What are the most effective ways to manage and cope with academic stress?
- Take a little breather for self-care
- Approach your tasks one at a time
- Don’t compare yourself with others
- Interact with your fellow students
There are many possible causes of stress for people in the Philippines: pregnancy test results, work, illness, financial obligations, marriage, and emotional problems to name a few. These common stress-inducing things and events tend to be associated more with adults which often leads many to believe that the younger members of society are cruising through life without a single care for anyone or anything.
However, reality would tell us that young people are just as stressed, if not more than others and this is due to none other than school. Students are more stressed now than ever because of the overbearing pressure to succeed that they receive from everyone around them – and this is on top of the pressure they put on themselves.
If you’re part of the student demographic and feel overly stressed, then we suggest that you continue reading in order to learn of ways to manage and cope with unavoidable academic stress!
Take a Little Breather for Self-care
In order to conquer stress, you have to start with the basics: taking proper care of yourself! What this means is getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, and exercising on a regular basis. Fulfilling your biological needs gives your body and mind a fighting chance against academic stress since there’s no way an unhealthy body can stand up against the immense pressures of the academe.
You have to remember that your number one priority should always be your health and not your grades or school standing, so put down your pens and close your books every once in a while to tend to it.
Approach Your Tasks One at a Time
As a student, there are sure to be times when you’re buried in a mountain of schoolwork and faced with a number of tests and exams. When this happens, make sure to approach your requirements one at a time.
Avoid thinking about them collectively because doing so is sure to overwhelm you and make you think that it’d be impossible to accomplish all of them, which is completely false.
If you can, list down everything you need to do and their deadlines along with your test dates and other important events. After which, estimate how much time you need for each task and limit yourself to that. Chunking them down like this is sure to make things less scary and more manageable.
Don’t Compare Yourself with Others
One of the most common reasons students are under so much stress is because they keep comparing themselves with their more successful peers. Everyone is prone to falling into this trap of self-doubt and anxiety, but try and keep yourself from it.
In order to do so, you have to understand that just because others seem to be enjoying more success doesn’t mean you aren’t accomplishing anything. People move at their own pace; just because you’re a little behind doesn’t mean you aren’t going to get there! As long as you’re sure that you did your best and gave it your all, then you can rest easy and feel proud of yourself.
The only person you should compare yourself to is your past self. Once you do that, you’re sure to see just how much you have developed and feel a little bit more confident in your growth.
Interact with Your Fellow Students
Academic stress plus isolation is guaranteed to lead to negative and self-limiting thoughts and beliefs, so avoid locking yourself in your room for the majority of your student life. Doing this will only make you feel way more helpless and alone than you actually are.
Get out of your dimly lit quarters, bask in some sunlight, and interact with your fellow students. Talk about your hobbies, voice out your thoughts, and share your troubles with them. You’d actually be surprised once you find that you aren’t the only one going through the same things and are sure to find comfort in the fact!
Key Takeaway
People may tell you that academic stress is nothing compared to the stress of checking a pregnancy test in the Philippines, working, getting married or balancing your finances, but don’t let their words get to you. Your hardships and problems are just as real as any other and your feelings are completely valid. If you let others dictate how you should feel, then you’re already losing the battle.
Instead, focus all that extra energy on managing and coping with the stress you are experiencing using the ways we’ve listed above. That’s all you really have to do on top of ensuring that you pass your tests and examinations!