Healthy Mind
You can find some guidance below on managing stress, including tips from other BPP students.
You may also wish to look at the following guides:
Emotional Wellness and Wellbeing
8 Super Stress Management Tips
The following websites also have useful information on coping with the stresses student life can bring:-
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/stress_of_student_life
Mind is the foremost mental health charity in the UK. This webpage deals specifically with a range of issues facing students. It contains advice on coping with your work as well as addressing social issues such as making friends and financial problems.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/studenthealth/Pages/Copingwithstress.aspx
This website is the NHS guide to coping with stress specifically tailored to students. This site discusses the symptoms of stress and contains videos and text on coping strategies. There is a dedicated page for coping with exam stress. There are also pages on healthy eating on a budget and advice on a variety of student issues.
Mind provide very helpful further information in these two guides:
Troubleshooters: stress –
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/medical_and_alternative_care/mind_troubleshooters_stress
Guide to managing stress -
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/medical_and_alternative_care/mind_guide_to_managing_stress
Helpguide.org also offer advice:
Understanding stress -
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm
Stress management -
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm
A guide to managing stress
What is stress?
What to do if I feel anxious?
What to do if my worrying is stopping me sleeping?
Tried and tested sleep tips from BPP students
How do I make sure that I don't get stressed when writing my coursework?
How do I avoid getting stressed before an exam?
How should I plan my time during the exam?
What should I do if I am not coping?
What is stress?
Stress is different things to different people and we all cope with it differently. For some its anxiety or worrying. For others it’s a feeling of panic or things getting on top of you or not having enough time in the day.
Like it or not we all have an element of stress in our day to day lives and its important for our health that we learn to manage unavoidable stress and plan in advance to make situations less stressful.
What to do if I feel anxious?
The first thing to do is to try and get some perspective. Give yourself five minutes sit down and write a list. Scribble down everything that is worrying you on one piece of paper then walk away from it for a few minutes.
When you come back to it, read through the list and see which things are imminent and which things can wait. You may also be able to cross things off the list that you decide are no longer relevant.
When you have your list of urgent things take them one at a time and think through your options. If you are struggling on your own why not make an appointment with your personal tutor or a member of the academic staff who may be able to talk through the issues that are affecting you the most.
If you feel you need help urgently or would benefit from the advice of an outsider the Samaritans are available 24/7 to offer non-judgmental impartial advice.
What to do if my worrying is stopping me sleeping?
Lack of sleep can really affect your home and study life. It can stop you relaxing and switching off, it can make you less alert in classes or impact on your exam performance.
Most of us think we can survive on very little sleep but sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Having the odd late night during busy periods of your life is nothing to worry about and won’t have a long term impact on your health. It’s when long term sleep problems cause fatigue in the day that you may need to take some action.
Here are our tried and tested sleep tips from BPP students:
How do I make sure that I don’t get stressed when writing my coursework?
First of all feeling stressed when you have multiple deadlines is pretty normal, yes there are those annoying people out there who take it all in their stride but most of us feel some sense of anxiousness.
Best tip is to get a diary. Whether it’s a smartphone, traditional paper diary or an excel document start with the deadline date and work backwards.
Then add in events that you have to do between now and the deadline. Yes ideally you’d like to go to your aunt’s come dine with me night but if push came to shove, you could shove it.
Then figure out what time you do have. Be realistic. There is no point saying that you will work in the library every day between now and the deadline from 8.00am to 8.00pm with 30 minutes for lunch if you know that’s not how you work.
Think how best you work – if you can concentrate best for 30 minutes then you’re on Facebook then work in 30 minute blocks and plan a timetable in those blocks.
When making a coursework plan always factor in time away and contingency, so leave a few blocks free in case you run over on the previous block.
Click here to see one of our coursework planners and see if it works for you.
How do I avoid getting stressed before an exam?How should I plan my time during the exam?
There are lots of reasons that people get stressed before an exam. Some are worried that they won’t do themselves justice, others feel pressure not to let themselves, family or friends down. No matter what the source of your anxiety we all feel it at some point or another before an exam.
By at least the night before, have your exam bag packed. Print off the map if you haven’t been to your venue before. Work out how long it will take you to get there then add on extra time just in case.
Have spares and make sure that your permitted materials (if there are any) are packed away.
Eat something before the exam. Even if you feel sick with nerves eat something small like a banana just to stop your stomach growling mid exam if nothing else.
