A lesson about stress...

by Jim Clarke, irishhealth.com

It's that time of year again. Over 60,000 students are about to voluntarily undergo one of the most stressful periods of their lives - the Leaving Certificate. With college places and potential careers to be decided, students often find that the next few weeks of exam time are the most pressurised of their young lives. For the first time also, the results will be available on-line.

Attempting to telescope years of hard work and study into a handful of two and three hour segments is a thankless task and is made no easier by the pressure placed on students to succeed. The points chase often becomes the only focus, with students determined to obtain particular college places no matter what the cost to their health.

The stress period for many begins as soon as the CAO forms are filled out or the mock exams attempted. When students become aware of how well they have to do in order to achieve the college place that they desire, pressure begins to mount. Stress is a fundamental aspect of existence, affecting us all and to an extent learning to deal with the stress of sitting examinations is a rite of passage for many young people.

'Exams are a rite of passage and dealing with exam stress is part of the process of maturing'.

There is good stress and bad stress. Good stress keeps us alert to things we need to be concerned about, whereas bad stress undermines peace of mind. Bad stress has health ramifications, as it can cause headaches and anxiety and can lead to serious complaints developing, such as panic attacks or depression. Certain conditions, such as asthma, sinusitis and allergic reactions, can be aggravated by stress and doctors report seeing many students around this time of year with worsened symptoms of existing conditions.

The Commission on the Points System polled 3,000 students in the class of 1998 to discover what their experience of exam time was like. The findings make for bleak reading, for students and parents alike. Parents, who are naturally concerned about their children and their future, suffer almost as much as their offspring at this time of the year, the survey revealed.

The report stated bluntly that when one person is sitting the Leaving Certificate, their entire household is affected by it. Television schedules are rebuilt around study time and parents become anxious about whether they are doing enough to ensure their child has the best chance of obtaining the best results.

"Family life is affected", stated the Commission. "The atmosphere in the home is made tense as parents feel the duty to constantly remind their children to put in hours of study".

The Commission found that life before the Leaving left little time for anything other than cramming for many pupils. The average amount of time spent on studying goes up in the final weeks, while time spent doing other activities drops off quite dramatically. Around 70% of students will spend more time studying now than they did before and 37% are actually doing more homework too.

To make time for all the study, most students cut down on other activities, like part-time work (74%), reading for pleasure (73%), school based activities (73%), games (69%) and leisure activities (59%).

The pressure on students to put all their available time into studying has never been greater, partly due to the time in class lost due to industrial action earlier in the year. While representatives of teachers have stressed that this was not intended to affect Leaving Cert pupils, the fact remains that it has. Many students now feel they are playing 'catch-up', leading to long hours hitting the books in a misplaced attempt to make up for the hours of classroom tuition that they lost.

Teachers themselves have a crucial role to play in managing the exam stress of their students. While they must cover the curriculum and make sure that there is time to revise the course in the weeks leading up to exams, they must also monitor their students for signs of stress. Teachers learn pastoral care as part of their B.Ed or H.Dip.Ed training. Learning to spot the symptoms of stress in students is a crucial part of pastoral care.

"All teachers are trained in pastoral care", explained Gemma Coffey of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI). "Schools run regular pastoral care programmes and we encourage the schools to hold these earlier in the year so that issues can be addressed as soon as possible. Teachers have a role in helping students prepare for exams. It is extremely important for teachers and parents to be positive and supportive at exam time".

While there is no specific national stress management programme that teachers can transmit to their exam year classes, most teachers will attempt to give their pupils advice on how best to study and to sit exams. Ms Coffey explained that teachers will look for signs of students becoming stressed and many teachers will advise their students on stress management techniques as part of their exam preparation.

Stress manifests itself both physically and mentally. Physical symptoms to look out for in people doing exams include:

• Loss of appetite
• Headaches
• Sleeplessness
• Lack of concentration
• Panic attacks
• Difficulty in breathing
• Heart palpitations
• Dizziness

Not all of these symptoms need to be present for a person to be stressed. In fact, if a student is experiencing any of the more severe symptoms, like dizziness or palpitations, a visit to the GP is in order. More commonly, students manifest their stress in emotional or psychological ways. They can feel angry and impatient, or conversely they may lose their enthusiasm and interest in things. They can become irritable or intolerant and lose their sense of perspective. They may increase their intake of alcohol, caffeine and nicotine.

