“Neither comprehension nor learning can take place in an atmosphere of anxiety.”

~  Rose Kennedy

What is Stress?

Stress is the body’s reaction to a challenge. Though stress is often perceived as bad, it can actually be good in many ways. The right kind of stress can sharpen the mind and reflexes. It might be able to help the body perform better, or help you escape a dangerous situation.

Stress produces a physiological reaction in your body. When a stressful event is perceived, the subconscious mind directs the release of certain hormones, which results in a physical reaction. These reactions can include slowed digestion, shaking, tunnel vision, faster breathing and heart rate, dilation of pupils, and flushed skin. This process is often referred to as the “fight or flight” response. That is just what it sounds like: Our bodies are poised to either run away from the stressor or stick around and fight against it.

According to the American Psychological Association, there are three main types of stress: Acute, Episodic Acute, and Chronic Acute.

Acute stress. Acute stress is the most common form and is the result of recent or anticipated stressors. Acute stress can be both positive and negative. For example, the excitement before a fun event is a type of positive acute stress. Getting into a car accident is negative acute stress. As long as the acute stress doesn’t last for extended periods or occur too frequently, there is nothing wrong with suffering from acute stress. It happens to all of us, and it passes with time.

Episodic acute. Episodic acute stress is acute stress that occurs frequently. This is the kind of stress that continuously pops up in your life, sometimes in a pattern. It is accompanied by worry about things that are happening to you or around you. You might be especially prone to this type of frequent stress if you have a “type A” personality. People with this personality type often feel a sense of urgency and a need to get things done that might actually become overwhelming. Episodic acute stress is a recurring type of stress, happening over and over.

Chronic acute stress. Chronic acute stress can be thought of as never-ending stress that relentlessly wears away at you. If you cannot see an end to your stress, or if you are in a situation that makes you feel trapped, as if there is no way out, then you are likely to begin suffering from chronic stress. This type of stress will eventually begin to affect your health, and can lead to heart problems, strokes, and even cancer. Chronic stress definitely requires that you reach out for help.

What is Anxiety?

Worry. Apprehension. Fearing the worst. Anxiety is all of these things and more. When you are constantly feeling on edge and worried about something, you are probably suffering from anxiety.

Anxiety is a general term that can cover several different types of disorders. All of them share the common symptoms of nervousness, worry, fear, and apprehension. Sometimes the emotional feelings can be so overwhelming that they create, or manifest, physical symptoms. People with anxiety often experience a rapid heartbeat, sweating, trouble sleeping, an inability to concentrate, shortness of breath, fidgeting, fatigue, and others.

How is Anxiety Related to Stress?

When it comes to stress, we know exactly where it is coming from: That deadline, the decline of a relationship, the argument with the boss at work. Anxiety is much harder to pinpoint, and can be a collection of problems that seem to build up at the same time. Then the physical problems begin to set in. Stress can be the fuel for building anxiety, and anxiety causes more stress.

According to Melissa Cohen, LCSW, anxiety takes on a life of its own. “We are less aware of what we are anxious about and the reaction we have becomes the actual problem,” she said. “We get anxious when we keep thinking about the same thing over and over. We develop a sense of uneasiness and since we don’t want to forget, we fixate. Mild anxiety can actually be a positive experience for some but when it is prolonged and happens in the absence of a stressful event or begins to interfere with normal life, it needs to be addressed.”

What Causes College Stress?

Living Away From Home. For many students, college is the first time they have lived away from home or been away from their family for any significant period of time. Besides that, it’s a very unfamiliar environment. Everything is different – the food, the people and the living accommodations.

Even though most students eventually get used to these new things without a problem, the first few weeks of college can create a stressful environment. This is true even if you are truly excited about the changes. Remember that even positive changes can induce stress.

There is also a change in the support environment. When there is a big test, a bad day, or confusing situation, family members and old friends are not readily available for support. This can be tough to adjust to, especially during those first few months.

Academic Demands and Test Anxiety. This may be the most common long-term cause of stress for high school and college students. After all, students go to school to learn. When you don’t get the results you think you should get, or you feel pressured to get certain academic results this can cause a lot of stress. For some students, college is the first time they are academically challenged. If high school was a breeze for you, college may be the first time you get a low grade on a test.

