Identifying Exam Stress or Anxiety – Part 1

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

 

Introduction

Stress can be considered a state of physical or mental strain that occurs as a result of a demanding situation or event.

It can be thought of as your body’s natural response to experiencing pressure. And, as a result of this pressure, you may experience an increase in your heart rate, blood sugar levels and blood pressure.

Now guess what…we all experience some level of stress in our lives. This happens regardless of age, race, sex or background.

A little stress can actually be a good thing- for example, you may be forced to stay alert because of it. Unfortunately, there are certain negative aspects of having too much stress we all need to watch out for.

In this post, we discuss a few of the things you need to watch out for, particularly for cognitive symptoms.

 

Feeling hopeless or overwhelmed

Many persons experience having a hopeless feeling when under pressure. Thoughts of not being able to do something properly or even finish come to the mind.

Be careful of this and try to stay positive at all times. Reading encouraging quotes may actually help a lot here.

 

Unable to sleep at nights

This is one area that many persons can relate to. Having that deadline or examination fast approaching and feeling so tense that you toss and turn each night.

The good news is that there are multiple reports supporting the view that an increase in exercise may actually help!

Yes, it’s counter-intuitive, but give it a try.

 

Sudden change in eating habits

Being stressed can cause individuals to have a sudden change in their eating habits.

Unfortunately, the type of change is often for the worse. You may find a sudden crave for consuming junk or fast food, sodas or other sugary beverages.

 

Experiencing anger issues

A particularly bad effect of experiencing prolonged periods of stressfulness is finding that one’s behaviour is heading in the wrong direction.

The unfortunate reality for some is that they tend to lash out at others without good reason.

This issue calls for harnessing all your willpower. And it’s never a bad idea to seek counselling from an experienced person on this.

 

Being constantly tired

We have all been there. Being so over-worked that the burnout eventually comes.

Facing the pressures of your exams or even life itself can sometimes cause us to have constantly low energy.

Again, exercise can really help in this department!

 

In closing

Feeling stressed is just another part of life that we need to manage and overcome.

There is no guilt in going through this- we all will have to face it at some point in time.

Just remember that there are great (and healthy) outlets you can use to overcome this monster.

 

Thank you!

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