Martha Gomez, an English major at Cerritos College, claims she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

“I’m totally stressed out,” she said.

“I’m taking six classes this semester, which means six final exams and two term papers. I don’t think I will be getting any sleep in the next two weeks.”

Gomez is not alone. Every year, at about this time, college students everywhere experience high levels of stress due to final exams.

Stress is a physical and psychological reaction to issues and events stemming from our environment.

According to the website www.isma.org,, stress is present in the human body in two forms: eustress and distress.

Eustress is a positive low level of stress that everyone experiences on a regular basis. It keeps us alert and motivates us to face challenges like final exams.

However, like most things in life too much stress is harmful.

Distress, occurs when our bodies experience too much stress and over react to events.

Excessive stress usually develops over a long period of time, but tension filled situations, like final exams, can lead stress to develop very rapidly.

Andre Tower, undecided, knows the feeling of stress all too well.

“This happens to me every semester,” he said.

“I procrastinate until the last minute and I stress my self out trying cram a night before my final.

It feels terrible, my back starts to hurt, I get headaches and I start to snap at people.”

Other symptoms of stress include muscle fatigue, insomnia, oversleeping, stiff neck/shoulders, eye strain, pounding heart, rashes, anxiety, colds and lack of confidence.

Eddie Tepez, a phychology major, avoids suffering from the stress finals can cause by getting a head start on his studying.

“I study a week in advance before finals because I don’t want to get stressed out,” he said.

Other tips for managing exam stress include:Don’t procrastinate-prepare for the exam well in advance. Allot time everyday to study and don’t judge yourself too harshly if you miss a day.

Avoid last minute cramming- don’t go without sleep the night before an exam. Stop an hour before to relax and compose yourself.

Avoid panicking-It’s natural to be nervous prior to the exam, but over reacting and getting excessively nervous is counterproductive. It will cloud your thinking.

Pay attention to the exam-Do not waste time worrying, doubting yourself and wondering how your classmates are doing. Don’t worry about what you should have done, pay attention to what you can do now.

Physically relax yourself- perform breathing exercises before the exam. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose while counting to four. Hold the breath in for three seconds, and then exhale through your mouth for four counts. This exercise will clear your mind. Do this once more during the test if you find yourself worrying about the exam.