Consequently, test anxiety may be experienced for the first time or with increased intensity. Test anxiety is anxiety that usually starts before or while taking tests. The symptoms are both physical and mental, and usually inhibit your ability to perform.

Ways to Minimize Test Anxiety

Be prepared. Develop good study habits. Study at least a week or two before the exam, in smaller doses of time, and over a few days. And get enough sleep the night before the test. Try to simulate exam conditions by working through a practice test, and following the same time constraints.

Use good test-taking skills. Read the directions carefully, answer questions you know first and then return to the more difficult ones. Outline essays before you begin to write.

Maintain a positive attitude. Remember that your self-worth should not be dependent on or defined by a test grade. Creating a system of rewards and reasonable expectations for studying can help to produce effective studying habits. There is no benefit to negative thinking.

Practice relaxation techniques. If you feel stressed during the exam, take deep, slow breaths using your abdomen. Consciously relax your muscles, one at a time. This can invigorate your body and will allow you to better focus on the exam.

Stay healthy. Get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, get some exercise, and give yourself time to unwind. If you are exhausted, either physically or emotionally, it will be more difficult for you to handle stress and anxiety.

Visit the counseling center. Schools are aware of the toll exams can take on students. They have offices or programs specifically dedicated to helping you and providing additional educational support so that you can be successful.

The Role of Hypnosis

Hypnosis is extremely effective in helping people eliminate stress and anxiety in their lives, and the same naturally goes for test anxiety and student stresses. There are four main ways that hypnosis helps to address and eliminate test anxiety in students:

1. Creating and programming good, strong study habits, eliminate procrastination, and tune out distractions.

2. Building test taking skills while programming performance and confidence boosters.

3. Improve your ability to recall any previously studied information.

4. Prevent any blocks that cause you to blank or answer incorrectly when you know the information.

Hypnosis works by making suggestions directly to the subconscious mind - the part of your mind that is in charge of your emotions, fears, imagination, and habits. These suggestions change the reactions and responses at the source, drastically decreasing and even eliminating anxieties altogether.

Self Hypnosis for Students

Self hypnosis allows you to enter hypnosis on your own and give yourself suggestions. The more you practice self-hypnosis the better you become at it and the more powerful the results will be. Some common examples of suggestions for test anxiety are:

"Hearing the word 'quiz' or 'test' or 'exam' causes me to feel completely relaxed and at ease."

"I easily retrieve information from my memory."

"My confidence increases the moment the exam beings and remains strong throughout the entire exam."

"I am relaxed and comfortable while taking a test."

Hypnosis isn't a magic potion for getting perfect grades without trying. You still have to learn and understand the material. However, hypnosis can help you to focus better, recall information more easily, and increase your confidence while taking exams.∎

Karen Gray is a Certified Hypnotist, a Registered Nurse, and the owner of Green Mountain Hypnosis in Lebanon, New Hampshire. For more information on how you can use hypnosis to change your life, you can visit www.greenmountainhypnosis.com, contact Karen at karengray@greenmountainhypnosis.com, or call (802) 566-0464.

Every parent of a school-aged child knows the desire to see them succeed without struggling. One way that we can help our kids meet their academic potential is by helping them to better understand the way that they learn.

Most people have a preferred way to learn. Some learn best by listening, some have to observe every step, while others have to do it to learn it. While most people are usually stronger in one area than another, individuals need all three modalities to truly commit information to memory: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.

Knowing your preferred learning style will help you to better understand how to integrate new information. The trick is figuring out your preferred modality and capitalizing on your strengths. Let’s look at each of the learning styles in a little more detail.

The Visual Learning Style

If you use the visual learning style, you prefer using images, pictures, colors, and maps to organize information and communicate with others. You can easily visualize objects, plans and outcomes in your mind, and you have a good spatial sense, which gives you a good sense of direction. You can easily find your way around using maps, and you rarely get lost. When you walk out of an elevator, you instinctively know which way to turn.

The whiteboard is a best friend, or would be if you had access to one. You love drawing, scribbling and doodling, especially with colors. You typically have a good fashion sense and color balance, but not always!

Some hobbies and careers that make the most use of the visual style are visual art, architecture, photography, video or film, design, planning (especially strategic), and navigation.

You may tend to use phrases like these:

• Let's look at it differently.

• See how this works for you.

• I can't quite picture it.

