Ask A Pro Live: Study Stress - September 2019
Whether you’re in your last year of school, trying to improve your grades or navigating life at University or TAFE - I think we can all agree that at times studying is stressful. You have to manage your time, understand the content, complete assignments and make deadlines. All whilst juggling family, friends and everything in between.
It’s enough to make your head implode!
In the lead up to this discussion we're also creating Study Stress profiles. If you'd like to join in you'll find the thread here. We also had a special discussion about this topic a couple of weeks ago which you can read back on and contribute to here.
Join us on Thursday the 26th of September from 7-9pm AEST to talk all things Study Stress!
So if there's anything you've ever wanted to know about how to manage study stress now is the time to ask! Watch this space, as soon we will be introducing our wonderful guests who will join us on the forums to talk all things managing study stress. I know many of you will have questions for our guests - please send them all through via the google form below.
@Esperanza67 @Bee @lokifish @mrmusic @ecla34 @N1ghtW1ng @roseisnotaplant @scared01 @redhead @LeoTheLion @MissX @FootyFan26 @DirtWitch @LadyMacbeth00 @Grake @elly123 @amywells21 @Mila28 @Quaintrelle @SpiderGirl18 @sibh @Amy9 @mspaceK @Sanguine @NBAM21 @Iridescence @Karinaskii @nxmita_pa @Alison5 @cerulean @SkyIsTheLimit @chocolateislife18 @DontWait @gezellig @seadreamer @dog_lover94 @Motty91 @GM24 @rose13 @ThinkerGirl28 @caseyleehs @neonsnow @TalaForest16 @Jakob @amypond @positivepenny @someone123 @Jrt14 @lr8991 @Mily @Dani @Hummingbird@Han1993 @marshmallows @Sunflower18 @RockPaperScissorsMelon @Stardust23 @Loudcloud @MitchellClifford @ami-lee @Gumi Gumi @Ally-Leesh-
Hello everyone!
Just a reminder that our live chat on study stress is this Thursday the 26th of September from 7-9pm!!
I am just going to tag some members who have posted to the study stress profiles thread who might be interested! @Bananatime04 @May_ @not-an-otter @Dyl @drpenguin @MisoBear @statuscaring @recharging_introvert @WheresMySquishy @Hozzles
I’m going on a road trip that day, but I might still be able to join in! 🙂
Hi @xXLexi_Lou122Xx, Absolutely 
Just going to tag @Bre-RO who will be running this live chat tomorrow night 🙂
Hello everyone!
We are only hours away from speaking with our incredible guest @Roxy879 on all things exam stress! A huge thank you to our amazing community for all the questions you have submitted, we are looking forward to seeing you all back here at 7pm tonight!
Get to know Roxy a bit better!:
"Hey everyone! I’m Roxanne (or Roxy!) I’m 20 years old and graduated from high school in 2017.
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Just tagging members who have high fived this thread!
@scared01 @WheresMySquishy @Hozzles @xXLexi_Lou122Xx @Esperanza67
We are about to get started!!
A very warm welcome to @Roxy879 who is joining us tonight to talk about study stress!
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Hey everyone! I'm Roxanne (Or Roxy!)
I'm really looking forward to tonight and discussion that we will all have.
I love having debates and discussions and so I'm really looking forward for tonight!
The first question I was asked to answer is: Why does it seem that some people can handle heaps of pressure from studying and education, but others can't cope under a small amount of pressure?
Answer:
The first thing I want to clarify is that stress isn’t eternal, there will be times in your life where the pressure you are encountering may feel overpowering and exam pressure can be one of those times - So, I feel it’s important to know before you head off to your exams is that the stress you are or may be experiencing, you will not carry it with you forever! (This was something I wish someone told me when I was doing my studies, and I so I feel I should tell you this.)
When it comes down to it, everybody is unique! And so, the stress that people encounter in their day-to-day lives will be unique too. Stress is a fact of life, everyday individuals (you) encounter stress. Rarely, will a day go by where you don’t encounter some sort of stress (it may be little or big), but the great thing about stress is that when it runs it’s toll, you’ll recover and will have experience on how to better prepare yourself the next time you encounter a similar stressful situation.
Researchers are still trying to unravel why some people are able to handle stress better than others. But I believe as I mentioned earlier it’s because everybody is unique and their resilience to stress is different!
Two individuals may encounter the same stressful situation, exams and study pressure for example, but due to individual resilience, their reactions may be different. Some individuals may showcase stress outwardly, some may keep stress hidden internally.
Hi @Roxy879! Nice to meet you!
Thanks so much for joining us tonight.
@Roxy879 Can you tell us a little bit about your study experience and what you are studying at the moment?
