Hey there!
I took the nursing boards. Though it was ages ago I still know what review season feels like in the body. 😆
I have an uncanny memory of things that traumatized me so I still remember the weeks leading up to it like a specific kind of blur. The review center mornings, the highlighters running out faster than patience, the shoulders that never quite relaxed. But I also remember the other things. The novena to St. Jude I started months before, because if anyone understood the feeling of a seemingly impossible situation, it was the patron saint of lost causes, and honestly some of those practice exams had me feeling exactly that. I went to Quiapo, had everything blessed: my reviewer, pencils, and all the things I'd be using during the exam. And of course the very important one: red underwear on exam day. The one thing that made me pass. Jk 😝
We laugh about the pamahiin, but there's something underneath all of it that isn't funny at all: the very real anxiety of showing up for the most important exam of your life while your body is running on fumes. 💨
What does boards stress actually do to the body?
Here's the part the review centers don't really cover. Studies on students in the pre-examination phase found significant spikes in cortisol levels as exam day approaches. Cortisol, in small amounts, is fine. It's what gets us out of bed and focused. But weeks and months of it? Disruptions in cortisol secretion over time can affect both inflammation and immune response, which explains why so many of us end up with tension headaches, stiff necks, that strange heaviness behind the eyes, or a cold that arrives right at the worst possible moment. 🤧
Why does physical tension affect how well we study?
We can't separate the two. A body carrying unresolved tension means tight shoulders, an aching lower back from hours hunched over a table and a body spending energy it could be using for focus and recall. Rest helps, and so do short breaks. But there's also something to be said for actively supporting the body during the weeks of review, not just the night before.
What can we do to support our body during boards season?
During my own boards season, applying 🪻Oleia Lavender Oil🪻 at the end of a study session became part of the ritual. Neck, shoulders, the space between the shoulder blades where all the stress seemed to collect. The oils in it (olive oil, moringa seed oil, pomegranate seed oil, virgin coconut oil) aren't just there for the skin. Pomegranate seed oil's phytochemicals have shown activity in downregulating cortisol and inflammatory cytokine receptors, which, coming from someone who had a full novena going simultaneously, felt like a very good thing to have on board. The pause it required, actually stopping and actually breathing for five minutes, was its own kind of medicine. Helped me sleep better too without the constant noise from my overthinking brain. 🙉
Is it possible to get through boards season without burning out?
Well…yes but it requires you taking care of your well-being in general.
So, get the things blessed. Light the candles. Wear the red underwear. Pray to whoever you pray to. These things aren't silly—they're how we hold ourselves together when the stakes feel enormous. And while you're at it, take care of the body that's carrying all of it. It deserves the same attention you give your reviewers.
You studied. You prepared. You showed up.
You got this. 💪🏻
Show me your bottle and I'll show you mine? 'Til next time! 🍀
xo, L.
References:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11579684/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889159121000192