Students can make stress work for them at exam time

Students can be left bothered and bewildered by the pressure of impending examinations. Clinical psychologist Shirley Tan from Mount Elizabeth Medical Center discusses ways for stressed students to take time out and look after their mental health. This column is jointly sponsored by The Jakarta Post and Singapore-based Parkway Group Healthcare.

SINGAPORE: Cindy did well in her first two years at university but was especially anxious to do well in her third-year exams to ensure a place in the school's honors program.

Unfortunately, she found that she could not concentrate on her studies. Whenever she sat down to work, her heart started to pound and her mind filled with images of what would happen if she did not "make it". She could not eat or sleep and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Mark underwent a similar experience. His mother was very angry that he could not answer his exam questions, the same questions which he could do at home. When she confronted him, he could only say that his "mind went blank" whenever he was in the examination hall.

Examination stress is a common phenomenon among students. It can either motivate one to work harder or create a great amount of anxiety and worry, to the extent of affecting one's physical and mental health. In some cases, stress creates a problem by affecting the student's performance. Therefore, it is important to learn to manage exam stress.

Common symptoms of examination stress are feelings of anxiety and inability to settle down, depressed mood, body tension, butterflies in the stomach/stomachache, lump in the throat, tight chest, pounding heart, poor concentration, the mind going blank, increased efforts with deceased results, insomnia, persistent nightmares (for younger children), frequent outbursts and temper tantrums, frequent complaints of physical discomfort with no causes, changes in eating habits.

Here are some useful study tips to reduce stress.

1. Plan your study time. Be honest and realistic in planning. Allow for some flexibility, such as unexpected events, homework or tests. Check off the topics you have studied at the end of each day and reinforce yourself for your effort.

2. Allocate a constant place to study so that this place is associated with the habit of studying.

3. Make your study environment as close to the test environment as possible.

4. Allow time for exercise, recreation and rest. It is not necessary to sit at your desk 24 hours a day when studying -- in fact, you will be more efficient after a short break.

5. Learn more effective ways of studying. For example, it is important to be selective in what you choose to commit to memory given the limitations of the human brain. Find out what your best modality for learning is.

You can also learn some skills to cope with the symptoms of stress, when they occur. For example, learning relaxation techniques will help you reduce the physical symptoms associated with stress. Learning positive self-talk will help to reduce intrusive thoughts during exams.

Despite the negative connotation associated with the word stress, it is not necessarily a negative thing. If properly managed, we can make stress work for us instead of against us.