Stress Free e-Learning

Managing Your Study Time
Stress Free e-Learning
Successful e-Learning
Effective Reading

What is Stress?

Stress is a normal part of studying, but if you don't manage your study load and your other commitments well, the stress can grow, become a problem and prevent your study.

Stress adds challenge and opportunity to life. Without stress, life would be dull. Too much stress, however, can seriously affect your physical and mental health.

Recurring stress can:

• Reduce your self-esteem and confidence
• Reduce your memory and understanding ability
• Decrease your ability to study
• Create self-blame and self-doubt.

It is important for your health that you find the optimal level of stress that you can manage effectively.

Stress is unique and personal to each individual. What is relaxing to one person may be stressful to another. One person will find taking it easy at the beach relaxing while another may find it boring. The key to stress reduction is identifying strategies that fit you as an individual.

The best way to cope with unhealthy stress is to recognize it and when your stress levels are building. While we often think of stress as the result of external events, the events themselves are not necessarily stressful. It is the way in which each individual interprets and reacts to an event that produces stress.

People vary greatly in what they see as stressful and the way that they respond. Public speaking is a good example, while some people see it as routine; to others it is highly stressful.

Signs of Stress

Signs of stress can fall into four categories, for each of the categories we have highlighted some symptoms that you may experience:

Thoughts

• Self-criticism
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Forgetfulness or mental disorganization
• Preoccupation with the future
• Repetitive thoughts
• Fear of failure.

Feelings

• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Fear
• Moodiness
• Embarrassment.

Behaviour

• Stuttering or other speech difficulties
• Crying
• Acting impulsively
• Nervous laughter
• Snapping at friends
• Teeth grinding or jaw clenching
• Increased smoking, alcohol or other drug use
• Being prone to more accidents
• Increased or decreased appetite.

Physical symptoms

• Tight muscles or muscle spasms
• Cold or sweaty hands
• Headaches
• Back or neck problems
• Sleep disturbance
• Stomach pain and diarrohea
• Frequent colds and infections
• Tiredness
• Rapid breathing or pounding heart
• Trembling
• Dry mouth.

What Causes Stress?

Stress can become too much when there are high demands made on your time, ability, or personal resources, coupled with a feeling that you have little control over these demands.

Because your perception plays an important part in experiencing stress, it is a very individual thing and varies enormously between students.

Stress and Your Study

You can keep your study related stress down by staying on top of your studying. You can do this by using your time well each day. Commit enough time to your studies so that you complete at the time you plan to complete.

Remember when studying BYTSYZ Qualifications there are no demands placed on you about how much time you have to study for or when to study. You should decide this for yourself and plan it. Once you have planned it, the best way to keep your stress down is to stick to your plan.

High Demand for study + Low Control of time = Stress City!

Quick Tips to Prevent and Deal with Stress

• Plan, plan, plan your study.
• Do not get behind with your studies, do what you have planned.
• Be clear about what is required of you. Ignorance can be no excuse for failure.
• Use the stress as a motivator to meet the challenge, but manage the stress.
• Have fun and exercise regularly, and eat well.
• Know what your signs of stress are, and deal with them as they arise. Ignore them at your peril.