FEATURE /
KEEPING STRESS AT BAY LEE HUI YING |
21.10.2011
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Credit: Milagros Rivera
On a blue Monday afternoon this week, hundreds of students scurry their way towards the university’s library for their final lap of preparations to complete assignments and ‘mug’ for the final examinations. It is the tenth week of the 13-week semester. At noon, the studying areas at all three levels are already packed. Most are burying themselves in stacks of books and notes while some staring blankly at laptops. Many tuck themselves inside thick jackets in the chilly and quiet surroundings, some pulling their hair while others look listless. They face a common problem – stress.
Among them is Lim Meijun, 21, a third-year psychology student at National University of Singapore, who said she undergoes both physical and emotional turbulence when deadlines and exam dates are looming. Drumming her fingers on the table top, increasing heart palpitations and perspiring despite the freezing temperature in the library are symptoms that she faces when stress arrives.
“I will feel anxious and panicky towards the end of a semester,” she said. “Nothing seems to go in.”
The issue of study stress is not new, but there are now more means available to combat it.
One way is to seek psychological aid. NUS’s Counselling and Psychological Services offers counselling services and programmes to help students in distress. When contacted, the centre declined to divulge how many students currently approach for help, explaining that it wants to protect the privacy of those it helps.
For the first time in the history of more than 80 years of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, it organised a talk related to examinations on Oct. 17. Four professors from the faculty shared their insights and revision tips to a crowd of 120 on studying smart and studying right. On dealing with stress, Associate Professor Tong Mun Wai Eddie from department of Psychology said it is essential to have positive mood and emotions as “this will increase your learning experience and capacity to involve in topics intricately.”
In an informal mobile phone survey conducted with 40 NUS students in October this year, 60 per cent deemed studies as their main source of stress while one third feels that stress came from self-expectations.
“The amount of stress depends on your abilities to cope with it and expectations of yourself,” Ho Kok Wenying, a third-year geography student, said.
As the exam dates on the calendar creeps nearer, the majority say their academic stress meter reaches its peak one month before the exams. For one quarter of the respondents, anxiety starts to build up two weeks before exams. Besides approaching counselling services, a large number of students have their own methods to de-stress that include yakking on Facebook with friends, hanging out and playing sports.
Meditation is another method to battle academic stress. Milagros Rivera, head of NUS Communications and New Media Department, spearheads weekly meditation sessions within NUS campus tailoring for students to take stress out of their busy curriculum.
“The issue of students being under stress is not new,” she said. “When the programme started two and a half years ago, FASS deans had already noticed a significant increase in the number of students having emotional problems like severe anxiety, depression.”
Rivera is optimistic that the numbers will continue to climb. The sessions have helped almost 900 students since its launch. She believes that their attitudes in seeking help have also changed.
Lim was getting really uptight early this semester and could hardly concentrate to get things on the right track. Then she stumbled upon an email that titles ‘Stressed? Connect with your inner core and find deep peace’ on the meditation class conducted by FASS. Out of curiosity and the intent to lighten the accumulating stress load, she decided to give it a try and pulled her friend, Koh Kai Lin, a third-year geography student, along. The move was a bold but encouraging one. Both Lim and Koh managed to boot the stress out of their mind, feeling refreshed after the mediation.
Besides, the Ministry of Education has revealed plans to review its organisation structure, aiming to relieve studying stress out of student. Newly appointed Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat has been asked by parents, students and educators to place a greater emphasis on character-building in schools instead of academic achievements. He told the Today newspaper in September that some also expressed concern about whether students and teachers can cope with the "excessive competition and stress" of the education system here.
Heng wishes to steer away from the whole concentration on merely grades and drive schools to give attention to character building. The changes to Singapore’s education structure will begin from mid-December this year.
For many students, the changes cannot come fast enough. Even then they themselves are taking steps to combat stress. Lim felt rejuvenated after the meditation session.
“It works,” she said. “I will continue to attend in future.”
Seeking channels to help reduce stress has allowed many including Lim to better prepare their mental and physical strength in countering stress for the rest of the semester.
Among them is Lim Meijun, 21, a third-year psychology student at National University of Singapore, who said she undergoes both physical and emotional turbulence when deadlines and exam dates are looming. Drumming her fingers on the table top, increasing heart palpitations and perspiring despite the freezing temperature in the library are symptoms that she faces when stress arrives.
“I will feel anxious and panicky towards the end of a semester,” she said. “Nothing seems to go in.”
The issue of study stress is not new, but there are now more means available to combat it.
One way is to seek psychological aid. NUS’s Counselling and Psychological Services offers counselling services and programmes to help students in distress. When contacted, the centre declined to divulge how many students currently approach for help, explaining that it wants to protect the privacy of those it helps.
For the first time in the history of more than 80 years of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, it organised a talk related to examinations on Oct. 17. Four professors from the faculty shared their insights and revision tips to a crowd of 120 on studying smart and studying right. On dealing with stress, Associate Professor Tong Mun Wai Eddie from department of Psychology said it is essential to have positive mood and emotions as “this will increase your learning experience and capacity to involve in topics intricately.”
In an informal mobile phone survey conducted with 40 NUS students in October this year, 60 per cent deemed studies as their main source of stress while one third feels that stress came from self-expectations.
“The amount of stress depends on your abilities to cope with it and expectations of yourself,” Ho Kok Wenying, a third-year geography student, said.
As the exam dates on the calendar creeps nearer, the majority say their academic stress meter reaches its peak one month before the exams. For one quarter of the respondents, anxiety starts to build up two weeks before exams. Besides approaching counselling services, a large number of students have their own methods to de-stress that include yakking on Facebook with friends, hanging out and playing sports.
Meditation is another method to battle academic stress. Milagros Rivera, head of NUS Communications and New Media Department, spearheads weekly meditation sessions within NUS campus tailoring for students to take stress out of their busy curriculum.
“The issue of students being under stress is not new,” she said. “When the programme started two and a half years ago, FASS deans had already noticed a significant increase in the number of students having emotional problems like severe anxiety, depression.”
Rivera is optimistic that the numbers will continue to climb. The sessions have helped almost 900 students since its launch. She believes that their attitudes in seeking help have also changed.
Lim was getting really uptight early this semester and could hardly concentrate to get things on the right track. Then she stumbled upon an email that titles ‘Stressed? Connect with your inner core and find deep peace’ on the meditation class conducted by FASS. Out of curiosity and the intent to lighten the accumulating stress load, she decided to give it a try and pulled her friend, Koh Kai Lin, a third-year geography student, along. The move was a bold but encouraging one. Both Lim and Koh managed to boot the stress out of their mind, feeling refreshed after the mediation.
Besides, the Ministry of Education has revealed plans to review its organisation structure, aiming to relieve studying stress out of student. Newly appointed Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat has been asked by parents, students and educators to place a greater emphasis on character-building in schools instead of academic achievements. He told the Today newspaper in September that some also expressed concern about whether students and teachers can cope with the "excessive competition and stress" of the education system here.
Heng wishes to steer away from the whole concentration on merely grades and drive schools to give attention to character building. The changes to Singapore’s education structure will begin from mid-December this year.
For many students, the changes cannot come fast enough. Even then they themselves are taking steps to combat stress. Lim felt rejuvenated after the meditation session.
“It works,” she said. “I will continue to attend in future.”
Seeking channels to help reduce stress has allowed many including Lim to better prepare their mental and physical strength in countering stress for the rest of the semester.