With finals week here, many students experience stress and anxiety, but there are ways to cope with these feelings.
Stress can manifest in both physical and emotional ways. Increased impatience, frustration, and irritability over small things can be a major sign of stress. Other signs include difficulty with small decisions, feeling forgetful or disorganized, feelings of anxiety or panic, feeling overly competitive, or skipping meals. Physical symptoms can include eye twitches, neck and back aches, difficulty sleeping, frequent tension headaches, and chronic fatigue.
“We see students actually more stressed the week or two prior to finals,” Christina Blanco, a JHS counselor said. “Whenever it affects your daily life, you’re having trouble sleeping, you can’t use normal coping strategies to regulate yourself, regulate your body, if you’re seeing long term physical effects or mental health effects, that’s when we really start to worry.”
Developing healthy coping strategies is important to keep up with finals and to avoid chronic stress and burnout. Changing the narrative by redirecting nerves towards trying your best, and by changing internal self talk, and finding the root of your stress are all methods of combating stress recommended by experts.
“I always encourage looking at the facts,” Blanco said. “I think that a lot of times, I talk to students about stress they feel like it’s going to be much bigger than it actually is. Finals, while it is fifteen percent of your grade, it’s only fifteen percent of your grade.”
An important piece of combating stress is putting your needs first. It is important to treat rest as a right, not a reward and to prioritize meals. Simplifying and prioritizing self care, spending time outside with sunlight and fresh air, and staying active are also important to keep up with while studying and taking final exams.
“Normally I ask the student what has worked for them in the past.” Blanco said. “Every student’s different. Some students love being physical, being outside. Some students do really well with mindful activities, so it could be something like a mindful breathing activity that we do. Or some students do really well with journaling, or some students just need to go outside, get vitamin D, go for a walk. We even had students run up and down the stairs, because getting their heart racing it kind of burns out that energy.”
Good study habits can be key to eliminating stress and doing well in exams. Experts suggest that setting clear goals and boundaries can be helpful. Taking things one thing at a time can combat feeling overwhelmed. Focusing on fifteen-minute wins can also be effective, working towards goals that can be accomplished in the small time frames can encourage you to get more done and create a feeling of accomplishment. Working in moderation can prevent burnout.
“One thing we always talk about in the counseling office is the amounts of unhealthy stress, specifically on this campus, and I think there is so much pressure from outside of ‘where you are gonna go’ and ‘what you are gonna do’. You are gonna get where you need to be, and we are gonna help you there no matter what. There is not one thing that defines success and ten years from now it’s gonna be okay,” Blanco said.
Good study habits and coping skills aren’t always enough. The tips provided in this article are not a substitute for professional help. If you or a friend are experiencing heightened stress, reach out to the JHS counselors.
