Managing Finals Stress

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Click on image for 5 pages of mindfulness tips!
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Click on image for 4 pages of stress management tips!
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Click on image for 3 pages of self-care tips!

Tips for Managing Finals Stress

Finals can be a stressful and challenging time. It can be hard to cope with the stress of handling multiple exams, projects and more. This is an important time to take care of your mental, physical, and emotional health. This module goes over some finals specific stress and study tips

The NOT-To-Do-List is a worksheet to help you choose which things to de-prioritize during this stressful time to help you gain more time for things you choose to focus on, like studying and self-care.

Calm your nerves and focus your brain with this guided breathing exercise that can help you to mentally prepare for a study session.

Watch sharks, jellyfish, sea otters, penguins and more in real time!

Navigating Change: COVID Self-Care Worksheet

A worksheet from the WA Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that can help you identify concrete things you can do to make the remote world a more friendly environment for your wellbeing.

The Navigating Change: COVID Change Plan is another worksheet from WA Employee Assistance Program (EAP), to be used with the William Bridges Transition Model. Once you’ve identified a change in your life that you’re struggling with, you can use this worksheet to help you come up with a plan to get you through the transition in a healthy way.

When should I seek out help?

Sometimes it can be difficult to realize when you need to seek out other resources or help from others. The image below may be helpful for you if you’re struggling right now or if you’re very stressed to decide if more action needs to be taken. Some of the resources above may help, but remember you can always find support at the Bellevue College Counseling Center.

A chart showing what you might be feeling in different stress zones. 1) Green background, reads: Thriving "I got this." Calm and steady with minor mood fluctuations. Able to take things in stride. Consistent performance. Able to take feedback and to adjust to changes of plans. Able to focus. Able to communicate effectively. Normal sleep patterns and appetite. 2) Yellow background, reads: Surviving "something isn't right." Nervousness, sadness, increased mood fluctuations. Inconsistent performance. More easily overwhelmed or irritated. Increased need for control and difficulty adjusting to changes. Trouble sleeping or eating. Activities and relationships you used to enjoy seem less interesting or even stressful. Muscle tension, low energy, headaches. 3) Orange background, reads: Struggling, "I can't keep this up." Persistent fear, panic, anxiety, anger, pervasive sadness, hopelessness. Exhaustion. Poor performancee and difficulty making decisions or concentrating. Avoiding interaction with coworkers, family, and friends. Fatigue, aches and pains. Restless, disturbed sleep. Self-medicating with substances, food, or other numbing activities. 4) Red background, reads: In Crisis, "I can't survive this." Disabling distress and loss of function. Panic attacks. Nightmares or flashbacks. Unable to fall or stay asleep. Intrusive thoughts. Thoughts of self-harm or suicide. Easily enraged or aggressive. Careless mistakes and inability to focus. Feeling numb, lost, or out of control. Withdrawal from relationships. Dependence on substances, food, or other numbing activities to cope.

Last Updated June 3, 2022