FAIS EAN
December 01 2020
7
MIDTERM STRESS?
My best tips to breathe By Sophia Hadef Stress, the best enemy of students? Let me share with you the tried and real techniques to reduce anxiety during exams, but also in everyday life. The stress felt by students can be connected to lots of factors: a transition period, learning autonomy, the uncertainty of the future, the pressure of getting good academic results, financing your studies, and romantic and friendly relationships.
Meditation can be an especially powerful tool for handling stress: breathing exercises can work on the physical consequences of stress, and by reducing your heart flow, your body can send a positive signal to your brain.
Most of us can easily recognise our stress: the heart beating a little faster, trouble concentrating, a loss of appetite and sleeping problems. Stress and anxiety can be explained as a physiological effect. Our body responds to danger, to a challenging life. Feeling stressed can be totally natural when an exam approaches, for example, or when you have to hand in an assignment. The key is to be able to deal with that tension so that it doesn’t become too overwhelming for your day-to-day life. This is possibly the simplest yet most complex exercise in the world. When you feel a peak of stress, take the time to bring your mind back to practical things: what is the worst possible situation, right now, at this moment? For example, you feel the stress about approaching an exam. In this case, the gravest possible scenario would be to miss this exam. Do you have another plan? It is likely that this exam alone will not define your semester. And it may be possible to compensate for that mark with other modules. By practising imagining the “worst possible scenario on the moment” (and only at the peak of stress), we can recognise that the “gravest” is not that serious. That’s also the perfect realisation to start making a possible plan B. Studies may seem like a “priority” to you, personally, when the exams are approaching, I remember sometimes leaving my whole life aside. No more sport, no more excursions - basically doing binge-revising! Your priority must be you and yourself at all times. By taking care of yourself and your health. Then, it is likely that
the revision will be easier, and your performance will improve. If you hesitate to take some time for yourself, to go for a run, remember that many studies suggest that frequent physical activity can increase our concentration and reduce the symptoms of “mild” depression. If you know that the next few days will be dedicated to your revisions, plan some nice ideas for the following few weeks. Meetings, to grab a coffee with a friend, to watch a great movie in a cosy atmosphere... Knowing that something nice is going to happen can boost endorphins production and help you to get through this stressful time. Meditation can be an especially powerful tool for handling stress: breathing exercises can work on the physical consequences of stress, and by reducing your heart flow, your body can send a positive signal to your brain. Reading is in my opinion, the best antistress activities. (And as a bookworm, I know what I’m talking about). Culture and literature, and the stories it tells, help us shape our memory over reality. It helps to build us as individuals serves as a reference in the crucial times of our life. Writing is also a very good and relaxing activity. Paying attention to our sensations and emotions. Writing helps to relieve pain and to gain in optimism. Listening to some music can be motivating and a source of satisfaction. Music can also communicate positive emotions. Whatever you choose to do to relax, take care of yourself, take a breath, press pause when you feel the need and stay safe.
NÓS MAIRE ACHTÁLA
21
Mental Health Column; The importance of seperating your relaxion space and study space Ellen O’Donoghue Hi everyone, I don’t know if anyone noticed, but last week I didn’t actually write my column. I was absolutely swamped with college and I tried, but to be quite honest I just said no. I put myself first which is exactly what I needed to do for myself in that moment in time. I’d apologise, but I actually worked for years to be able to actually put myself and my own wellbeing first, instead of suffering through and jeopardising my own health for the sake of others. Sometimes you have to be selfish, and that is okay too. I’m currently listening to a prerecorded lecture while writing this. (But if you’re a lecturer reading this, I’m definitely not. I give my full undivided attention to every minute of every lecture and am definitely paying attention. Always) To be honest, the mid-semester burnout is real. This year, I find more so than any other. With it comes the question; ‘ Is it online college or is it just final year? Who knows? Would I feel differently if life were normal right now and I was able to attend lectures in real life, and go to the pub, and see my friends? Or indeed, would I feel differently if I were to invest in a pair of blue light glasses to help cope with staring at a laptop screen for upwards of eight hours a day? In my opinion, they should be provided by the college at the very least, because my eyes are sore and it is not my fault that I have to do the entirety of the most important academic year of my life to date via a laptop screen. But anyways, that is enough complaining. I can actually get into the nitty gritty stuff now my lecture has ended. College is really hard. So is the uncertainty of the world we currently live in. The only easy thing about this is how easy it is to stay in bed all day and not miss any classes. But I do not recommend this, at all. One of the most important things I have learned this year is the importance of creating a proper study space for yourself. I am blessed enough that I am able to set up shop in the spare bedroom in my house, but not everyone has that luxury. However, it is so important to separate your relaxation space from your study space. Research has proven that if you don’t, then you can’t effectively do either. Meaning that you if you’re doing lectures from bed then not only will you not be able to pay attention properly, but you probably won’t be sleeping well or be able to relax in bed properly
either. This in turn, has another knockon effect on your studies as relaxation is a necessity. Keeping stress to a minimum is crucial. As stress levels increase people are unable to fully appreciate the enjoyable things in life. Finding yourself under stress is such a vicious cycle; one that is incredibly difficult to get out of once you’re in. I was going to write that if you take anything from this column this week, let it be the above paragraph. But I actually have a few more points to make. One on time management, and one on extensions. Sorry, I really don’t want to start my essays. We’re in it for the long haul now. Time management is not one of my best qualities, hence the procrastination. But, to-do lists are my forte. I always have two to-do lists on the go. One is of the things I had to do the week before, which never gets finished in a week, and the other is of things I have to do that current week. One list gets completed each week. I have these lists glued to the wall in front of my desk to make sure I don’t forget anything. I also wrote out all of my deadlines on a flash card and stuck it to the wall at the start of the year, marking off each one as I go. It’s nice, to be able to acknowledge doing something. It might just be me, but knowing exactly what I have to do and when I have to do it by, always makes doing it easier. Now, onto extensions. I feel like there’s this stigma around getting an extension on your essay for any reason other than physical illness. Like, if I were to be bedridden with food poisoning, I’d get an extension. But, if you were to be seriously struggling with the workload, and have external factors playing into the quality and quantity of your work, you’d probably be too afraid to ask for one. I know that I always used to be anyways. But you shouldn’t be. Like, you really shouldn’t be. Sometimes, you need an extension to make yourself feel like you can get the work done; it makes the work so much less daunting. You may not need always avail of the extension, but the option is always there, if you need it. Now, I’m not saying to go work away and get an extension whenever you want one, but it is important to know the option is there, and it isn’t anything to be ashamed of. I don’t know if this column is going to be of much help to anyone, but I hope it is. I’m writing it as much for myself as for the reader. Take a break; don’t think you don’t deserve it.
