Dealing with Stress and Anxiety in the face of Assessments
Many students, especially in Y11 and Y13 will have exams after the Easter holidays or a series of assessments due to national exams being cancelled, but schools still require assessments to be completed as evidence to use for grades. Because every school is doing things slightly differently, you may be facing many small exams when you start school or at sometime in the next half term. Pairing this with the stress of the uncertainty about your grades and it makes for a particularly anxious and stressful half term. Students are one of the worst affected groups due to the pandemic so it is incredibly important for you to especially look after your mental health in these times whilst also doing the best you can in school to ensure that you get the grades you deserve. This blog post will look at some of the best ways I have found to manage stress.
Prioritise
You may have several tests a day or simply a lot of content to revise for, and pair this with eating well, sleeping enough and taking enough breaks, you may find there simply is not enough time to complete all these things. Prioritise things that are important or that you struggle with, and always try and put your well-being ahead of school or work. You will have done multiple assessments for each topic and your teachers are going to look at your overall progress to decide your grade, so even if you have a bad or busy day when doing a test, your teachers will take it into context. They will also tell you which assessments they are using as evidence to decide your grade so you can inform them of any mitigating circumstances.
Take care of yourself
It is far too easy to fall into the trap of overworking yourself due to stress, and this can actually be counterproductive as the better you are feeling mentally, the better you will be able to retain information and perform under stress. Things like exercise, eating well and sleeping enough are obvious ways to take care of yourself and things I have talked about extensively on this blog, but there are other things you can do. Make time for your hobbies or time to just chill, whether it's a hobby like painting or cooking or simply just watching tv. Keep in touch with friends and family - socialising can help take your mind of stress and having someone to talk to about things can help immensely. Try activities like meditating, yoga or journaling to keep you grounded and as an outlet for stress. The worst thing you can do is keep it locked up inside you with no outlet.
Talk to people
I cannot stress this enough - you are not alone in these struggles and there are so many people in your life that want to help you and see you succeed, so talk to them. Even talking to your teachers about grades can help take some of the pressure off and give you some reassurance that you are working effectively towards your targets. If you need professional help, reach out and get it! Talking to anyone and sharing your burdens can make them so much more manageable, and remember, as I always say, reaching out is a sign of strength, not weakness!
