. So, the Daily
Bruin sits down with this expert on stress to give you that extra
kick in the pants you need to make this your best winter quarter
yet.
Why do you study psychology?
CG: Psychology is the study of behavior and I am very interested
in how the brain produces different kinds of behaviors. So,
it’s something that impacts everybody and everything we do.
It gives you a better sense of understanding who you are, but also
a better understanding of other people as well. If you want to know
about people, we’re all psychologists to a certain degree.
Some of us are just trained more specifically than others.
What’s particularly interesting to you about
stress?
CG: We all encounter it, and we all deal with it differently.
What is stressful for one person may not necessarily be stressful
for another. It’s a very dynamic problem. Some of us cope
very well and others of us have a really hard time dealing with
even small issues and problems.
Studying stress helps to understand. Most of us don’t
realize what stress really is. We all have certain perceptions of
the things that stress us out, but we don’t recognize stress
within ourselves sometimes. So for a lot of people, they
don’t feel comfortable, they don’t feel well, and they
don’t know why. They know they’re not necessarily sick
““ but there is some level of discomfort. A lot of time its
associated with levels of stress that express themselves not only
in terms of their emotions, but also in terms of how their body
responds.
What causes stress?
CG: There’s a whole host of things that initiate feelings
of uneasiness. When we talk about stress on (the) academic level we
think of things that are fear provoking, that produce anxiety,
unpredictable events, uncontrollable events, and events that are
tied into certain kinds of conflicts where we have to make choices
without clear-cut outcomes. There’s a lot of different
things, but probably unpredictability and uncontrollability are
really two significant factors.
What are the effects of stress on the body and
mind?
CG: They can have all kinds of effects. Initially when we study
stress, we study the autonomic nervous system. That drives changes
in heart rate and blood pressure, changes levels of perspiration,
makes us feel queasy and uncomfortable, initiates diarrhea, makes
us blush ““ anything you can think of when you think about
being anxious or stressed that makes your body respond in a very
dynamic way. There are also hormones being secreted that are part
of the pattern and physiology of stress.
Mentally, we think of stress as being something that initiates a
negative emotion. Things like anxiety or fear, sometimes
depression. Usually the things that make us feel bad.
What is the role of stress in depression?
CG: It’s a two way street. Depression can feed off of
stress, and stress can actually aggravate depression. A lot of
people who are under a lot of stress are trying to deal with
day-to-day life, and when things get out of hand some individuals
sort of give up ““ there’s this whole area of study
called learned helplessness. Even though they have ways to try to
deal with situations, they feel as though their efforts are
fruitless. That can lead to depression, where people feel no
motivation to continue or work out a strategy for solving problems.
It can be either a biological predisposition, or some other people
can be involved in reactive depression ““ which is often a
reaction to death or some other upsetting circumstance.
How does sleep deprivation play into the equation?
CG: It can contribute. It can add to stress because you’re
just not able to deal with things as well. You’re not
functioning at peak performance.
Students, when they’re looking at exams coming up, change
their whole lifestyle. They don’t eat well, they get less
sleep, they forgo exercise programs for lack of time. All those
things can lead to a reduction in their resistance to certain
viruses. Often times people under stress are subject to a
suppression of the immune system. That’s tied into stress
related hormones.
So what happens then?
CG: When you’re healthy, your body can fight off viruses
and bacteria fairly well. But when the system is compromised, we
can no longer resist certain things. Students then catch more colds
and develop flus during periods of high stress like midterms and
finals week.
What kinds of non-academic demands on students cause them
stress?
CG: Everything. It could be socially-related, where there are
interactions with peers, roommates or parents. It could be
financial concerns. It could be crowded living quarters if you have
no space. All those things by themselves might be insignificant,
but when you put them all together you’ve got a person who is
confronted by a compilation of hassles that in the long run add
up.
How can students in particular avoid putting themselves into
stressful situations?
CG: Avoid procrastination. Procrastination is one’s worst
enemy. It adds to the level of stress you feel. Students should
really start anticipating that big event or exam and really spend
the time necessary. They should be good time managers so that
they’re not bogged down by all-nighters, which all of us have
pulled off.
Take things in small chunks, and not big lump sums. Take
advantage of campus resources. There are places and people you can
get help from. Go to faculty or TA office hours, especially before
exams and not after. Reduce ambiguity ““ if you’re not
clear what is expected of you, find out what you need to know in
order to prepare yourself better. Try to maintain a reasonable
nutritional balance, get sleep (even if you have to change your
pattern), continue or initiate an exercise program. Your body, like
anything else, works at peak performance when its
well-conditioned.
Social support also helps reduce the effects of stress. Use
people or groups as a source of information and support: people in
your dorm, a club, or whoever. It gives you a sense that
you’re in control and that you have people to fall back
on.
What’s the best way to manage your time?
CG: I think it’s really helpful to make a list of
priorities. Determine what’s on the top of the list, what
your main concerns are. We tend to try to tackle the little things
first, and leave the big things for last. But I think its often
helpful to try to tackle the big things first ““ and that
makes the little things easier to do anyway. Take care of these
things early, too. Spend time plotting out your day.
When I was a graduate student, I made a timeline for each day.
You’ll find things don’t always work perfectly, but
that you’ll be more productive. You’re not going to
accomplish everything, but at least you’ll be making some
progress.
What would you advise regarding the
“unpredictable” and “uncontrollable” things
that cause us stress?
CG: Part of the unpredictability factor is not having enough
information. It really depends on the situation: like we
can’t predict earthquakes. But being fully informed is
helpful. Not attending classes regularly or not being up to date on
information being distributed is harmful. Get a sense of what is
there and what is expected.
In terms of control, its really a matter of trying to gain
control of the situation instead of having the situation control
you.