Can you say STA-RESS!!??

Hey y'all! Okay, so who here has taken a final exam, or the SATs or the ACTs or another WICKED stress-inducing exam? (::raises hand::) Holla! I know for a fact that stress plays a HUGE role in my pain.

Those moments come fairly often at our age (hello, starting at 16 our lives are test HELL until we finish school). Now how does one with arthritis handle these moments?

*FREAKING OUT!?!?!?*

You gotta RELAX....take a deep breath, you're going to be fine.

Here are some tips for handling test-stress:

• Read your syllabus (if provided) to find out when all of your tests are, begin studying about 2 weeks before each exam. This allows you to review material you may have forgotten and ask questions WELL in advance.

• Study in a way that works for YOU! My method of choice is baZILLIONS (no joke, I took a medical terminology class last spring, LOTS and LOTS) of flash cards. This might not work for you. Other options include: seeing a tutor, re-writing notes (we'll cover notes in a second), recording your class and listening to lectures over again, and more.

• Okay, so notes! I know writing is a pain (literally!) but in my experience I absorb so much more of the information when I actually hand-write it. Laptops are great, but computer leads to solitaire leads to email leads to Facebook, you get the gist. If you are having a rotten day, use your laptop, but turn off the Wi-fi, and LISTEN (actively by asking questions).

• Notice that's the second time I've mentioned questions? Yeah, they're really crucial to your learning, and at the college level, you're paying MONEY to learn, shouldn't it make sense to you? Ask questions when you really don't understand something, or when you just need something clarified, then write it down in your super cute Lilly Pulitzer notebook!

I struggled my first year of school (college) because I got way in over my head and never really learned how to study. BIG mistake, I had a MAJOR exam and was way stressed out about it, and ended up not being able to write my exam! I took it late (thank you Prof G. of the Politics Dept at SUNY Potsdam!), and did okay on it. . .read: I got a C. . . dundundun.

Now that I better understand how I learn and how I study, I can avoid stress by working through it. No stress=no pain!