Exam and Coursework-related Stress…
Exam season is fast-approaching in the UK. Many people will take GCSE’s, A’levels and other vocational exams throughout the months of May and June. Which means for many students it’s revision time. While for those taking coursework-only subjects or working on essays, the focus is likely to be very much on submission dates. Exam and hand-in dates are often scheduled closely together; meaning decisions need to be made to prioritise revision and work. This can often lead to feelings of stress and overwhelm for the student.
Stress is often perceived as negative and something to be ‘avoided’ for the benefit of our mental and physical health. While it is true that regularly experiencing high stress levels can be responsible for lowered immune system and greater risk of serious physical illnesses; stress can also benefit us.
The role of stress in approaching exams and deadlines is as a ‘motivator’. If you don’t feel a level of stress about the forthcoming event, you are less likely to be motivated to act (i.e. revise or work). When this is understood, you can harness the stress you are experiencing, reframing your perspective on it as something to act upon rather than avoid.
Stress can feel uncomfortable to sit with, so there is often a tendency to want to avoid or escape from the feeling. Physically it can tie your stomach in knots and negatively affect your breathing; while the thoughts that arise may keep you awake at night. In a quest to avoid or escape these feelings you might find yourself scrolling through social media, watching You Tube, searching for snacks or making constant hot drinks, binge-watching TV, indulging in online shopping, or suddenly being overcome by an urge to clean or tidy. In other words - procrastination!
Procrastination is the act of deliberately avoiding doing something important that you know needs to be done; putting it off for something more enjoyable. Procrastination can be rife at exam or deadline time. Especially as there is more instant gratification from doing something enjoyable in the present. While the benefits from revising, and potential reward of achieving your exam goals, will come much further in the future.
If you can relate to this you might be wondering what you can do about it…
Reframing your perspective on a few things may help. Firstly, understand that putting things off until you feel more motivated may result in a time that never arrives and the time that you have left, shrinking considerably. Humans increase our motivation levels by actually doing the task. If you are struggling to get going with something, commit to doing it for a few minutes and go from there. Once you begin on the task you are more likely to continue. If you really can’t get started on a particular task - you might feel creatively blocked for example - let go of fixating on that for now. Instead, use your time to work on another subject or task. Study schedules can be a great tool for revision, but they can also be a hindrance if you become to fixated on sticking to them, or are given extra work that wasn't accounted for on the schedule, or under-estimate the time it takes to complete something. An attitude of flexibility towards making changes to your schedule or deviating from it if needed will help with this.
Revising is usually a self-directed activity. This means there is nobody holding you accountable for whether you do it or not. If you are finding it hard to revise under these conditions, chose an accountability buddy. Somebody who you can share your set goal with; who will check-in with you at an agreed time in the future to see have achieved what you set out to.
The thoughts you are having about the forthcoming exams are shaping your reality and feelings. So increase awareness of your thoughts by first noticing, then journalling or making a thought-record to debate the validity of them. It can also be helpful to 'brain dump’ all of your feelings and thoughts onto a page, then rip it up afterwards - expressing then releasing them in this physical way. Be really honest with yourself.
Some prompts for self-reflection work through journalling could include:
What do I think about my revision progress?
What are my revision or assignment goals - short-term (today), mid-term (this week) long-term (this month)?
What is regularly distracting me? How can I manage this?
Am I avoiding revising as a protection strategy? (This is a common action if self-doubt is rife: i.e. if you don’t do as well as you had hoped, you can put it down to not revising).
Do I want to give up? Or is this qualification worth struggling for?
The beliefs you have about the outcome of your exams can shape the amount of stress you experience towards them. While a bit of stress is motivating, too much stress will be overwhelming and could result in it being impossible to concentrate on anything at all. You may find yourself turning to unhealthy coping strategies to avoid or numb the feelings you’re experiencing; these strategies may be harming you. If you can relate to this, then try finding healthy ways to manage your stress levels. These are likely to be personal to you, but some suggestions include: exercising, listening to or playing music, meditation, yoga, mindfulness, talking to a friend or family member, working with a therapist or coach, walking in a forest or by the sea, spending time with your pet, doing something creative or a hobby that you love. If your way of coping is a risk to your health or safety, then please seek support from your GP or a professional therapist.
Ensure you’re taking care of your basic needs through hydrating, eating nutritious food, interacting with friends, resting, exercising and getting enough sleep. These will all help you to manage your stress levels. Planning your study, seeking support and attending to your needs during highly stressful times will see you taking control of what you can. This is key if you are feeling like things are spiralling out of control and time is rapidly reducing. Take control of what you can and try to let go of any ‘what if’s’ and worries.
Above all else, be kind and treat yourself with compassion. Check your self-talk for any negative beliefs and labels such as: “I can’t do this” or “I’m a failure” and reframe these. Look for evidence in your past of times you have overcome things that you believed you couldn’t do, and succeeded. Recall positive feedback that you have received and face any constructive criticism, by learning from, rather than dwelling on it. You could create affirmation cards with your reframed beliefs such as: “I can do this,” “I am proud of the progress I am making” and “I am prepared”. Read and repeat these affirmations, just as you refer to your revision notes. As mindset really is a game-changer.
Results may be important to you and you may have clear goals in mind based on the outcome. See this as a motivator rather than punishing yourself with it. Align your expectations with past feedback and results that you have. And understand that there is always another path or plan if things don’t work out as you had hoped.
Remember: Your life is what is most important and that cannot be defined by exam results.
