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Stress Relief

As school is finally coming to an end, the pressure and stress of exams are about to encompass the student body. Exams are the last chance for a student to pull up his or her grades. For those whose grades are high enough, it is a chance for their grade to take a drastic hit. Study groups are beginning to form, while others are looking forward to using the cramming method. Either way, students know the key to not having a psychological breakdown is to find some way to relieve the tension. Students achieve this in different ways. Ice cream is one of these ways. An establishment named Marble Slab is a highly favored place for their delicious ice cream varieties. There are also various ice cream parties around campus that are sponsored by Residential Life staff, which usually get a good turn out of the student body. Another way for students to relieve their stress is to take random trips to Wal-Mart. The trips are not necessarily prompted for the need or urge to buy something. Instead, sometimes the purpose is just to walk around Wal-Mart with some friends. A good area of enjoyment is the toy section, which is actually more of a common thing even though the viewer and sometimes the player of the toys are college students. However, grabbing a couple of light sabers with some friends and having a small duel is an excellent way to forget about the impending exams. Steak ‘N Shake is also among the stress reducing places a student can attend. Again, sometimes the objective is not to eat a full course meal, but to enjoy the environment of friends in a place outside of a dorm room.

The examples above are just some of the ways students relieve the stress of having exams. However, some fail to try to relieve their stress. Instead, they tell themselves that it will go away after they have taken their last exam. For some, this is an accurate statement that becomes true at the end of the semester. On the other hand, there are those whose stress takes more of a physical and psychological toll. A few student around campus succumbs to stress induced illnesses. Of course these illnesses dissipate after the student’s stress level returns to normal. Other student’s stress affect them psychologically. They reach such levels of anxiety that the stress affects their study habits. Also, when a student gets into an exam, he or she convey to themselves that they have not studied enough and they are going to fail the exam. By doing this, the student second guess his or her work that he or she know is right.

Not every student gives in to the stress of exams. Those who do experience stress often do not let it fester, and therefore, proceed into their exam confident that they will do well on it. However, there are those who deal with stress by ignoring it. Stress relievers do not have to include take trips around town. Instead, it could be something as simple as watching a movie while eating a bag of popcorn. Not too many people are significantly affected by stress because there are students and even university staff that help out during what is known as Finals Week.

-Brandon Long