'Drinking too much caffeine can impair concentration and increase stress levels'.

The points race can lead to a competitive environment between siblings and close friends that has a negative effect on exam performance and can damage relationships. When parents attempt to intervene, either to cajole their offspring into more study or conversely to encourage them to get some fresh air, they can cause more trouble than they bargain for.

According to guidance counsellor Brian Mooney, parents can actually damage their children's chances of passing their exams by placing too much pressure on them to succeed. The author of a book to guide parents through the minefield of their children's exams, Brian Mooney believes that many parents are suffering exam stress as much as their kids and the stress is transmitted back and forth between parents and child, catching all in a vicious circle.

"It is vital that parents learn about ways of dealing with this stress, otherwise they will only project it onto their children", he warns. "If we do not deal with our own parental exam stress we can actually help our sons or daughters fail their Leaving".

Parents can feel caught in a bind, wanting their children to do well, but fearful of upsetting an already anxious and stressed son or daughter. The answer, according to Brian Mooney, is unconditional love. Threatening to switch off the television or unplug a computer game is not as effective at motivating students to study as expressing confidence in their ability to do their best and supporting them as they go about the task in their own way.

At this stage, with the exams nearly here, there is little chance of a student radically improving their knowledge. But there are all sorts of things a student can do that will help them fail and unfortunately many students take these routes. Avoiding stress is about feeling in control of the tasks you have and the best way a student can take control of their studying is by drawing up a study timetable and sticking to it.

When a student becomes concerned about a particular subject or exam, they can become focused on preparing for it to the detriment of the other subjects they will be examined on. It is extremely important to draw up a sensible exam timetable, allowing for regular breaks every hour or two, that cover the entire curriculum.

At this stage, doing too much study is counter-productive. Research has shown that cramming, or last minute revising, is not conducive to even short-term knowledge gain. In other words, if you stay up studying half the night before an exam you are less, not more, likely to pass.

A lot of students respond to the stress of sitting exams by blindly studying harder and harder, with diminishing returns and increasing stress. This vicious circle is best broken by taking regular exercise breaks. Getting some fresh air and exercising your body is one of the best relievers of stress known.

'Making time for regular exercise helps to lower stress levels'.

Stress increases the production of hormones, such as adrenaline, that can cause the mind to suddenly 'blank'. Exercise is the best way to counter this stress condition. Exercise increases energy levels and improves a person's sense of well-being. It is also a useful way to relax away from the books.

Steering clear of alcohol is a good idea if exam stress is to be avoided. Some students resort to taking a drink to relax when their study day is over, or after they have completed an exam. While relaxing in company offers a welcome break from the grind of studying, drinking alcohol depresses the nervous system, leaving the body depleted of vital minerals and vitamins.

This can lead to irritability, which will only increase stress. Alcohol is also well-known for its devastating impact on short-term memory. Drinking something that helps you forget is not exactly recommended prior to taking an exam!

Many students rely on caffeine, whether in the form of a cup of coffee to keep them going up to the midnight hour for studying, or in the form of cold drinks to keep their energy levels high during the exam itself. Some students will even resort to caffeine pills or other stimulant tablets.

The short-term benefit of caffeine on energy and concentration levels is well known. But the effect is very short, measurable in minutes. Taking too much caffeine will lead to irritability and an inability to concentrate - exactly the opposite of the effect most students seek.

Students who sleep and eat well and regularly tend to perform best in exams, research has shown. Taking regular breaks allows the brain to process the information it has received and gives the body some much needed fresh air and exercise.

For everyone taking an exam this summer, it is important to remember that your whole future does not hang on the result of these tests. There is always the possibility of repeating the exam if you do not get the grade you desire and you may find that all sorts of other exciting opportunities will arise.

Best of luck!