By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
(HealthDay)
SUNDAY, Dec. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Final exams are stressful for college students, but it surely is feasible to ratchet down the pressure with some planning and self-compassion.
A psychologist from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston offers a number of suggestions for helping teens manage the pressure.
Start with the fundamentals, including ensuring the teenager is getting sufficient sleep, eating nutritiously without skipping meals and maintaining an affordable level of physical activity.
“A variety of people find yourself pondering they should spend more time studying or don’t have time for exercise or meals, but it surely finally ends up turning right into a vicious cycle of not caring for yourself, which contributes to worse future performance,” said Dr. Eric Storch. He’s vice chair of psychology within the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor.
Every study schedule should include taking breaks to chill out and unwind, he said.
Also, Storch advised, it is important to maintain things in perspective. Success and failure aren’t black and white. Talking to a friend or parent may be very helpful for individuals who are under stress.
“Reflect on if the world will end in case you don’t get an ideal rating. Possibly you didn’t do in addition to you wanted on that test, but you didn’t fail,” Storch said in a Baylor news release.
He suggests that students make a study plan as a substitute of procrastinating, then take the correct steps to get there.
“Once you procrastinate, you’re taking on a regular basis you can have been working and destroy it by having this gray cloud hanging above you,” Storch said.
He added that oldsters and teachers should familiarize themselves with the signs of hysteria and stress in students. Younger adolescents might complain about stomach aches or be clingy. Older adolescents may need a few of those self same symptoms, in addition to sleep problems, irritability and increased emotions.
Storch warned that social media can interfere with school work and cause more stress.
A teen having trouble putting the phone or tablet down or feeling distress if not engaged in social media should visit a mental health specialist, he said. Storch recommends exposure therapy for patients to know the fears of parting with social media, in addition to putting the phone down to interact in fun activities and seeing how that works out.
“Engage in tests to see what happens in case you put the phone down and don’t engage in social media for an hour. Does the world end? Does your social standing plummet? Let’s start difficult the degree during which you’re engaging in social media,” Storch said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more on managing stress.
SOURCE: Baylor College of Medicine, news release, Dec. 13, 2022
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