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Stress before exams is real, but what about the anxiety after you’re done with exams? In anticipation of your results, sometimes it can be unnerving to deal with post exam anxiety or nervousness. You’ve finished appearing for the exam but you feel jittery. The stress doesn’t disappear for some people after an exam. There are various ways to avoid stress. Here are some ways of how you can calm post exam nerves and reduce stress to get your life back on track!
How To Wind Down And Relax After Exams:
Physical Activities
Take Some Deep Breaths
Here’s the first step to how to relax after the exams. Taking deep breaths will help calm your anxiety and you’ll be able to focus and think properly. This is one of the most common ways to relax after exams. Any type of stress and anxiety have a “fight or flight” response. We either decide to run away from the way we are feeling or fight it. This causes the flooding of adrenaline in our body making our breaths shallow and rapid. Taking deep breaths helps slow our blood flow to normal, helping us reduce stress and anxiety. Inhale slowly from your nose, try to inhale for a count of 4. Hold it for 1-2 seconds and release the breath slowly through your mouth. Repeat this 6-10 times.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation or PMR is used to cope with stress and anxiety very often. When you are anxious, the body tenses up and restricts your body to relax. You may not even realize this when you are anxious. PMR is one of the most essential ways of how to relax after the exams. It teaches you to consciously tense your body and then release your muscles from head to toe. Once you get the hang of this technique it can be very helpful for when you are stressed out, forcing your body to relax a bit. When applying this technique, make sure to choose a quiet place free of distractions.
Exercise
Exercise produces endorphins which are very essential for our body. As it is said, endorphins are like natural painkillers that boost the mood. This might not be the first thing you wish to do after an exam but after you’re done exercising, you will feel amazing. There are many fun ways to exercise, you can go for an aerobic exercise like cycling, swimming, jogging, a brisk walk or any sport that interests you.
Do Something That Interests You
You should celebrate the fact that you worked hard for your exams regardless of what your results will be. Give yourself a reward, go out and do something you love to do in your free time. This is one of the most enjoyable ways of how to relax after the exams. Studies show that spending time with family, friends or a loved one is the best way possible. Cortisol, a stress hormone in your body lowers when you spend your time with someone you love being around. Making a plan to go out with your friends can also be a great way to de-stress.
Do Something To Make Yourself Laugh
Laughing helps relieve stress, increasing the levels of endorphins and decreasing the level of cortisol in your body. Helping your body to endure physical pain. Laughter really is the best medicine. Maybe even join a laughter club. Go to see a funny film or watch your favourite comedy tv show. Anything that makes you laugh will decrease post exam stress.
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Mental Health
It Is Absolutely Normal
Stress and anxiety is a very normal, humane feeling. No matter what you do, the first thing to remember is acknowledging that it is absolutely normal to feel anxious or stressed. Being in touch with your feelings makes it even easier to get through it.
Avoid Ruminating
Ruminating is the process or the “broken record” of chewing on one thought continuously. You’ll find yourself thinking about the same thing over and over. This happens very often with many people after an exam. But you need to remember that worrying about it will not change anything and what has happened in the past cannot change. This will only increase your stress. Instead, try solving the problem and also try to figure out what is really worrying you.
Make Sure You Know When Results Day Is
Universities usually provide online results for the exams. Whereas at some places you have to pick it up from the university or college. If the date for the results is near then do not obsessively check the results if the date hasn’t arrived yet.
Spend Time With Positive People
It is common for people to pick up the emotions of the people they spend time with, it’s almost like catching a cold. If the people you spend time with are stressed and don’t know how to relax after the exams, it won’t help with soothing your own nerves. Try hanging out with people who are handling their stress levels well. Focus on positive thinking and have fun with each other.
Remind Yourself Of Your Strengths
A human’s brain is always attracted to the negative more than the positive thoughts. This is because the positive thoughts tend to slip away. Reminding yourself about the strengths you have can be very helpful, give yourself a fair shot.
These are some efficient ways to de-stress after exams to keep yourself from away from post-exam blues.
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