For school and university students, it is the most stressful time of the year as the exam season approaches. This can be an overwhelming time for some young people, as the normal classroom routine ends and they are left to draw up their own revision programmes.
There’s a lot of issues that might cause a student to feel stressed at exam time, from the prospect of how they will perform on the day, to pressure from high achieving parents, siblings, or friends. Some students may feel they can never learn enough in the time available, or feel so overfaced that they find it difficult to focus.
The worry doesn’t end there, because even when the exams are over, the thought of results day and the subsequent life changing experiences of going to college, university, or starting a job can weigh heavily on the mind. All this can result in self-sabotaging behaviours, such as overworking or losing the motivation to study altogether.
In the worst scenario, the worry may even manifest itself in physical symptoms such as sleeplessness, tearfulness, headaches, sweating, fatigue, poor appetite, or panic attacks. This is why it’s so important to take extra care of our mental health during exam time. Here are some tips.
Have realistic expectations
Students with perfectionist tendencies can set themselves very high standards and this ratchets up the pressure. Try to avoid comparing yourself to others or worrying about meeting other people’s expectations, and focus on yourself. After all, it’s your life and you only have yourself to please.
Manage your time
Instead of just forcing yourself to cram in revision for hours upon end, set yourself a manageable revision timetable and break each section down into bite sized chunks with plenty of breaks in between. Rest is just as important as studying. Remember it is not how long you revise that matters, but how well you use the time when you are revising.
You are far more likely to do justice to yourself with fewer hours of good quality revision than with forcing yourself to work when your mind and body are ready for rest. You need downtime for your brain to process all the information you are taking in, and without regular breaks you will just end up churning through words without really taking them in properly.
Outdoor time
It may be advice that is repeated all too often, but getting some fresh air and stretching your legs really does help you to lift your mood and clear your mind. If you are having a bad day, it can feel easier to snuggle down in the safety of your bedroom, but making the effort to get out and about for just 10 minutes can really change your perspective.
Have a creative outlet
It can be easy to become bottled up with anxieties, so it is important to have some kind of outlet to give vent to these feelings. It might be as simple as writing things down or talking to a close friend or family member, or through an activity such as playing music, drawing, or anything else where you can express yourself freely.
If you would like to work with a Harley Street hypnotherapist, please get in touch with us today.
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