Distress

We experience distress when our typical coping strategies are not working and our functioning is thus negatively impacted. Distress happens when:

  1. Stress has accumulated over time.
  2. A significant life stressor (for example, a change in family status, breakup of a relationship) has suddenly occurred.

An appropriate intervention for distress: Students will continue to benefit from an empathetic response when they are experiencing distress. Additionally, it can be useful to ask the student if you would like to identify resources together that might mitigate some of their distress. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and Student Support Services are available to support students in distress. At times, students in distress may benefit as much from being connected to academic or peer resources.

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