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Good luck and advice for exam anxiety!

As exams are now underway, I’m sure a lot of you are approaching peak stress! Learning is enjoyable on the whole, but when you’re being assessed on what you ‘should’ have learnt… not so much! Combining that with the idea that the assessment is over the course of a short period of time in which you have to perform, and we have a pretty stress-inducing situation. So, I hope I am able to offer some words of advice which might help to soften the emotional spikiness of these few weeks…

Firstly, I would suggest that we accept it is stressful. We are of course stressed! Who wouldn’t be, given the situation? We are not robots. Our psychology and emotional regulation is not designed to help us stay happy. It is designed by evolution to keep us alive. Evolution has programmed us to notice what’s wrong, not what’s right. We have large brains capable of imagining all sorts of different events and worrying is our attempt of solving all possible issues before they come about. The media, and society at large don’t help with this by amplifying the message that this is a really important time and you need to get it right! As if you weren’t already telling yourself that! Teachers don’t help… We tell you ‘This is what you need to know…’. You don’t need to know everything in the syllabus. Although, the more you understand, the more you can explain, the faster you are at solving problems, the better mark you are likely to get, but you don’t need to know everything, unless you are saying anything less than perfect is not good enough.

So, what can we do when we’re in these times? How can we perform at our best? Whatever that means…

Recognise when your mind is getting anxious or stressed or tired and accept it without judgement. Then, go for a walk. Take a break. Go and get a glass of water or a cup of tea. Taking a break can be done more frequently and for less time, and/or less frequently and for more time. You have to find the middle ground between not working too hard and working hard enough. That middle ground is a real balancing act and requires that you are honest with yourself. Make sure you don’t avoid the scary stress by just not studying, that doesn’t work, it just means you’re in denial. But, make sure you accept your limitations as a human being.

When not revising, ensure you are eating well and sleeping well. Make sure you drink enough water, do a little exercise and get outdoors. Hang out with people who make you feel you can be who you want to be and be there for them the way you want them to be there for you. You could also try specific relaxation techniques such as yoga, breathing exercises and meditation. I’ve been meditating for about ten years now and would highly recommend it to most people. It allows you to be more aware of what your mind is up to and to gain some emotional distance from what your mind is up to. To some extent, you can unhook from your thoughts and sort of just see them. If nothing else, it could be 10 minutes a day (best done in the morning, but whatever works for you) in which you are allowing yourself a break from worrying. Make sure you don’t start worrying about worrying though! If you’re new to meditation, I’d recommend Headspace, 10% happier and Insight Timer (free) apps. If you would like any more help, advice or suggestions with meditation, get in touch.

Good luck and show them what you can do! 😊

A Short History of Nearly Everything

https://www.phtutoring.com/blog-can-learning-science-make-you-happy

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As the exams near closer and closer for my 11s and 13s, let me offer a few words of advice...

- Your brain is programmed by evolution to notice threats: "I've still not revised X! How will I have time to get everything done??" We focus on what still 'needs' to be done and fail to notice what has been done, or successes.

- Your syllabus is not a list of what 'needs to be done' or what you 'need to learn'. Rather than thinking of your studies as a list of things which need to be done within a particular time frame, think of the accomplishments you've made so far and any future accomplishments (understanding a new topic) taking you further forward.

- The list of things you could possibly do to prepare for your exams is functionally infinite. If you had another year to revise, you could still argue that you're not 'ready'.

- Amongst this list of 'things to do', one item tends to be routinely forgotten about or put quite low down the list: rest. Just as a marathon runner trains for a race, they would taper and rest in the coming days and weeks. It is difficult to get this balance right, but all yourself honestly, "Am I at my best right now?" If you feel cloudy, stressed, irritable or you're not sleeping, then your priority might be to rest.

In a few years time, or even a few months time, you may look back at this period and think, "Why was I so hard on myself?"

Good luck all of you, which is just something you say. Luck will not have much to do with it.

Enjoy your summer holidays! 🌞🌞

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