Exam mode: Stress Reliever

My ustazah back in matriculation used to say that after asar is the time for a student to go out and do physical activities, or stay inside doing some mind relaxation things, namely reading storybooks or watching tv. In another words, do something other than a student’s obliged to do = STUDY. As for me, I’m not really sure when was the last time I did physical activities or read storybooks, OK the latter wouldn’t be counted in coz I’m not into reading, but yeah I’m just emphasizing about me having a little more time for my own self, and it’s been sooo long since I had that.

At this time around next week I’d imagining myself to be in the Grafton St or Henry St doing some window-shopping while eating few scoops of ice creams, or I might be in one of the halal outlet celebrating the end of Christmas exam, and yes it’s 7 days towards the exam now. People talk about stress when it comes to exam, believe me, I had mine in the worst form for my First Professional Exam last year. It was terrible; I went to bed with the worst nightmares everynight and woke up with aching body as if I was badly beaten. I (think I) cried in my sleep a lot of times, and life was never greyer than that. Talking about nightmares, I had a friend who had a dream of herself throwing away some babies from a top floor house outside to the road and when she realized about it, looking down there were bleeding dead babies on the road. Cruel dream, but that’s just how stress comes into form.

For the benefit of everyone and myself, I’m thinking of putting some methods for stress reliever, and they are all based from my personal experiences. Some may work but if u really think about it, it’s all under one’s mind control. U don’t have to be stress if u don’t want to, really. So here they go, good luck!

:: Talk to God; the best and most effective way to relieve stress, trust me.

I found that performing solat sunat would be the best way. I have a friend telling me that what they used to do in school each morning was reading Surah As-Sajdah and performing sujud Tilawat when it comes to the 15th ayat. And it is so true that memanjangkan sujud could really (really really) calms u down. And those are just piece of what u could do, there’s a lot other ways if u really think about it. (Who have believed and whose hearts have rest in the remembrance of Allah. Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest! –28:13)

:: Talk to your parents or friends, someone outside the circle

Parents would be the best pairs to talk to (but if it happens that they live far away from u, think about other simpler and cheaper means of communications, or else, pay the price). I remember this one senior doctor telling me that when he was studying abroad, each time he speaks to his mom, he’d never forget to ask her to pray for him, though he always knows that every mom would do that without being asked by her children. And he really believes that half of his success today was contributed from the prayers sent from his mom.

:: Pamper yourself

There’s a list-full of things that u could do to pamper yourself. What I mean by pampering oneself is doing something nice and pleasurable to one. Like myself, I found that having enough sleep could be really helpful (I mean, what’s better than hibernating under the comfortable duvet in the cold gloomy autumn). Sadly, I haven’t really got that for quite some times now, most extra times are spared for extra works to pay back the extra playtimes I had before, serve me right. I was thinking about burning essential oils which would be most helpful now, plus I just got a complete aromatherapy and candles set for my birthday, when I realized that I haven’t got any matches or lighter to light on the candles. I kept meaning to buy that but still I forgot. Anyway, I also found that shopping is a good way of self-indulgence. But this option comes with a price; pardon me, two prices; money and time. But seriously, it really helps to relieve the stress when u pamper yourself. Cook, dance, sing, sleep, whatever it takes.

:: Eat nicely

I know everyone’s been waiting for this option yeah? Eating nice food would actually be in the upper list, but then I thought it would be better to make it an option of itself. By far eating has been the most popular method people opted to relieve stress, and when I said people I mean friends around me and myself. Statistically, out of 10 friends, I would have at least half gaining weights during exam times. This is the period when people pay the revenge of stuffing themselves with food and holding the exam as something to blame later on when they put on weight. Sweet. I would be one of those people mentioned, with the only difference that I eat delicious (unhealthy) snacks and junks during exam that I seldom eat out of the period. Things like nice chocolates, tasty crisps (and a bit costly like Pringles Dippers and Dips, thanks to those who created exam, I have a reason to buy those), fromage frais (which meant for KIDS only), ice creams (white Magnum is the best) and also 2 minutes maggie mee and PAMA.

Just for the record, chocolate has been a popular source of stress reliever, scientifically proven or not I’m not sure myself (who knows it might be the Cadbury company that started spreading this urban myth huh? {Don’t tell your relatives who work for Cadbury about my assumptive and accusative statement}). Anyway there’s a hormone that’s supposed to be released when u eat chocolate that’ll eventually calms u down. Don’t have time to check that in my biochemistry textbook, I’ve got a more important thing to concentrate on. Anyway, I have a friend telling me that eating yogurt, yogurt drinks or anything like that would be helpful in dealing with the stress too. I tried that last year in my First Prof Exam battlefield and it worked, seriously. Apparently the same hormonal mechanism of action as for chocolates applies for yogurts too, and that’s why I’m on my everyday fromage frais tubs. Well who said that exam sucks anyway?

:: Listen to something nice and soothing

Linkin Park would definitely be kicked out of the list now (anyway the new LP and Jay Z combi is really cool). For myself, Tracy Chapman helps me a lot, it’s not something that I really want to sing a long but then it’s not something that would make me fall asleep. Sedang sedang aja bak kata orang Jawa. SO7 is too absorptive, I’d end up muttering every words or else berangan and senyum sorang2 thinking about the good moments I had with my SO7 gangs. The morning crews on 98fm are a nuisance twosome, I’d go cracked with them on air (and not concentrating for that). In the end I guess nasyid or Al-Quran recitations would be the best options other than the good-old Chapman, and they come with a package; u get some pahala by just listening. Now tell me any religion that has a better offer than that huh?

Well I guess I have few other methods that I could use but then this has really consumed my study times. Exam mode has turned me into this crazy time maniac where every single second counts. Of all these kekepaman of staring at the papers everyday, deep inside I really miss walking down the wards with the writing board in my hand, glancing in each rooms to have a quick look at the patients, smiling to the nurses (and cute doctors). Oh yeah, wait till January when I’ll be having my Medicine and Surgery exam, you’ll be crazy hearing me blabbering about how sick I am to be in the wards. Now u go and try those, I wish all the very best of luck in the exam or everything that you’re doing now.

Till after the exam, don’t miss me (I know U would :p).