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Are you stressed?
How do you tell yourself you are stressed prior to the entrance exam? What is the trigger? Is it accelerated heart rate or a growing feeling of discomfort? What makes you know anxiety attack is building up within you? Even cloudy skyline can shoot up stress or bad news from a neighbour can get your stress hormones soar up, making your blood pressure surge ahead in a jiffy. Chill, relax. No need to hit the panic button. Realise you have the power to reset what went awry in a moment. It is just another examination and you have to face it the way you have been doing in the case of board exams. OPUS assures you there is nothing to cause stress and damage your performance.
Why stress?
The cut-throat competition you see around takes a toll on health and fitness these days. Students feel stressed out before board exams and competitive entrance tests like CLAT – unable to cope with anxiety and fear of failure. A limited number of seats available in good colleges for general category students has deepened the crisis, compelling young, bright minds to consult psychologists to bail them out of depression and unmanageable stress. Medication might appear to be the remedy to come out of this state of mind quickly but it is to be borne in mind that pills carry harmful side-effects in the long run. Before it becomes your habit to pop a pill and fight stress in this way, you should explore other easy options. After all, exam-related stress disappears if your performance turns out to be satisfactory. OPUS cautions you in this regard and advises you to fight stress with determination and willpower. Not to forget hard work that pushes all worries out of your system.
Stress causes health hazards
Being stressed offers no escape route. On the contrary, it leads to chronic complications like hypertension and headaches. Mental health concerns like depression and anxiety disorders are likely to follow. Not only that, stress worsens other conditions like asthma, irritable bowel syndrome and insomnia. If these hazards prevail, then avoid stress as much as possible. OPUS views these complications as life-threatening and makes it clear to all CLAT aspirants that stress is manageable with a disciplined approach to preparing for this entrance exam.
Coping with stress
Just as there is a stress response, relaxation response is the perfect antidote. During this phase, your breathing slows down, your blood pressure falls and you consume less amount of oxygen.
You don’t have a choice when it comes to getting stressed because the reason causing it is beyond control. But you do have the resilience and means to undo its negative effects. There are several scientifically proven methods to combat stress and resorting to any of these proves beneficial when you are preparing to click in the entrance test. OPUS suggests a plethora of easy-to-follow options to bring yourstress level down.
Ways to de-stress
There are several effective solutions offered to beat stress and unwind. These vary from long solitary walks in green spaces or plugging into soothing music to calm your frayed nerves. While these are nice options, the point to be kept in mind is the availability of time when your entrance exam is just round the corner. You cannot afford to go out or spend time listening to music or simply doze off for long hours with demanding schedule for the entrance test. These time-consuming exercises are not preferable when the CLAT exam is on the anvil. There are several good ways to de-stress, but there is no better alternative than taking a deep breath. OPUS ticks it for you to follow sincerely.
Breathe Deeply
Any ascetic is aware of the power of pranayama or “life force”. Researchers agree that it plays a crucial role in nourishing the mind and the body. Breathing exercises help you because they make your body feel like it does when you are in a relaxed state.
Breathing exercises – or even taking a few deep breaths – can help reduce tension and relieve stress, thanks to an extra boost of oxygen. Deep breathing stimulates the parasympathetic reaction, which helps you to calm down.
Forget everything related to life and exams. Close your eyes and sit in a relaxed posture and breathe easy. Deep breathe to regulate your heartbeat, pulse rate and lower blood pressure in remarkably short time. This natural process of healing keeps your organs healthy and does not turn you into a pill addict who reaches out for the strip whenever the stress level shoots up because of uncertain competitive exams. OPUS is there to help you chart the right path and find direction in the choppy waters of life. This should wash away all signs ofstress and anchor you safely in the CLAT exam.
Besides, breathing exercises have been proven in clinical research to aid some of the systems that are harmed by stress. They can reduce blood pressure and may even be able to change the expression of some genes.
Identify the frequency
Keep note of how frequently you are stressed in a day and at what intervals with exams approaching fast. Try and find out the exact cause of stress. Is it that you are not fully prepared to sit for the competitive test? Are you haunted by past failures? Is a particular section of the test your weak point and that is troubling you? Is it that your parents have told you this is the final chance? Or is it that your peers have sailed through it earlier while you are still struggling? Are you stressed because you know for sure you cannot clear it this year for some reason beyond your control? There is every possibility that the reason is any one of these or some of these combining together to createstress in you. Fighting stress becomes easier if you are able to identify the actual reason behind it. OPUS wants you to locate it with precision and then install a system to combat it effectively. Otherwise, it will keep recurring.
What you need to understand is that you are going to give the best you have in you and perform to the best of your abilities. The outcome is not in your hands so why rack your brain and divert your attention span from preparation to indulge in negative thinking and spoil your state of mind? OPUS accentuates the need to rein in your thoughts and do not allow let negativity enter your pores.
The preferred solution
Once you realise that stress creeps in despite your best attempt to keep it at bay, you really need to brace up and indulge in some healing exercises to minimise stress because it is not correct to suggest that you can completely come out of its hold immediately. Take note of the fact that exam-related stress has been gradually building up within because you have been allowing it to consolidate its position. If you had been strict in pushing dark thoughts of CLAT failure out of your system, these would not have pushed you to the brink of disaster. In such a scenario what works best is also the easiest. Breathing exercise to regulate breath and normalise breathing pattern will have a calming effect on the vexed mind and body. Think of no worries and allow happiness to build up within you. This will generate positive vibes. Trust OPUS and you will realise soon that gaining control over stress that appeared so difficult has been done in a remarkably easy manner.