Tips For Dealing With Stress

We've all been there: sitting in your room, adding up how much work you have to get done to prepare for an exam and seeing it as an absolutely insurmountable event that you'll never get to the other side of. Come exam time it is almost inevitable that you're going to experience some stress. That said, keep in mind that stress is a completely normal biological response to have, and employing some skills and coping techniques to deal with it can really help to make studying for your exams a much more bearable and even (gasp) enjoyable experience!

• Talk to someone
  This is probably the most important point to make. Stress gets amplified when you bottle it up and try to trudge on through without an outlet. Try to notice when you're having a particularly hard day or find yourself feeling overwhelmed – and go rant to someone! Whether it be friends, family, or a counsellor, just explain your situation and they will understand. You could also offer to listen to them when they're having a tough time.
• Have a regular schedule
  Having a relatively well planned out routine and study timetable during exam time can help to alleviate the stress by reassuring you that it is entirely possible to get done as much study as is necessary. Refer to the MyGuru guide to making an effective study timetable for tips to enhance your time management skills under stress. Remember – schedule regular breaks, be flexible, and don't feel too bad if you don't stick to it entirely. Also, daily routines or rituals like having a shower in the morning or going for a bike ride after school are shown to help with the physical aspects of stress.
• Work with efficiency
  Having a good schedule is only half the story with effective time management. Prioritising certain work (e.g. the concepts that you struggle with) over other, less important work makes for an overall much more productive and positive study experience. This is likely to make you feel better about your progress, and as a result, less stressed. It will also leave more time for yourself and things you enjoy.
• Take care of yourself
  Keeping your body in a healthy state is essential for managing stress:
  • Try as hard as you can to get enough sleep – not only does this leave you feeling more energised, but research suggests that the various phases of sleep are vital in consolidating knowledge and storing it in long-term memory, and also keeping cortisol (the “stress hormone”) levels down.
  • Physical activity has also been shown to be very important in mood and sleep regulation, so integrating activity into your day is well worth it, and can also be fun.
  • Try to eat healthfully and regularly – the brain uses 20% of all the energy you take in from food, while only making up 2% of your weight. Just concentrate on getting the major food groups in, drink enough water, and integrate the occasional comfort food (because chocolate totally helps with studying, right?) to keep you content and not deprived.
• Socialise and make time for your hobbies
  Make sure you set aside time for socialising with friends and family. It's a great mood booster and leaves you feeling not so isolated with exam papers, textbooks and notes. Also, making time for your own interests throughout the week will keep you from feeling deprived and will help in getting out of your head, and the constant circulation of negative thoughts.
• Don't beat yourself up
  While exercising, eating well and sleeping well are great for your health and study, not achieving this every day is not a reason to be hard on yourself; after all you're only human! If you don't stick to your study schedule exactly, don't worry about it, just try to re-arrange it to cater for lost time and move on. Stress is often caused by unrealistic expectations that you place on yourself and the consequent loop of negative thoughts in your head. Remember you are not meant to be perfect, nor does anyone expect you to be!
• Exams have an end
  We know that exams can, at times, seem like they only exist to make your life hard and that they will never be finished. This can obviously contribute to the stress you experience, but reminding yourself that they do have an end, and that this level of studying does not need to be sustained indefinitely, can help to relieve some of the pressure.
• Keep it positive and challenge yourself
  Instead of thinking about how little work you have done or how much you have to do, try to shift your focus to thinking about how much you have already achieved (even just small goals). This positivity helps you to find the motivation to seek the same feeling by achieving more and more small goals or challenges you can set for yourself, and gives you a sense of pride as you work through the tough situation you've been put in.
• Don't spread yourself too thin
  Although engaging in your regular leisure activities and hobbies can help to manage stress, having too many commitments during times of stress can only act to amplify it's negative effects. Perhaps if you volunteer twice a week and find it something of a burden then cut it down to once a week temporarily when it is crunch time. This helps to put the focus back on you when you really need it.

Hopefully these tips will help you in having a much more enjoyable (or less torturous) exam experience! :)

Article reproduced, thanks to MyGuru.