Exam period stressing students
It has come to that time of the year again when students face the inevitable truth that it’s too late to start procrastinating for the exams.
These exam periods often become a time of stress and anxiety for students as they hastily try to relearn 13 weeks of knowledge.
The latest study out of the Australian Psychological Society showed that stress related to study are up 5% from last year.
The University of Wollongong (UOW) is no stranger to students stressing out over this exam period with a large amount of students visiting the counselling service towards the end of the semester with fears over exams.
“The main concerns for students during the exam period are usually feeling underprepared, having limited times or resources to prepare or even the potential consequences if they don’t achieve a certain mark. Generally the end of session and exam periods are pretty busy in the counselling service.” UOW Counsellor Nigel Woods says.
Woods believes that stress itself could be beneficial for taking exams but it’s the anxiety that is most dangerous to the students education.
“Anxiety can often result in procrastinating or even avoiding study or exams. Stress can be a useful motivator and is often linked with increased performance, However there is a catch, if our level of stress is too high, then our performance drops off, usually resulting increased stress and further decrease in performance.”
It seems that stress is inevitable come exam time but what do the students of the University of Wollongong do to relive this stress?
Jorden Ng, a graphic design student believes that ‘quiet’ time is needed to not become stressed out.
“I like to meditate for an hour before I go off to my test just to clear my mind and only remember the things I need for my test and nothing else.”
One last thought from our resident counsellor is that stopping stress “Is easier said than done, but trying to create some balance can be beneficial. Our bodies and minds need adequate sleep, nutrition and physical activity to function.”
The Wellbeing Centre is located at Level 3, Building 11 so if you’re having a hard time this exam period, stop in for a chat and remember to take time out from studying to just relax and recuperate. It will be more beneficial the cramming an entire textbook and less expensive at that.
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