Take water, highlighters and a watch with you.
This will all depend on the weighting of the questions as some may require you to dedicate more time to them as they are worth more marks.
What we can say for certain is factor in some reading time. Some students have found it really useful to read and select their questions in advance of writing.
Plan your answers to lengthy questions. There may be planning marks and if not it demonstrates to the examiner that you have thought about your ideas and put them in a logical structure before presenting them.
Try and leave some time to proofread at the end. You’d be surprised how sentences can get jumbled when you are writing under pressure. Proofreading your work at the end will also show an examiner that you have planned your time well.
If your mind goes blank in the exam try not to panic – it happens – it’s how you recover that is important. Close the paper and take a sip of water, take a minute or two to just sit there and try to stay calm.
When you see the question highlight the key words. What’s the action word – analyse, explain, evaluate. All require different things so make sure you know what the question is asking you to do.
Next look at the topic the question is focusing on and what elements of that topic it is asking you to consider.
Finally work out a structure of what you want to say in your answer. The best answers are the ones that are planned before they are written.
If you are unsure of exam technique speak to your tutor or module leader about time management and exam format. The more you know about how the exam operates before you get into the exam hall the less panicked you may feel about it.
What should I do if I am not coping?
There are lots of people at BPP and at outside organisations that can help in addition to friends and family.
First port of call should always be your tutor. They can help you put your issue in perspective and give you some practical guidance as to what resources are available at BPP to help. For example you may be struggling with time management or find tackling essays a challenge in which case we have study skills modules that can help improve your skills in this area.
They can also advise you on extensions, deferrals and interruption of study if that is required.
You can find some guidance below on managing stress, including tips from other BPP students.
You may also wish to look at the following guides:
Emotional Wellness and Wellbeing
8 Super Stress Management Tips
The following websites also have useful information on coping with the stresses student life can bring:-
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/stress_of_student_life
Mind is the foremost mental health charity in the UK. This webpage deals specifically with a range of issues facing students. It contains advice on coping with your work as well as addressing social issues such as making friends and financial problems.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/studenthealth/Pages/Copingwithstress.aspx
This website is the NHS guide to coping with stress specifically tailored to students. This site discusses the symptoms of stress and contains videos and text on coping strategies. There is a dedicated page for coping with exam stress. There are also pages on healthy eating on a budget and advice on a variety of student issues.
Mind provide very helpful further information in these two guides:
Troubleshooters: stress –
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/medical_and_alternative_care/mind_troubleshooters_stress
Guide to managing stress -
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/medical_and_alternative_care/mind_guide_to_managing_stress
Helpguide.org also offer advice:
Understanding stress -
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm
Stress management -
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm
A guide to managing stress
What is stress?
What to do if I feel anxious?
What to do if my worrying is stopping me sleeping?
Tried and tested sleep tips from BPP students
How do I make sure that I don't get stressed when writing my coursework?
How do I avoid getting stressed before an exam?
How should I plan my time during the exam?
What should I do if I am not coping?
What is stress?
Stress is different things to different people and we all cope with it differently. For some its anxiety or worrying. For others it’s a feeling of panic or things getting on top of you or not having enough time in the day.
Like it or not we all have an element of stress in our day to day lives and its important for our health that we learn to manage unavoidable stress and plan in advance to make situations less stressful.
What to do if I feel anxious?
The first thing to do is to try and get some perspective. Give yourself five minutes sit down and write a list. Scribble down everything that is worrying you on one piece of paper then walk away from it for a few minutes.
When you come back to it, read through the list and see which things are imminent and which things can wait. You may also be able to cross things off the list that you decide are no longer relevant.
When you have your list of urgent things take them one at a time and think through your options. If you are struggling on your own why not make an appointment with your personal tutor or a member of the academic staff who may be able to talk through the issues that are affecting you the most.
If you feel you need help urgently or would benefit from the advice of an outsider the Samaritans are available 24/7 to offer non-judgmental impartial advice.
What to do if my worrying is stopping me sleeping?
Lack of sleep can really affect your home and study life. It can stop you relaxing and switching off, it can make you less alert in classes or impact on your exam performance.
Most of us think we can survive on very little sleep but sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Having the odd late night during busy periods of your life is nothing to worry about and won’t have a long term impact on your health. It’s when long term sleep problems cause fatigue in the day that you may need to take some action.
