How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Important
Everyone knows that setting priorities is a necessary skill to manage stress, but deciding which priorities to tend to when everything feels important can bring more stress. Instead of succumbing to procrastination or anxiety, try these five steps to determine what really matters in your life in order to get the ball rolling now: 1. Make a list Write down every goal you want to accomplish. Think about long-term goals as well as short-term goals. Include goals from every aspect of life including education, work, family, and social goals. 2. Assess the value of each goal on your list This step requires an understanding of the big picture. Discern what is most valuable by thinking about the end result of each goal. Start with long-term goals first and rate each goal based on the value you associate with completing each goal. 3. Work backwards Start with the number one…
Test Anxiety: Taming the Beast
Since test anxiety occurs at both a biological and cognitive level, developing ways to manage both levels of symptoms is the best path to effectively managing test anxiety. The good news is that biological and cognitive processes tend to work together, so any effort put towards managing one set of symptoms will have a positive effect on both. Practice these techniques before going into an exam (and even during an exam if need be), and with time, you will begin to tame the beast and regain control over your academic performance. Managing Physical Symptoms Breathe Simply focusing on your breathing can decrease stress. An effective technique called diaphragmatic breathing can instantly lower your anxiety level. Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold it for 2 seconds, then breathe out of your mouth for 4 seconds. Repeat 5 times and see if you notice a change in your…
Test Anxiety: How the Beast is Born
Test anxiety is not a mental illness nor are people born with this affliction. Instead, test anxiety is a learned behavior. The goods news is that people can unlearn this debilitating response to test-taking. Research identifies two forms of test anxiety: somatic (what happens biologically) and cognitive (what happens mentally). Most people experience both simultaneously, creating a perfect storm of nerves and panic. Thoughts feed stress hormones which cause these hormones to surge through the body and vice versa. While some students may be genetically predisposed to higher arousal levels which induce anxiety, others are fueling this biochemical mind-storm with their thoughts alone. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America cite the following thought patterns as precursors to test anxiety: Fear of failure: While the pressure to perform can act as a motivator, it can also be devastating to individuals who tie their self-worth to the outcome of a test.…
Don’t Let Spring Fever Spin You Off Course!
Spring has finally arrived, and while the allure of warmer weather and summer fun is right around the corner, the most important hurdles of the school year seem higher than ever. Prepping for final exams, AP exams, and standardized tests is enough to make you pull your hair out quicker than the flowers have time to blossom. Spring fever symptoms include a decreased interest in academics, shorter attention span, and rushing through assignments and projects. Instead of succumbing to this well known academic ailment, try these strategies to make sure the school year is going to end on a very good note: 1. Create a Countdown Map out class requirements and create a timeline to study for culminating exams like finals, Regents, or APs. Be realistic, and be sure to modify your countdown each day to accommodate for what was or was not completed. 2. Make Deals Do the least…
Overscheduling: How Dreams Turn into Nightmares
The Wonder Woman and Superman complex is as old as the American dream. The individualistic nature of our culture values the drive to be the best and do it all. While these are commendable traits that allow many people to achieve their dreams, there is also a shadow side to this drive that can result in stress-induced nightmares. We’ve all seen it before: the go-getter rises to the top only to fall over from exhaustion. Priorities become misplaced and moods turn sour. Before you know it, the go-getter has lost sight of his original dream and is drowning in a sea of strained relationships and expectations. In 2007, researchers at Walden University found that adolescents who are overscheduled report higher rates on anxiety. The negative effects of anxiety on adolescents are numerous and potentially devastating: delinquency, burnout, depression, violence, and substance abuse. Recognizing the signs of overscheduling can create space…
Stressed? Redefine Success!
The last two years of high school are typically when students begin focusing on their future, though this process seems to begin earlier and earlier. Teenagers begin to dream of their ultimate college and start buckling down with standardized test prep while balancing extracurricular activities, volunteering, sports, jobs, and whatever else they deem important to getting into Dream School U. Having worked closely with teenagers over the last seven years, I hear more often than not: “I am SO stressed!” Teenage Millennials put more pressure on themselves than any other generation, and most of their stress is self-induced. They have their eyes on the future and the future holds no room for failure. But, we all know that success is often achieved because of the lessons learned during failed attempts. It becomes important, then, to have a conversation about what success means and how successful people deal with failure: …