health.officer

I thought this would be an apt topic considering exams are coming up for our Yr 12 students as well as our tertiary educated youths too! So to start off I’ll detail how I deal with stress and then you guys can share with me and the rest of our friends on facebook how you do it and see if we can give each other some new techniques.

I see stress as a positive thing. The physiological (how you feel when you are stressed, ie tight stomach) signs is a cue for me to begin to think about effective methods to deal with the thing that is stressing me. Of course the flip side of the stress response is that when you don’t deal with it, then your stress increases and makes you worse off. For those that already know, I apologise for boring you again with the details, but this phenomenon where stress can be a positive and negative event is known as the Yerkes-Dodson Curve. (If you wish to learn more about the physiology behind the stress response check out http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/stress )


So how do I deal with it to ensure that my stress is on the positive end of the curve and not overwhelm me, I do 3 things

·  1. I run each day

·  2. I write most weeks

·  3. I surround myself constantly with my loved ones.

Running is my ME time/MEDITATION time. It is where I escape and I think things through in the hope of finding a solution. I believe most problems that build up in our lives do so because we don’t give ourselves the time to process it in order to find a resolution. A simple thing like a 30minute run/walk each morning, though sounds like a small amount, ends up making a HUGE difference in cutting out my stress or potential stress build up.

Writing helps me to articulate on paper what exactly is causing my stress response. Sometimes we get so stressed, can’t breath, can’t think straight, and we don’t know why. Writing helps me to process exactly the cause of my issues. And then whilst I’m at it, I brainstorm ways to resolve it. I actually write using word processor so I can always cut/paste/copy ideas into a priority list. Then I send it through as an attachment to my best friend and ask for his opinion on whether I am dealing with it in an appropriate way. That way he is able to help me resolve my issue without it being such a big emotional burden on him as well since I’ve already thought through some solutions and his feedback is more to give me some tweeks here and there in my design. All in all the experience is a positive experience for both him and I.

Surrounding myself with those that love me and those I love back are extremely important because they give me that added perspective that I may have missed out seeing. But more than that, they make me laugh and remind me what life is really about. They give me that positive boost to help me see my stressful situation in a different light too.

At the end of the day though, I think its all about PRIORITISING. Once you’ve figured what you’re priorities are then it’s easy to know what to focus on and what you need to put aside. So if it’s imperative for you to get a GOOD ENTER, then put aside all party plans and study, study, study. If however you are the lucky ones who’se course doesn’t require such hard work to get into, then you can relax a bit and still make it to the majority, if not all, of your friends coming of age celebrations!!!

At the end of the day, you know what you need to do to ACE your chances of doing well for your exams, it’s just a matter of convincing yourself about it and surrounding yourself with the right company who can encourage you to stick by your convictions! On that note, why don’t you guys post back the techniques you use to de-stress and/or get ahead of your studies for big exams. Sharing is caring!!!

Best of luck for your preparations!

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