By: Dr. Mohd. Aleem Siddiqui (M.D.,D.P.M.), Associate Editor & Dr. Shazia Veqar Siddiqui, Asstt. Editor
LUCKNOW: Soon the exams will approach and the students would find themselves in an extremely stressful situation. Stress is the sense of having little or no control which is always distressful and that’s what stress is all about. There is a mismatch between demands and pressure on one hand and abilities and resources to cope with it on the other.
Stress, in essence, is a feeling of doubt about being able to cope. “I have so much to remember”, “I have so much to read” “there’s not enough time”…I’m afraid to fail.” However, stress is a part of day to day living. Mild forms of stress can act as a motivator and energizer. There are various signals of stress.
There are strong feelings of anxiety , fear, irritation , scared, irritable, moody accompanied with feelings of low self-esteem and low self-confidence, fear of failure, problems with concentration and attention, worries about the future, preoccupation with thoughts/tasks, forgetfulness, stuttering, startling easily, crying for no apparent reason, acting impulsively, laughing in a high pitch and nervous tone of voice ,smoking, use of drugs and alcohol, being accident prone, losing appetite or overeating , perspiration /sweaty hands, increased heartbeat, trembling, nervous ticks, dryness of throat and mouth, tiring easily, urinating frequently, sleeping problems, diarrhea / indigestion / vomiting, butterflies in stomach , headaches, pain in the neck and or lower back, loss of Self-critical, low self-esteem.
Revision tips
- Timetable your fixed hours (lectures/coursework, travel, eating & sleeping) and your recreation time.
- Focus on “starting to work”, not on putting in a certain number of hours each day.
- When you start a piece of revision work, only concentrate on it for 30 minutes. Then record this achievement on your timetable schedule and give yourself a reward.
- Start as many 30 minute periods as you can. The aim is to get into the habit of “frequently starting” to revise.
- After some success with this approach, you can gradually extend the study periods.
- Defining work – sort out your notes, obtain necessary photocopies, past exam papers, details of exam requirements, etc.
- Determine in overall terms what topics you want to cover and by when and chart it visually. Make the chart a rough guide – resist getting too detailed.
- Choose one topic you find moderately challenging but not threatening — break it down into manageable chunks and make a start.
- Find out what environment and time results in more productive study
- You need to find ways to challenge and contradict these negative thoughts – replacing your critical self-talk with constructive self-talk, generate positive self-talk – accept compliments, give yourself credit whenever possible.
- Identify and face your fear! And if there is some reality to it (e.g. “it is very unlikely that i’ll get the grade i need”) think of ways of accepting this possibility.
- Then formulate a back-up plan, which may not be ideal, but is still worth working towards.
- Remember that your personal worth and future happiness are not conditional on the outcome of your exams! Let yourself imagine the worst possible outcome – and then ask yourself – how likely is it that the worst case scenario will come true?
- And if it did, what would my options be then? By facing your fears and making a plan for what you would do if the worst did happen, you will regain some control over the situation and the fear will diminish.
- How did you make it through exams in the past? Remind yourself of past success and be careful to avoid comparisons (e.g. “i did okay, but ramesh did much better”).
- You will want to cover everything and be in total control. Sometimes only a rapidly approaching deadline will free you to consider a more pragmatic approach – giving you permission to expect less of yourself.
- Cover the essentials first, add refinements or further details later — if there is time.
