Stress is worry or anxiety brought on by a number of factors. It arises as a result of change, both expected and unexpected. Stress can be viewed as a threat or as a challenge and can have both negative and positive effects depending on the attitude of the person experiencing stress and the severity of the stress factors.

Life without stress could be viewed as lacking in excitement and some people deliberately look for stressful situations to make their lives more interesting.

How we cope is dependent on three main factors: our personality, how much control we have and our state of health. By identifying individual patterns we can learn to manage stress.

Studying can produce considerable stress especially in relation to meeting deadlines and working towards examinations.

 

Stress can have a number of effects on physical, emotional and mental health.

Rate your experiences of the following effects on a scale of 0 [not at all] to 3 [occasional] to 5 [often]

You may have other physical, mental and emotional reactions that are not on the list. If so, rate these instead..

Anxiety can be stimulated by a number of situations but fundamentally we become anxious when we feel that we have too much to handle at once. So anxiety is partly externally triggered but also internally fostered. It is impossible to be anxious if you are relaxed so it is when we experience tension that we often become anxious.

So what causes tension in our lives. It can be a number of things, the normal pressures caused by everyday life such as financial and domestic issues as well as more dramatic and unexpected changes in the pattern of our lives such as bereavement or relationship breakdown which can produce enormous stress.

It is important to discover your own individual stressors. Make a list of your stressors under the headings: Emotional, Mental and Physical. An example of each would be

Emotional: feeling a lack of self-confidence

Mental: having too much studying to do at one

Physical: being run-down and under-par

Keep a diary for a week and note down the times when you feel most stressed.

Is the morning the worst time or do you lie awake at night worrying?

 

Learning to relax is an important part of reducing stress. Find out what helps you to relax most. The following may be helpful:

Emotional relaxation:

• share your problems - find someone you can talk to who understands.

• reward yourself - take long soothing baths and give yourself other treats

• congratulate yourself regularly for getting as far as you have in your life

Mental relaxation:

• tackle your study work in short bursts of 45 minutes and then take a 30 minute break.

• manage your time by organising well and setting priorities so that you are mentally on top of the task

• block out negative thoughts, try to see your problems in a balanced light

Physical relaxation:

• look after your health by trying to get a good night's sleep [at least 8 hours]

• exercise regularly

• eat a balanced diet [especially B complex vitamins]

Written by Kate Brooks © 2001