With exams just around the corner, Lethbridge College students tend to feel overwhelmed with stress.

Exam time is usually accompanied by anxiety and stress, said Diane Fjordbotten, Academic Strategists in Learning Café.

She said a manageable amount of stress can help students to complete tasks and accomplish goals more effectively.   

“You should feel a little bit stressed in terms of exams because moderate stressed is important in order to preview performance. If you are too relaxed, you are not likely to perform well,” said Fjordbotten.

She also mentioned preparation is one of the best things to relieve stress during exams.

Creating a study schedule, taking breaks, advanced preparation and all around healthy living during exam season are more strategies Fjordbotten recomends for success. 

“The more prepared you are for exams, the more confident you feel,” said Fjordbotten.

She also added that stress is so harmful for mental health and if someone is feeling overwhelmed, talk to instructor or a close friend who can help you sort out things.

According to an article on the intensity of stress among students, conducted among 106 students, nearly 80 per cent of students feel stressed during their college year. 33.3 per cent of the students experience anxiety, and 30.4 percent of them have depression during examinations. Hence, the intensity of stress among the students is high.

Sukhveer Kaur, general studies student, said a heavy load of courses and outside pressure in life have contributed to stress level.

“Myself, coming from a small town in India, and going from Indian schools to Canadian school is quite different for me to manage new duties,” Kaur said.

She also added that it’s a difficult task to work with assignments and exams together on same day.

“Sometimes we have more than one deadline of assignments, quizzes and exams, which increases the stress at peak level,” said Kaur.

There are several student success workshops coming up on the final week of the November that will provide strategies for managing stress and preparing for exams.