Stress management 101

TYLER HAYWARD / SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR

Jeff Wyngaarden

SHEC Media

Most times of the year, a casual conversation on campus will touch on work, sports, vacations planned and gone on, maybe a relationship, and perhaps the odd foray into politics or religion. But around the middle of March thoughts turn to one thing: exams.

It’s at times like this that tensions run high and stress is at a maximum. You may be concerned about that term paper or worried about making plans for the next year; perhaps you’re calculating how well you need to do on the final to get the mark you want. With work piling up and exam stress on the rise, many people find that they have less time for jobs, relationships, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, adding to the list of anxiety-inducing factors. Whatever your situation is, chances are you are feeling stressed, and while a certain amount of stress can help you accomplish tasks a large amount of stress can be detrimental to your health.

When times get stressful it’s important to strike a balance. Feeling stress is a normal physiological response to certain situations. It makes you more alert, gives you greater strength and sharper eyesight, and can provide you the boost of energy you need to make that final push on your work or overcome a particularly difficult obstacle to achieving your goals.

However, too much stress is undeniably a bad thing; if you are overstressed you may exhibit symptoms like insomnia, headaches, fatigue, cold sweats, having poor concentration, or a rapid heartbeat. When these symptoms persist over a long period of time they may have lasting negative effects on your health.

The first key to managing stress is knowing how to avoid it. A large part of this is planning for big events well in advance – maybe instead of cramming the night before you can schedule study times throughout April so that you’re prepared and well rested for that final exam.

You can also try to avoid common, daily annoyances that cause stress. Perhaps you get stressed from being late, or getting into arguments with roommates; try leaving home a few minutes earlier and resolving some of those minor disputes so that you can focus on your work.

The second key is knowing how to manage stress. Avoidance doesn’t always work – there will always be assignments and dishes piling up, and at some point you’ll feel like there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. When the going gets tough, try breaking your work down into small, manageable goals that can be accomplished easily and quickly. This will make it seem like your work goes faster and will help you organize your tasks so that you know how much you need to do and how much time you need to do it. If you find that you simply can’t manage, try talking to a friend, stopping by Campus Health for some consultation or counselling, or access a campus resource that can respond to your particular need. Whether it’s school, relationships, finances, or living arrangements, there is someone on campus who can help you and provide information on how to deal with your stressors.

Avoidance aside, it’s important to know how to make stress work for you. Knowing what stresses you out can empower you to make educated decisions about the situations you put yourself in and the tasks you take on. Maybe there are particular people that stress you out when you study with them, or there’s an assignment that is taking longer than you thought it would.  Ask yourself whether each thing you’re stressed about is important and whether it’s worth worrying about, and then be active in addressing your stress.

Channel the extra energy and concentration that stress provides into finishing your work, and then take some time to relax. It may be just a two-hour movie break or a short bike ride, but a brief reprieve from the daily grind can refresh and rejuvenate you, enabling you to take on your work more efficiently.

In addition, spending time with friends can be a huge stress reliever, as long as you don’t spend the entire time talking about what stresses you out.

In the end, the most important thing to ask yourself is whether it’s worth worrying over.  If the answer is no, it’s a lot easier to deal with the stress, but if the answer is yes the question becomes more complicated.

Before April begins and the exam season kicks off, make sure you have a plan for managing your stress so that you’re prepared if – and when – it comes.