Stress and the IB

“I JUST NEED A F*@#ING BREAK!!!”

Stress can be a huge problem without a simple answer because what works for one student won’t work for all students. BUT, there are things you can to deal with your stress better, even in the midst of the IB. The first step is to be aware of your own stress levels and be honest about how much it’s affecting you. And when it is affecting you, then it’s important to do something about it.

So, here are some ideas for thinking about and strategies for dealing with stress.

1. The Big Picture

Here are some good general principles to help keep stress under control. The IB won’t let you do all these things all the time, but the more you can do these then generally the better off you’ll be.

·         Eat well, sleep well, exercise regularly. This may be the hardest to maintain during IB, but don’t underestimate the impact that our physical well-being has on our mental well-being.

·         Do your best to maintain good relationships with friends and family. This is hopefully a bit easier to maintain during IB, but sometimes we take our stress out on those around us. This will not help us in the long-term and it’s not fair on others. Instead, find positive ways that your friends and family can help you out when you’re stressed.

·         Have some things in your life that you enjoy. Always have something planned in the near future that you enjoy and can look forward to, such as going out with friends, playing sport, shopping, computer games, massage, movie, holiday or whatever.

·         Reward yourself for completing a difficult task. This can be something as simple as some chocolate or an hour playing a game, or something more significant like a night out or a new outfit.

·         Don’t dwell on past disappointments. It can be easy to let a poor test result or a mistake we’ve made get us down and make us feel bad. But dwelling too much on these will only make us feel worse. Instead, try to learn from disappointments but then put them behind you.

·         Try to be positive as much as you can. It’s a cliché but there’s a lot of truth to it. Negativity definitely does breed more negativity.

2. Managing School Stress

When it comes to coping with schoolwork-related stress, there are some more specific and practical things you can do. Knowing these things is useful, but actually doing them makes all the difference (but can also be much more difficult). Having good work skills and routines will definitely keep things a bit more under control and less stressful.

·         Know your deadlines. If you don’t already, use a calendar to keep track of deadlines, tests and other important things you have coming up. This way a deadline shouldn’t creep up on you when you’re busy focussing on other work. Keep the calendar updated and refer to it regularly.

·         Plan ahead and prioritise accordingly. Once you have your calendar set up, it’s easier to plan ahead and know what to prioritise and when. If you are particularly worried about a deadline coming up, then start working on that one earlier if you can.

·         Create a To-Do List. If you have a lot to do or a lot to remember, write them on a list so they are clear and won’t be forgotten. Crossing things off as you complete them also feels good.

·         Be disciplined with distractions. Be honest with yourself about what distracts you from focusing on your work and be prepared to make tough choices by removing distractions when you know you need to focus. This may include switching off your phone and disconnecting facebook! Be prepared to make these small, short-term sacrifices so you can achieve what you need to. You can always allow the distractions back again later.

·         Keep rewarding yourself. By giving yourself small rewards along the way when you know you’ve done some good work, it helps keep you motivated.

·         Do what’s right for YOU. Don’t get caught up in following what others are doing if it doesn’t work for you; instead make decisions based on what’s best for you. Some people can leave things to the last minute and get them done without too much drama, but not everyone can do this. Find the best way to manage your own workload and stress and remember that everyone is different.

3. Quick Fixes

Lack of time is often a stress factor in itself. Here are some quick things you can do when you’re busy and stressed but don’t have time to do something more substantial. Giving your brain a break and doing something different for only 5 minutes or so is better than nothing and can mean the difference between struggling through, or feeling completely overwhelmed. Here are just a few examples:

·         Eat some chocolate or other tasty treat – but keep it small!

·         Listen to a favourite song or two

·         Walk around your room, stretch and shake your body

·         Drink some water

·         Play a musical instrument

·         Laugh at something

·         Stop, close your eyes, take some deep breaths and think of something good

4. It’s better to talk it out than to stress it out!

When stress is minor, we can usually deal with it ourselves. However, we humans are social beings and we need other people for support sometimes. If everything you are trying doesn’t seem to work and your stress still feels out of control, then talk to someone about it. Don’t keep things bottled up!

·         Friends: Some people feel reluctant talking to their friends because they figure their friends are stressed as well and they don’t want to add to their stress. But there’s a good chance that your friends might welcome the chance to talk to someone as well. It may be that everyone is too worried to bring it up, but it might actually be a relief for you and your friends to talk about it a bit.

·         Family: Not everyone may have family members that they feel comfortable talking to, but if you do then that person almost certainly cares about you and will be willing to help if they can.

·         Teachers: If your stress is related to schoolwork, then talking with a teacher may well be helpful. Teachers invest a fair bit of time trying to teach you stuff, so don’t be afraid to (politely) ask your teacher for some extra explanation if there’s a part of the subject you’re struggling with.

·         Counsellor: This may be a lot of people’s last resort, but it’s one that is available and can be quite beneficial. All the above suggestions are quite general and only deal with the symptoms of stress, but sometimes talking about your own unique situation in a confidential way (and yes, seeing the counsellor is completely confidential!) can help you understand and deal with things much better.

dThis is by Bangkok Patana School

bI would like to share this to the world as it is relevant for not only the IB, but for the future as well.

-