Overcome Stress so you can Study Effectively

We can all suffer from stress. And sometimes other people can cause us stress (or we allow them to do this). When we are stressed out from worry or an argument with someone or from too much to do or any other reason, it can be hard to study effectively, even when there is an exam coming up or a paper to be submitted. Perhaps we are PARTICULARLY stressed out when these happen - exams and writing papers can be big stressors, without anything else on top. That's when many of us turn to comfort eating or perhaps other destructive habits, such as spending too much (retail therapy!) smoking or drinking alcohol or taking drugs. By finding other ways of overcoming stress we can get back to studying effectively, without stressing our minds and bodies still further by trying to deal both with our studies AND outside stresses, without help.









Find some space

One way to overcome stress is to distance yourself from it if possible. If you have just had an argument with someone, or the sink has overflowed for the tenth time, or your printer has run out of ink just as you were ready to print out your already overdue paper, then get out and away from what is causing you stress, even just for a few minutes. Get up from your desk, move around, find a different view, from a different window. Even go for a short walk if possible. Sometimes, it may need to be a LONG walk and maybe at a brisk pace. Actually moving, and at as brisk a pace as you can manage (even jog or run if your health allows) can be very helpful in reducing stress levels significantly.

Preparing Ahead of Time

If you know that getting away from a situation is helpful to you and your stress levels, then it may be helpful to plan a certain level of exercise into your day. Even 15 minutes brisk walking (or whatever you enjoy that gets your heart rate up [safely] and gets you breathing faster) will help keep your stress levels lower.

You may want to plan out some places that you can go to in order to get some space. Find the nearest parks, hills, safe streets, gyms, even shopping malls that you can go to that will allow you to walk briskly and use up some of the negative energy created by stress.

Deal with the stressor

Sometimes stress comes from personal worries, such as finance, health, relationships or keeping up with studies. The best way to deal with these types of worries is to tackle them, instead of avoiding them until they become great monsters that devour your waking time and ruin your sleeping hours.

FINANCE

Tackle your money problems. There are some useful items available that can help you work out your money worries. One very helpful book is called the GOOD BOOK by Pam Young. GOOD stands for Get Out Of Debt. Whether you are in debt or not, this is an extremely funny, useful, thought provoking and down-right interesting book, with many ideas and tips on why we spend money on things we don't need and get ourselves into debt. The author, Pam Young was tens of thousands of dollars in debt and didn't know where to turn, when she met her inner child (whom she named Nelly) and found out how to stop spending on unnecessary items, clear her debt and start saving. By the way, the credit card companies probably hate this book. If you are worried by them, you will love this book.

HEALTH

If you have any health worries - tackle them. Have you been putting off a visit to your doctor / optician / well-person clinic, audiologist, podiatrist or any other specialist dealing with your health? Ignoring health concerns doesn't make them go away but tackling them early can help stop problems from getting worse. The first step is to acknowledge that you have a health problem and the second step is to make an appointment to go and see the relevant professional. If this is you, stop reading this and go and book your appointment. Then you can come back and read the rest.

TALK IT OUT

Sometimes talking to someone else can help. Maybe you have a good buddy you can talk to. Sometimes it's more helpful to talk to someone totally anonymously and the Samaritans can help here. Some local organisations also run counselling sessions during the winter months when people can feel more down than at other times.

STUDY SKILLS

If you are worried about keeping up with your studies, then tackle them in short bursts on a regular basis. If you are attending lectures, then make sure you attend them! Take notes. Write your notes up each night. Get the recommended book and read the relevant section for that lecture. Do the homework. Time yourself. Give yourself 15 minutes and work only on that for those 15 minutes. You will be surprised how much you can get done.

One extremely handy book (available on the Kindle too - and it only takes 2 hours to read) if you are stressed about writing a term paper or any academic paper is Don't Panic: The Procrastinator's Guide to Writing an Effective Term Paper by Steven Posusta. It will get you writing within a very short time. It helps you find your thesis, your introduction and conclusion all in a few lines and it helps you get the main body of your paper written in a very short time. It doesn't matter if your paper is for school or your doctoral studies. It's very well worth getting and using. It will definitely reduce your stress levels.

Journal it

Write your problems down in a personal journal that no one has access to but you and lock it away when you have finished writing. There are some online journals where you can do this too, such as 750 words. http://750words.com/ The very act of writing is, in itself, soothing. It can also be energising if you are writing with passion about something that has upset you or got you worked up. Write down anything you want. It doesn't have to make sense. It doesn't even have to be anything logical. It can be "I don't know what to write, I don't know what to write.." etc. You can extend it to "Why do I not know what to write.." And it may flow into things like "because i am just so upset about .... and ..."

If you are using your journal to allow you to spill out all your frustrations with a relationship or with work or studies, then don't bother going back to look at what you wrote. Consider it finished with. You can burn any pages, delete it from your computer and the fact of having written it down will help you feel less stressed.

Some people use journalling as a way of getting started into their writing, whether this is fiction writing or academic writing. You may find that what you have written gives you a good basis for your own writing on a particular subject. You can also start out expressing your frustration at something and find that your writing has moved you on into an area that you will find useful in your studies. You can also use what you have written as a way of helping you deal with particular stressors.

Pamper yourself

Some times, even when life isn't treating us well, we need to treat ourselves well. Maybe you need a little pampering. And if no one else will do it for you, then treat yourself kindly. Find some things you enjoy and make a list of them so you can always find something that will help you feel happier. You may enjoy:

* listening to music - make a list of your favourites

* having a long hot bath or shower - get your favourite shower gel ready

* reading a book - make a bucket list of books you WANT to read (as opposed to the ones you think you SHOULD read)

* taking a walk

* going to the gym or an exercise class

* going to the hairdresser or for a spa treatment

* going to the foot clinic or for a pedicure or manicure

* getting a massage

* listening to meditation tapes

* going to a yoga class

Make a list of your favourite things while you feel good. Put the list away until you feel upset, then choose something from it. You may even wish to tuck some money away with the list so you can enjoy a treat even if otherwise you are skint.

Your turn now



I wrote this module quickly because I was feeling a bit stressed out from overwork, looking after sick relatives and needing to get my studies back on course. I have learned a lot about stress and time management over the years, so thought it would be useful to help me to put it down and also maybe it will help you too. I now feel a lot better (this could be called journalling!) and can go back to writing my literature review. Hope you can get back to being productive too. Have you any tips you want to add?

FOPP

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