Have you been irritable, experiencing headaches and running on a shortage of sleep lately?

If so, you’ve probably been experiencing stress — something common among college students these days.

Carolyn Cutrona, professor of psychology, said stress is “the events that occur in a person’s life that exceed the coping capabilities of an individual.”

Cutrona said an individual experiences stress as soon as he or she starts to feel “a negative emotion overload” and believes that things cannot be done right.

Denise Allumbaugh, mental health coordinator at the Student Wellness Center, said stress is caused by “stressors,” such as exams or relationship problems. Stress is the reaction to the stressor, she said.

Stress has various symptoms, including headaches, stomachaches and a rise in blood pressure, Allumbaugh said.

However, stress is based on what people perceive as stressful, said Dan Russell, professor of psychology.

“Unless you appraise it as stressful, those events won’t occur,” he said.

Russell said all people have problems in their lives they can’t control, but it’s how one thinks about the stressor that affects his or her mood.

Students often rank their class loads as their top stressors.

Mollie Mackie, sophomore in physical education, said deadlines stress her out the most, and she often gets headaches and is tired.

“I start thinking about a lot of different things and how much I have to get done,” she said.

Michael Pietig, senior in exercise and sport science, said stress caused by school and lack of money leads him to “road rage” and causes stress on his relationships with others. He said daily interactions become “tense but not out of control.”

Joe Hraba, professor of sociology, said stress also can have an effect on family dynamics. He said if the individual becomes hostile due to stress, it usually evokes more anger.

“The reaction to irritability and hostility is typically more acute than depression,” he said.

Cutrona said the most important thing to do is figure out how to resolve the situation instead of just dealing with the stress.

“Deal with the problem, the source of the emotion,” she said.

Cutrona said people could relieve stress by pacing themselves and taking a break from studying. She also said telling a trustworthy person the problem helps put things in perspective.

The stressor may seem like a catastrophe, but talking about it helps the individual “get the big picture,” she said.

“Get good advice from people who’ve been through the same situation,” Cutrona said.

Allumbaugh said each person is different and must find the best way to deal with the stress. Exercise is one way to find relief, she said.

“When we’re under stress, we build up adrenaline, and by exercising, we relieve it,” she said.

Allumbaugh said an individual’s surroundings also play an important role in stress relief. She said one’s home provides a peaceful environment, which many students living in a dorm do not have.

Hraba said stress can be handled in two ways.

“There are some things people can do that are constructive in the sense that they alleviate stress, ” he said, “and there’s other things people can do that compound stress.”

Hraba said some people engage in harmful ways of relieving stress, such as binge drinking, overeating or smoking too much.

However, everyone is going to have problems that cannot necessarily be controlled, Russell said.

In cases like this, “it may be dysfunctional to try and change the situation,” he said. When these things happen, he said “resigning yourself from the situation is the best thing to do.”

Allumbaugh leads stress management workshops at the Wellness Center, which she said “focus on the methods of relieving stress” and incorporate many relaxation exercises.

She said these methods include deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation and visualization.

Allumbaugh said she knows there is medication to relieve stress, but she’s very cautious about making any recommendations.

“I usually think people can deal with this pretty well with the techniques I give them,” she said.