Nervousness, stress, anxiety – these are the words that can be often overheard at Middlesex during the exam period. Stress gets to everyone from time to time… but what can we suggest for those who struggle to cope with the mental pressure and often feel overwhelmed?
1. Be sociable – While dealing with our problems we often isolate ourselves without intention. Rather than taking a break to meet a friend we choose to stay at home to watch Netflix thinking that this will save our time and we will be able to continue doing work. This mind set often leads to procrastination. It’s important to understand that we need human interaction to share our concerns and talk about other things to clear our mind and prepare for another brainstorm.
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2. Don’t treat your bed as an office – Morning coffee and cosy bedsheets are always the best combination and one of the main reasons why many don’t want to leave their perfect life in bed. But it’s necessary to separate your work place from the comfort zone where you can relax. Treating your bed as a library can be risky, because this is where we feel safe and intend to avoid our problems by keeping yourselves busy with unnecessary stuff. Everything collapses once we leave our paradise and have to face the reality. Don’t postpone your assignments leaving them for the last minute. Try to get out of your bed, head to the library or coffee shop - whatever best works for you - and get cracking! It is better to worry about one thing than 10 at the same time.
3.Seek assistance – Don’t think that you are the only one who has all of these emotions. Although, each individual has different experiences with stress and deals with revision differently, ultimately everyone is still in the same boat. Speak to a family member or a close friend and discuss your concerns. You may get good advice from someone who was in your position and dealt with the same issues. If you still don’t feel confident enough, there is plenty of support available to you here at Middlesex. Middlesex Counselling & Mental Health team offers drop-in support, dog therapy sessions as well as group and private sessions. They have also launched SilverCloud – Online Therapy where you can choose from 4 programmes based on your situation.
During the most crucial months of our degrees it is important to stay positive... try to be proud of small achievements and enjoy student life while it lasts rather than spend our precious time worrying about the future.
Mother Theresa once said “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We only have today.” Thus, let us begin!
