THIS is the season for stress. End of term, board exams, competitive entrance exams and interviews, coupled with unreasonable parental expectations, are cause enough for many young students to press the panic button.

Our society is driven by high marks and top ranks. Our culture craves status and abhors failure. There is enormous pressure on young students to perform well in exams, to meet up with societal expectations on choice of career, to prepare and sit for an increasing number of competitive exams, and to get admission to prestigious institutions.

It isn't students alone who are feeling the pressure of stress - those working under highly competitive conditions, dealing with a difficult boss, young people at a crossroads in their careers, etc, are at some time victims of stress.

Stress is the reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demands placed upon them. It arises when they worry that they can't cope. Often, those under stress find their appetite patterns change — they eat too much or too little, or suffer a range of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Many complain of headaches and pains, fainting and dizzying fits and sometimes even excessive sweating and trembling, breathlessness, palpitations and missed heartbeats. These physical symptoms reveal only one part of the problem. A lack of concentration, memory lapses, confusion, and disorientation tell a story of intense mental stress. In addition, bouts of depression, impatience, fits of rage, tearfulness, deterioration of personal hygiene and appearance are manifestations of the emotional symptoms of stress.

There are several aspects of our lives that cause stress. They can be external factors such as the physical environment — the weather, our living or working conditions — daily hassles of everyday living, such as commuting, traffic, noise, pollution, or social interactions with others, whether family members, friends, or colleagues if not satisfactory or to our liking can be stressful.

Work and the environment in which we work, impacts our lives strongly. We worry about the job and its future prospects, our career growth, what the boss thinks of us, dealing with colleagues and our performance record. Circumstances such as long hours, unrealistic deadlines and frequent interruptions will compound this.

Besides the pressures of external stress causing factors, it is often internal factors that cause the maximum havoc in our lives. Self-generated stress is something of a paradox, because so many people think of external causes when they are upset.

We are often responsible for causing stress by the way we live. Poor dietary habits, eating junk foods, unregulated lifestyles with an overloaded schedule and lack of sleep can cause our bodies to protest. We are often our worst enemies. Self-criticism and a pessimistic way of thinking can put paid to all hopes of success. Over analysis of what we do or say, taking criticisms personally, and unrealistic expectations can prey on our minds and make us mentally sick. Stress may occur through an inability to cope with the technical or intellectual demands of a particular task.

So, how can we deal with stress? The most important point is to recognise the source of the negative stress.

This is not an admission of weakness or inability to cope! It is a way to identify the problem and plan measures to overcome it. Recognising that we create most of our own upsets is an important first step towards coping with them.

The ABC Strategy can help you cope with stress. An awareness of the causes of stress can be the start of the journey in helping us deal with the stress causing factors. How do we react to stress? What is it doing to my life? Getting into a premier engineering or medical institute is not the end of the world! While some positive stress factors can actually provide you the impetus and energy to achieve success, it is important to be realistic in our aspirations. No amount of slogging can make an average student into a topper! It can only cause unmitigated stress.

Balancing act

There is a fine line that divides positive and negative stress. Maintaining a balance is important. So is our ability to cope, before the stress becomes negative. A clear understanding of our abilities and achievements can help us direct our energies towards attainable goals, instead of dissipating it with undue stress.

Taking control of our lives can help us combat the negative factors of stress. There are several stress management techniques that can enable us handle stress and make it work positively in our favour.

Start with positive thinking. Stress leaves us vulnerable to negative suggestion — dejection, despair and failure, so focus on positives. Focus on your strengths. There are many things that you do well, look for opportunities to exhibit and utilise them. Learn from the stress you are under and seek out the positive to make a change.

Change your behaviour, be assertive. Assertive people take responsibility for their actions and choices, are self-confident and ask for what they want. They respect themselves and others, and are not reliant on the approval of others.

Develop a support network through friends or colleagues to talk with. Ventilating our problems can help ease the tension. 'A problem shared is a problem halved'. It's not always events that are stressful but how we perceive them. Establish a strong group of friends and colleagues. Good relationships with colleagues are crucial. Open discussion is essential to encourage positive relationships. Humour is a good stress-reducer. It not only relieves muscular tension and improves breathing, but pumps endorphins into the bloodstream — the body's natural painkillers, and helps you calm down. Writing a diary or notes may help release feelings but do not re-read what has been written.

It is sometimes important to change your lifestyle too. A change of your lifestyle, if possible, which includes a healthy diet, ample exercise, leisure and sleep can be the perfect antidote to stress.

A healthy lifestyle can make you less anxious and enable you to manage stress more successfully. Distractions too help reduce stress levels. Take time out to get away from things that bother you. Plan your day make a list of what must be done, what should be done and what would you like to do. Cut out time wasting and unimportant activities, and learn to say no. Find time for the tasks you need to do and don't waste time making excuses for not doing something. Time management can help you feel in control of yourself and your activities.

We all encounter stress at some point. But it is the way in which we manage stress that enables us to prevent it from controlling our lives. It is important, therefore, to re-frame your outlook and

• Look ahead

• Stay positive

• Never give up

• Do all you can.

The writer is a noted career expert