I have been in Uni for two years now. I started Uni in 2018 where I studied a diploma in counselling before I moved onto my current study which is the Bachelor of Psychological science and Criminology.
This is a field of study that I feel very passionate about and enjoy. I'm very passionate about mental health and I hope to be able to have a full-time career in this field.
Even though I enjoy this degree, I do find it changeling and stressful with the workload I am given!
@Roxy879 I also studied psychology! I enjoyed it but I thought it was a lot of hard work too.
@WheresMySquishy It is hard work! But I still say completing the HSC was the most challenging two years of my life!
I am hearing you have a strong direction of where you want to go with your career and your studies line up with that direction which is great!
This month we have been talking on the forums about study stress, and I would love to hear more about your experience with study stress @Roxy879
How do you know when you are experiencing too much or an unhealthy amount of study stress?
Q)How do you know when you are experiencing too much or an unhealthy amount of study stress?
A) The first thing to know when you are experiencing too much or an unhealthy amount of study stress is to be able to understand what exactly stress is. Stress is your body’s way of informing you that you are encountering a harmful situation (this may be interpreted as your instincts, a gut feeling, or even the butterflies you get when you see an ex!) - they may be real or perceived threats.
Often when I’m experiencing an unhealthy amount of study stress I would enter an almost fight-or-flight mode. I would often get symptoms such as my heart-rate increasing, my breath becoming rapid, muscles tightening even without my knowledge (which led to many backaches and muscle aches), and cold chills or shivers.
When I finally realise that I was experiencing an unhealthy amount of study stress was when I noticed I was feeling constantly low in energy, having sleep problems, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, and lack of enjoyment in activities that I once loved.
These are some of the symptoms you can use to identify you are experiencing too much or an unhealthy amount of study stress.
More symptoms can come in forms such as:
- Body complaints: this is your body physically telling you that it’s not okay. Examples: frequent urination, teeth grinding/lip biting/ nails biting, fatigue/or weakness, aches and possible itching, etc...
- Gastrointestinal complaints: when under a heavy amount of stress you may experience stomach pains, complexion changes, nausea/weakness, vomiting, acne, etc…
- Respiratory complaints: you may also experience a stuffy/or runny nose, earaches, sore/or a lump in your throat, temperature changes, etc...
Reference: https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/media-spotlight/201704/how-much-is-too-much-stress
Our bodies are so complex aren't they! I think you have listed some really important signs when stress starts to impact how we are coping with study. It's really interesting that you mentioned all the different body systems that stress targets- having an understanding of our bodies and hearing the signs is so important!
Sleep problems is one we hear a lot and can be a sign that something is not right! I'd be interested to know: When was the first time you started to become aware of your signs of study stress? Can you remember a time when you started to listen to your body and be aware that you may be experiencing stress?
When was the first time you started to become aware of the your signs of study stress? Can you remember a time when you started to listen to your body and be aware that you may be experiencing stress?
Whenever I went to the doctors about a physical health complaint, they would say that if I kept my stress levels in check the problems would be unlikely to reoccur. I learned that stress affects the immune system and can trigger changes in the body.
One time that sticks out to me was when I started a full-time unpaid internship. Pretty much as soon as I started, I experienced a lot of problems from the management and the workload and travelling demands that they placed on me were outrageous and different to what I had initially been told about the position. I spent ages trying to sort out the issues, but I felt like the staff were treating me unfairly and making out like I was the one with the problem. I was sick all night before I had to come in on one of the days, which made me realise how much the position was taking a toll on me, so I decided to quit. I felt so much better afterwards and haven't regretted quitting.
I can see @ecla34 popping up in the high fives too! Welcome 🙂
It sounds like learning about how stress effects your body has been a big part of your journey too @WheresMySquishy! Our bodies can tell us when our life is out of balance too, and I am so glad to hear you made a decision to prioritise your wellbeing 
Not easy to do and incredibly brave!
We often hear on the forums that stress can be increased when there are time pressures or competing demands. Our next question for @Roxy879 is: How can study stress be managed when you are time-poor?
@Jess1-RO @ecla34 @WheresMySquishy @scared01 Yasss! Our bodies are amazing!
Q) How can study stress be managed when you are time-poor?
A) When you are time-poor and have study stress, things may appear daunting! But if you know yourself and know what works best for you when you are under pressure, study stress can be eased into manageable steps and techniques.
Scheduling your study schedule by breaking studying and assessments into bite-size bits that you can do over a plan time-period will help you so much when you are time-poor! Your brain works best in short bursts, having a heavy study schedule where everything is planned out as a list can perhaps lead you to think that everything is a to-do list, which may encourage more stress. By thinking that everything is urgent and requires your full attention can elevate stress levels. By blocking out your study day into chunks with breaks in between can drastically decrease stress.
