The Final Exam

Right now we're finishing up spring semester at UT. This semester I was one of the TA's for Biomechanics, the final for that class was yesterday morning.
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Proctoring a final exam is quite a different experience from taking one. It was interesting to observe all the fears I faced the night before from the opposite side of the table. I had taken a Stats exam on Monday night. I'd arrived early to the room and sat down for some last-minute attempts to cram; just like everyone else in the room. I was frustrated by the increased no ice level minutes before the exam and felt worried that I had not studied enough. While taking the exam I flipped around the pages, skipping over questions and sections I did not want to concentrate on yet. I checked over answers multiple times and had a sense of apprehension when I turned it in.
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Obviously, my feelings are not too unique but it is quite different to watch similar things unfold on the faces of other students. As we watched the biomechanics class taking their exam you could see the near panic on some people's faces as the turned the page to see a fictional equation they'd have to use to solve one of the problems. It was a tough exam and many of them were very concerned about their grades when leaving the exam sight.
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When you are watching from the other side it is very easy to say, "don't worry about it too much right now." I honestly wished I could say something to relieve some of them from the level of stress they sustained after the exam was over. For some of them, this grade is going to effect their ability to graduate next week. If I were in their shoes I'd feel the same way and I couldn't help but wonder if that's the most productive perspective to have.
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Sure... we all need to have some sense of responsibility and concern for what we do but sometimes the stress we inflict upon ourselves will outweigh the benefits of being concerned about the task at hand. I've often been told that I am intense. This is a hard characteristic to change. Maybe watching others and seeing the stress they put themselves under will help me understand it would be easier if I could just lighten up a bit. Sometimes people watching is good... you can learn a lot from the manorisms of others because we are all very similar in many ways.