What is stress?

First things first. It’s okay to be stressed!

 

Stress is the body's natural reaction to change, both psychological and physical.

 

When we are "stressed out", or anxious our bodies respond in kind, eliciting occasionally extreme responses of "fight" (anxiety, sleeplessness, hyperactivity), "flight" (procrastination, distraction, quitting) or "freeze" (blanking out, "exam freeze").

 

Some stress is ok: we need some stress in order to get us to perform tasks at hand - if we were totally unstressed, not much would get done!

 

Moderate stress will help get a job done, but maximum stress will be counterproductive and will lead to lowered achievement and burn out.

 

This booklet aims to give you the tools to cope with the stresses you may face during exam times. It will help you get the balance right!

Page Created: 17th Apr, 2008
Last Updated: 5:19pm on 17th Apr, 2008 by Tom Scott