Ask Keir: Stress

Ask Keir is a column aiming to answer all your health questions. If you want to know about that funny looking lump that won’t go away, why your GP won’t give you those antibiotics or anything at all to do with health get in touch at: [email protected]

All questions will of course be kept confidential and anonymous.

Question of the Week:

During my exams in January I found myself getting so worried about the exams it almost paralysed me into not revising until the very last moment. In the summer I’m coming up to my finals and I don’t want it to happen again. Any advice?

First off, it’s good to know that exam stress affects all of us even those perennially jammy laid back types. For some it might be just a feeling of ‘butterflies’ in the stomach when walking into the exam hall but for others it can be incredibly crippling and affect them throughout the year even when months away from exams.

On the bright side there are so many ways and services to help relieve the stress and let you perform as your fullest greatest self. Now I don’t want to sound like your lecturers but it helps massively if you’re organised from the off and don’t fall too far behind on work throughout the term as this means when you get to your study break you’ve already covered most of the material and its just a matter of going over it again rather than learning it from scratch.

It’s also worth looking for past papers as these can give you a real guide of what to expect, most courses offer them and if they don’t the internet usually has something similar.

Another tip, which I personally found really helpful, was to revise with friends. It can be so reassuring to know you’re at the same level as those on your course and you can help each other out if anyone gets stuck.

Sometimes, however, it can just get all too much and the burden can become overbearing this is where the University can really help. They offer a no nonsense, confidential counselling service where a trained counsellor can lend an ear and offer advice. They also have a range of services at their disposal such as relaxation classes and classes to help eliminate procrastination.

Follow the link below for more information;

http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/counselling/

I hope that helps!