Stress
Managing Stress - NHS Advice
Short periods of stress are normal and can often be resolved by something as simple as completing a task which cuts down your workload, or by talking to others and taking time to relax.
Work out what it is that's making you feel stressed. For example, is it exams, money or relationship problems?
See if you can change your circumstances to ease the pressure you're under.
Try to have a healthy lifestyle. Eat well, get enough sleep, be physically active and take time to relax
Avoid drugs, including lots of caffeine - this can have a negative impact on your stress levels and wellbeing.
Try not to worry or compare yourself with others.
Try relaxation and breathing exercises.
Try to plan your time to help you keep track of your work. Break it down into manageable chunks.
Try talking to a friend, tutor or someone in your family about your stress.
NHS Everymind Matters
A great source of advice and support for any concerns regarding mental health is the NHS ‘Every Mind Matters’ website.
Help and Advice at School
Sometimes we can’t fix a problem by ourselves and need the support of an adult.
Having trusted adults is an important part of our support network.
In school, Mr Graham has a special role as our ‘Designated Safeguarding Lead’. This means he is responsible for helping all the adults in school to keep our students safe. The Heads of House are deputy designated safeguarding leads. They attend special training every year to be experts in helping you.
In practice, this means that if there is a problem staff may ask for her help and expertise.
Before exams
1. Eat healthily by having breakfast and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Try to avoid junk food.
2. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes or too much caffeine as this won't help manage stress.
3. Get your eight hours sleep. Winddown before bed by putting away your mobile and tablet
4. The key to lowering your stress is organisation and preparation. Going into an exam feeling confident because you've worked hard is going to be less stressful.
5. Manage your time. Make a realistic timetable. Stick to it everyone approaches revision in different ways so make sure you've chosen the method that works best for you.
6. Plan breaks and treats into your revision schedule in order to reward yourself. This includes exercise breaks.
7. Plan your social media breaks so that your phone is not interrupting your revision.
8. learn to recognise when you are becoming stressed. A break or a chat with someone who knows the pressure you're under will get things into perspective.
9. Remember to focus on yourself not your friends, so avoid comparing your revision with that of your classmates.
10. Surroundyourself with a group of people who will motivate you, and who you can talk to about your exam stress constructively.
During exams
11. If you feel yourself panicking during the exam, sit back for a moment and control your breathing_
12. Talk to the invigilator in the room if you fear you might have a panic attack.
13. Read the questions thoroughly and plan your answers to help you feel in control.
After exams
14. Remember to keep things in perspective and steer clear of any exam 'post-mortems'. It doesn't matter what your friends wrote as it's too late to go back and change your answers. Put it behind you - the best thing to do is focus on the next exam.
15. Remember that there is life after exams. Things might seem intense right now, but it won't last forever.
16. There will be a point when the exam is over, so working hard for a short time will pay off when you get your results and feel that achievement.