Here are our tried and tested sleep tips from BPP students:
- Set yourself a cut off point – I will work up to say 8.30pm and then I will stop, wherever I am at in the exercise. Others prefer to establish a cut off point when they have finished an exercise.
- Try not to eat a huge meal before bed – if you’re studying all day, why not try having a larger meal at lunch time and then a smaller meal before bed.
- Cut back on the coffee/caffeine drinks – discover decaff! Students love coffee. Fact. We’re not saying cut it out but if you replace your mid afternoon caffeine hit with a decaf coffee or caffeine-free drink you will find you will trick your body into still thinking it’s having caffeine and you’ll sleep better at night.
- Move away from your study environment and have a separate place for sleeping. Even if you study in your room. Put your books away before bed, don’t leave them in eye-sight or your mind will wander to your work.
- Get yourself into a routine – whether it’s a hot bath, milky drink, reading a non-work related book - try to do the same thing just before you go to bed every night, then your body will start to associate the action with sleeping.
- No electronics before bed – TV, computers, smartphone all stimulate your brain. Ideally cut these out 45 minutes before you go to bed. We know there is the temptation to check Facebook or your emails or text into the small hours – it will only keep you awake longer and let’s be honest these things could wait until the morning!
How do I make sure that I don’t get stressed when writing my coursework?
First of all feeling stressed when you have multiple deadlines is pretty normal, yes there are those annoying people out there who take it all in their stride but most of us feel some sense of anxiousness.
Best tip is to get a diary. Whether it’s a smartphone, traditional paper diary or an excel document start with the deadline date and work backwards.
Then add in events that you have to do between now and the deadline. Yes ideally you’d like to go to your aunt’s come dine with me night but if push came to shove, you could shove it.
Then figure out what time you do have. Be realistic. There is no point saying that you will work in the library every day between now and the deadline from 8.00am to 8.00pm with 30 minutes for lunch if you know that’s not how you work.
Think how best you work – if you can concentrate best for 30 minutes then you’re on Facebook then work in 30 minute blocks and plan a timetable in those blocks.
When making a coursework plan always factor in time away and contingency, so leave a few blocks free in case you run over on the previous block.
Click here to see one of our coursework planners and see if it works for you.
How do I avoid getting stressed before an exam?How should I plan my time during the exam?
There are lots of reasons that people get stressed before an exam. Some are worried that they won’t do themselves justice, others feel pressure not to let themselves, family or friends down. No matter what the source of your anxiety we all feel it at some point or another before an exam.
By at least the night before, have your exam bag packed. Print off the map if you haven’t been to your venue before. Work out how long it will take you to get there then add on extra time just in case.
Have spares and make sure that your permitted materials (if there are any) are packed away.
Eat something before the exam. Even if you feel sick with nerves eat something small like a banana just to stop your stomach growling mid exam if nothing else.
Take water, highlighters and a watch with you.
This will all depend on the weighting of the questions as some may require you to dedicate more time to them as they are worth more marks.
What we can say for certain is factor in some reading time. Some students have found it really useful to read and select their questions in advance of writing.
Plan your answers to lengthy questions. There may be planning marks and if not it demonstrates to the examiner that you have thought about your ideas and put them in a logical structure before presenting them.
Try and leave some time to proofread at the end. You’d be surprised how sentences can get jumbled when you are writing under pressure. Proofreading your work at the end will also show an examiner that you have planned your time well.
If your mind goes blank in the exam try not to panic – it happens – it’s how you recover that is important. Close the paper and take a sip of water, take a minute or two to just sit there and try to stay calm.
When you see the question highlight the key words. What’s the action word – analyse, explain, evaluate. All require different things so make sure you know what the question is asking you to do.
Next look at the topic the question is focusing on and what elements of that topic it is asking you to consider.
Finally work out a structure of what you want to say in your answer. The best answers are the ones that are planned before they are written.
If you are unsure of exam technique speak to your tutor or module leader about time management and exam format. The more you know about how the exam operates before you get into the exam hall the less panicked you may feel about it.
What should I do if I am not coping?
There are lots of people at BPP and at outside organisations that can help in addition to friends and family.
First port of call should always be your tutor. They can help you put your issue in perspective and give you some practical guidance as to what resources are available at BPP to help. For example you may be struggling with time management or find tackling essays a challenge in which case we have study skills modules that can help improve your skills in this area.
They can also advise you on extensions, deferrals and interruption of study if that is required.