Kandice Liang

Prof Moore

Health Ed 044

9 April 2017

Project #3: Case Study Analysis

Katya is a first year in college with a mediocre grade point average of 3.0 and a diligent

study habit. She suffers from severe anxiety every time she takes an exam due to the fact that she

is afraid that she hasnt studied enough and will forget everything when the exam comes. Katya

is on her spring semester of Freshman year and is currently taking a Chemistry class. In order for

her to keep her scholarship, she must pass her Chemistry class final. This stress caused Katya to

have a panic attack earlier today while she was studying. Her chemistry exam is in two days and

she needs help coping with stress and anxiety problems.

When I was a first year in college, I was working a fulltime job and being a fulltime

student. I was always feeling tired throughout the day which disturbed me from studying. So

when it came to midterms or final exams, I used to stress a lot before the exam because I

procrastinate and wait to the last two days to study. And that was a huge mistake and terrible

habit to have. One way that I did to change that habit was talking to a counselor. I was advised to

learn how to time manage, eat healthily and regularly, and taking breaks. Since my schedule was

really packed from Monday to Saturdays, I went and bought a planner to write down all the

things I need to do each day. Also, eating breakfast before I go to school and not skipping meals

really helped too because it gave me more energy throughout the day. And lastly, I spread out

studying hours at night after work, even if just an hour or two to go over the weekly
PowerPoints. After a semester of trying all these tips from my counselor, my grades went up and

I felt better about myself.

In Katyas case, her anxiety is a type of stress-induced anxiety. The best way to cope

witht that is to understand it. Educating oneself on stress and anxiety. Reasearchers says that

Intense or prolonged stress can also reduce our ability to work efficiently and decrease our

sense of well-being. (Wanlass) Studies found that a way to cope with stress is to have enough of

sleep. University of Taiwan did a study on what causes stress in their nursing students and the

results showed that it was mainly due to the lack of sleep. Poor sleep quality associated with

emotional stress and depression symptoms. (595) Another way to help Katya is to build up her

self esteem. People that have low self-esteems often view themselves as victim and sees the

world as a hostile place. Psychologist suggests to Think positively about yourself. Remind

yourself that, despite your problems, you are a unique, special, and valuable person, and that you

deserve to feel good about yourself. (Burton) Thinking positive also includes of not comparing

oneself to another and as well as focusing on the things you can change about yourself. It is

important to have a healthy self-esteem, that way a person can achieve more in life.

All in all, in order for Katya to manage her stress and self-esteem, she must take some

action and adapt to some changes in her study habits. Such as taking breaks, eating healthily, and

having enough sleep. And as well as being more positive about herself, having positive thinking

will result in self-motivation to pass her chemistry exam with confidence rather than talking

down to herself and having the mindset that shes not ready and not good enough.
References

Burton, Neel MD. Building Confidence and Self-Esteem. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2017, from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/building-confidence-and-self-

esteem

Chen, C., Chen, Y., Sung, H., Hsieh, T., Lee, M., & Chang, C. (2015). The prevalence and related

factors of depressive symptoms among junior college nursing students: a cross-sectional study.

Journal Of Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing, 22(8), 590-598. doi:10.1111/jpm.12252

Wanless, Richard. Understanding stress and anxiety. (2017, April 05). Oxford University Press.

Retrieved April 10, 2017, from https://blog.oup.com/2017/04/understanding-stress-anxiety/