• Let's draw a diagram or map.

• I'd like to get a different perspective.

• I never forget a face.

As a visual learner, it will help you to use images, pictures, color and other visual media as you learn. Incorporate much imagery into your visualizations. Because visualizing things in your mind comes easily to you, you may have to make your visualizations of new information stand out more. This makes sure new material is obvious among all the other visual images you have floating around inside your head.

Use color, layout, and spatial organization when you create associations. Use mind maps. Use color and pictures in place of text, wherever possible. If you don't use the computer, make sure you have a few different colored pens.

Systems diagrams can help you visualize the links between parts of a system. This is especially helpful when studying biology or machines. Replace words with pictures, and use color to highlight major and minor links.

The visual journey or story technique helps you memorize content that isn't easy to 'see.' This method involves creating associations between the information to be learned and “peg words.” The peg words are then used to create a story or journey, such as walking through your town, or a simple story. This method makes it easier to visualize the information.

The Aural (Auditory-Musical-Rhythmic) Learning Style

If you use the aural style, you like to work with sound and music. You have a good sense of pitch and rhythm. You typically can sing, play a musical instrument, or identify the sounds of different instruments. Certain music invokes strong emotions in you. You notice the music playing in the background of movies, TV shows and other media. You often find yourself humming or tapping a song or jingle, or find that music tends to pop into your head without prompting.

Some hobbies and careers that use the aural style are playing, conducting, or composing music, and sound engineering (mixing and audiovisual work).

You may tend to use phrases like these:

• That sounds about right.

• That rings a bell.

• It's coming through loud and clear.

• Tune in to what I'm saying

• Clear as a bell.

• That's music to my ears.

If you are an aural learner, use sound, rhyme, and music in your learning. When creating mnemonics and other memory aids, make the most of rhythm and rhyme. Try setting the information into a jingle or part of a song.

Use the anchoring technique to recall various emotional states that cretain music creates in you. If you have some particular music or song that makes you want to 'take on the world,' play it back and anchor your emotions and state. With practice, you will find that when you need the boost, you can easily recall the state without needing the music.

The Physical (Bodily-Kinesthetic) Learning Style

If the physical style is more like you, it's likely that you use your body and sense of touch to learn about the world around you. You probably like sports and exercise and other physical activities such as gardening or woodworking. You like to think out issues, ideas and problems while you exercise. You would rather go for a run or walk if something is bothering you rather than sitting at home.

You are more sensitive to the physical world around you. You notice and appreciate textures in clothes or furniture. You like 'getting your hands dirty,' making models, or working on jigsaw puzzles.

When you are learning a new skill or topic, you prefer to 'jump in' and play with the physical parts as soon as possible. You would prefer to take an object apart and put it back together, rather than reading or looking at diagrams about how it works.

Sitting in a class or lecture can be difficult. You fidget or can't sit still for long. You want to get up and move around.

Hobbies and careers that involve the physical style include general physical labor, mechanical, construction and repair work, sports and athletics, and drama and dancing.

You may tend to use phrases like these:

• That feels right to me.

• I can't get a grip on this.

• Stay in touch.

• Get in touch with.

• That doesn't sit right with me.

• I have good feelings about this.

• My gut is telling me.

• I follow your drift.

If you use a physical style to learn new information, use touch, action, movement, and hands-on work in your learning activities. When visualizing, focus on the sensations you would expect in each scenario. For example, if you are visualizing giving an oral presentation, focus on physical sensations you will experience. Feel the pressure of your hands against the podium, notice the texture of the notes in your hand. Be aware of the temperature of the air in the room, and even the feeling of your feet in your shoes.

Use physical objects as much as possible. Touch objects as you learn about what they do. Flashcards can be very helpful as you memorize information because you can touch them and move them around. Also, keep in mind as well that writing and drawing diagrams are physical activities, so don't be afraid to use these as well. You may find that using big sheets of paper and large colored markers gives you a greater sense of action when drawing diagrams.⧫ Citing credit for information on learning styles goes to: www.learning-styles-online.com

Karen Gray is a registered nurse, a certified hypnotist, and the director of Green Mountain Hypnosis in Lebanon, New Hampshire. For more information on how to discover your learning style and improve your academic performance, contact Karen at info@greenmountainhypnosis.com, or call (802) 566-0464.