How to Handle Finals Stress
Finals and stress go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. But is that truly inevitable? While finals may never be stress-free, here are some ideas and tips to consider to help your teen manage and thrive in this season.
Teenage Stress Reactions
Stress is one of those words that seems simple on the surface, but carries hidden complexity.
Stress operates physiologically, cognitively, and emotionally. Sometimes, we notice more physiological symptoms, such as higher heart rate, faster breathing, muscle tension, digestive distress, and pain. Other times, racing thoughts or being more distractible might be noticed. Finally, stress is often described as overwhelmed or anxious feelings.
Is stress always bad? Not necessarily. The Yerkes-Dodson law demonstrates that performance can actually improve with stress and arousal, but only at a certain point. Too little stress, we don’t care enough. Too much, we can either be paralyzed or work ineffectively. It also matters where it comes from- we interpret stress really differently when it comes from events perceived as positive than those we associate with negative thoughts and feelings.
So when is stress a problem? When it causes physiological, cognitive, or emotional reactions that negatively impact you or your teen. While experiencing the stress may be unavoidable (finals are usually required, not optional), here are a few tips to become more stress-proof and resilient, and hopefully ace those finals:
Practical Steps To Help Your Teen with Finals Stress
Prioritize: It can be difficult to know where to start when you’re faced with many upcoming exams and projects. Encourage your teen to really consider what is the most important and urgent to work on, and to start there.
Schedule: For things that do not have to be done right away, but soon, schedule them.
Make it smaller: Big tasks can feel overwhelming, which can sometimes lead to procrastination. Making big things smaller can help make those mental hurdles seem more manageable. A few possibilities:
Break big projects up into a discrete set of tasks
Use the Pomodoro method: Set a timer and work for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break, and repeat
Focus on taking things day by day
Take mindful breaks: What we default to is not always the best. Instead of preaching, encourage your teen to pay attention to what they use as a break, and how it makes them feel. Does it make it harder to return to studying? If so, perhaps they can consider what would make it easier instead. You can even model this yourself!
Don’t suddenly give up on the lifestyle habits that usually help your teen. Usually, sleep, exercise, and nutrition are the first things to be compromise when teens cram for finals. However, most of us know that we all actually need good sleep, exercise, and nutrition to be able to think and remember well. In fact, sleep is when short-term memory becomes long-term memory, so you are not giving your brain a chance if you don’t sleep enough! If your teen has fallen off of the normal routine, think about #3 and make it smaller- what is one small change you can make today? Maybe it’s taking a break between studying and going to bed, or taking a walk between math studying and an English essay instead of scrolling on your phone.
Remember your why: As your teen with genuine curiosity- why does it matter to take finals? Is it personally meaningful to learn and grow? Is it a stepping stone for something else important? Parents can think about this too, and make sure you are communicating your true values such as commitment and doing your best (and not just your fears) to your teen.
Celebrate the wins: It’s tempting to go from one final into studying immediately for the next. Take a few moments to celebrate yourself or your teen for each accomplishment, focusing on the effort and persistence it took rather than the grade.
If your teen is struggling to manage their stress, get through a tough period, or find balance in their life, get a free consultation call from Dr. Foxen-Craft by clicking the Get Started button at the top right of the screen.