Exam Stress:
Lots of things can trigger feelings of anxiety and
stress, especially during exam season. However, there are ways to deal with
stress and anxiety using these tips on keeping calm under pressure. Stress and
anxiety are normal responses to a perceived threat – real or imagined. Everyone
gets anxious. It's the feeling we have when faced with something we're
frightened of, though usually in response to a perceived threat in the future
e.g. I am going to fail my exam, I am going to disappoint my parents, I am not
going to be able to get a job.
Although, this perceived threat is usually
disproportionate to the reality. And this fear triggers our ‘fight and flight’
response which is a physiological response in the sympathetic nervous system -
triggering hormones like adrenalin and cortisol, which increase your heart
rate, making you sweat, tremble and leading to a shortness of breath. Exams are
a good example. We all worry about them, we tell ourselves "I know I'm
going to fail", our heartbeat and breathing speed up as we walk into the
hall to find our seat. This makes our thoughts race ahead of us; seeking out
the signals for danger. When these aren’t found because there are no immediate
signs of danger (e.g. a lion attacking me, an imminent disaster), our brain
goes into a cycle of negative thinking and anticipates the worst possible
outcome without relief.
A low level of stress is sometimes helpful – when it
used to motivate us to meet a deadline or to predict and problem-solve. But
sometimes anxiety becomes a problem. If you answer yes to any of these, you may
be suffering from anxiety:
Do you get into a cycle of worry a lot of the time?
Do you feel constantly on edge?
Do you get shortness of breath or panic attacks?
Do you start to sweat or tremble?
Do you have nervous tics e.g. tapping your foot?
Do you feel tense in your back, neck and shoulders?
Do you get anxious about stuff other people are relaxed
about?
Have you started to avoid situations that cause
anxiety?
Is it starting to get in the way of your life?
These are symptoms of anxiety. Don't beat yourself
up or get angry – this increases anxiety. Sometimes anxiety is triggered by
stressful and difficult events in our lives: Family break-up. Death. Illness.
Bullying. Distressing experiences that puts us on our guard and makes us get
anxious about other things.
Tips to help deal with anxiety:
Deep breathing - simple but effective because it
uses a physiological process to relive the physical symptoms of anxiety and
stress hormones in the body. Breathe in and out slowly; find your own rhythm;
three seconds in through the nose, three seconds out through the mouth. Pause momentarily,
then try again. Try breathing using your tummy to extend your diaphragm and not
your chest - it will encourage deeper breaths. Keep at it for 3-5 minutes.
Ditch caffeine, alcohol and cigarettes. Detox your
mind with enough water and even camomile tea, which has a calming effect. Drugs
will also mess with your mind so steer clear.
Exercise. Go for a sauna. Get a massage. The
biggest chill out remedy out there. Go get sweaty to release the stress
hormones and lactic acid that has built up in your muscles, keeping them tense
and strained.
Try to stop fixating on the bad stuff. For every
negative worry or thought: "I am useless at maths", chuck in a
positive one "But I am amazing at art".
Make a list of all the things you're stressing
over. With immediate issues, prioritise and solve them as you go throughout
your daily routines. Take your time, go slow. If you rush you will
increase anxiety levels. With medium term problems; put down a date and time
when you can solve them. With problems where there are no clear solutions,
physically tear them off your list and discard them in the bin, as it is
pointless worrying about them. Be disciplined and don’t let your mind wander
back to them.
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