Exam Stress: How to handle it?

Lo and behold! It is that time of the year which scares both the children and their parents alike. Yes, I’m referring to the most dreaded season of the year- THE EXAM SEASON.

As the days for exam dawns near, a sort of unknown fear starts looming in and I know it can be daunting. To handle the unwelcoming feelings and to wonder, how we can help out our kids during this crucial yet stressful phase of their lives. So in this article let us explore, what exactly is stress and what are some of the tips and techniques to overcome it?

What is Exam Stress?

Exam stress can be described as a type of anxiousness or the feeling of tension that can arise in exam or test like situations.

In short, it is the heightened emotions or the butterflies that dance around in your stomach when exam is near.

But, guess what it is completely normal to feel stressful. Infact, a little amount of stress is helpful in boosting our performance. When the stress goes beyond our capacity and becomes unmanageable then it is a cause of concern.

How exam stress can look like?:

• Physical signs- you child may complain of headaches, sweating, stomach aches, fatigue amongst others.
• Emotional signs- These may look like anxiousness, dull mood, feeling of helplessness and low morale.
• Behavioural signs- It may look like delaying studying or procrastination, decreases appetite, sleeping less than usual etc.

Tips and techniques:

• REVISE, REVISE and MOCK PAPERS

Instead of cramming and mugging up new chapters and information. Try to revise what you already have learnt over the past months. Adding up new information just before exams can add up to the stress and make you feel de-motivated. Try revising what you already know and strengthen your concepts. Try giving mock papers to test your knowledge, but do not be scared if you score less. Instead, go back to the concepts and revise the concepts.

• Make a realistic schedule

A lot of times, kids try to maximise their productivity during exams by creating a jam packed schedule or make statements like “I will study for 10-12hours”, “I will not waste a single minute”. These types of statements look good on the paper but are not realistic and will add on to your stress. Instead, try to create a schedule or a time table which factors in your academic subjects, your sleep and eating habits and gives you enough rest.

• Relaxation techniques

During the exam season, both kids and parents feel stressful. It might help to tackle the exam blues with some relaxation techniques. Parents and kids can sit together and practise techniques like deep breathing, mindfulness which can be helpful to relax and start afresh.

• Power of Affirmations

Positive affirmations like ‘I CAN DO THIS”, “I GOT THIS” can help boost up the kids morale. Repeating positive affirmation can help in increasing their confidence level and is a good way to manage exam stress. But be mindful that affirmations cannot alone help you clear the exams. You need to use it as a supplement along with hard work and consistent study.

• Move when stressed

Remember to try these techniques when you feel stressed. Try moving around when you feel restless preferably where there is fresh air like your balcony or terrace. Change of scenery can help with the exam stress and moving your body or doing some light exercises like fast walking, jumping jacks or stretching can help in managing through the symptoms of anxiousness.

As its said, one size doesn’t fit all. Likewise, one technique doesn’t fit all. Find what for you and follow it.  All the best dear students, you got this!

 (Note: This article is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for psychological treatment and/or therapy. If symptoms persist, kindly contact a mental health professional.)

Written By: M Sreenija (Psychologist).