HOW TO NOT GET STRESS DURING AN EXAM

[Trwsh]

hello your fellow year 12 here!
Recently, I've been finding it difficult to concentrate when I do my exams in the exam room. I don't know why its been getting worse for me, I know how to do the question but I struggle to do them during the exam. My hands start to shake and my mind keeps telling me to stAPH WaSTING TIMe 
This happens especially in my maths exams, I did really well for my preliminary year, but this year my nerves are increasing
If it could help, please suggest some tips on how to stop my nerves from overtaking me
thank you!

[angewina_naguen]

Hey, Trwsh!

Nerves are usually a good thing but you're right in that sometimes they may cause more of a hindrance. Exams can indeed be stressful so I do have some ways you can calm yourself down before, during and after the exam 

- Checklists. Have a checklist of things you need to do before going into the exam. Basic things like having enough pens, water and comfortable clothes (I once had an earring get caught in my hair and it took me a solid half a minute to safely remove it) can set the right attitude for going into the exam.

- A good night's sleep. Fatigue and sleep deprivation can contribute to stress and nerves. This is because your body is not ready or in the right place for strenuous activity. Make sure you get enough sleep and relax the night before to maintain a healthy mindset throughout the exam day.

- Meditation. I know this might sound ridiculous but meditating puts you in a great state of mind to concentrate, as well as keeping your inner self balanced. With intense studying and cramming preceding the exam, it would be imperative to ensure your body and brain is not functioning solely on adrenaline. Meditating will get you in touch with your physical self and to check in before the exam. This also leads me into my next point.

- Stretches and warm ups. While you are simply sitting still, exams are physically demanding and can exhaust you at the end, especially when most of them go up to 3 hours straight. Making sure your body is in the right position for that will reduce the need to fidget and move about during the exam itself.

- Eating something substantial. I'll have to say that my diet wasn't the healthiest during the HSC but before exams, I always made sure I had a decent breakfast/lunch. Keep yourself well fed and happy when assessments are around because it makes a huge difference in your motivation!

-Breathing. Lots of strange pieces of advice from me today but breathing is crucial. As a singer, it's one of the number 1 priorities I have learnt to adopt. If you find yourself feeling stressed, hands shaking and whatnot, take deep, regulated breaths. This can help you stay in touch with yourself and to pace your progress in the exam and reduce any sudden movements or shaking.

I'm sure everyone has their own techniques for calming down but these are mine! Hope this is helpful 

Angelina   

[owidjaja]

Hey there,

I can definitely relate to this. I've broken down in the middle of exams and have had numerous panic attacks before and after my exams. It is kinda difficult to "get over" this because it's something I found difficult to control, especially during stressful situations. One thing that kinda calmed me down during the exam was to just keep moving on if I don't know how to do a question. The times I broke down mid-exam where my 3U exams and I either: couldn't figure out the question or I was trying to solve the question but something wasn't working out, which ended up me being like to myself: why isn't this working out? Why am I so dumb? (fun fact: that question where my working out wasn't going the right way, it turned out that there was a typo in that question). The more I spent on that question, the more stressed I got. Because of that, I would leave some space to do the next question so when I go back, I could at least have a fresh set of eyes (this actually worked when I couldn't figure out how to do a proof for a congruent/similar triangles question).

Another thing I would suggest is to actually take the time to breathe, just like what Angelina said. I used to dismiss this but it was actually really important, especially when I had a panic attack before my Paper 1 trials. It was difficult for me to use my reading time effectively when my breathing hasn't evened out, so take the time to breathe slowly. Also, straighten your posture when you're trying to re-adjust your breathing. Naturally, we would want to curl up in a ball but that's not really opening up our lungs. My school counsellor did recommend to use the wall to adjust our posture and breathe slowly, but in an exam situation, align your back to your chair and sit up straight to open up your lungs. When you breathe slowly, your heart rate will also calm down.

And also, take a bottle of water with you into the exam. I never took my bottle into the exam until Paper 1 trials (yes, the same occasion when I had a panic attack beforehand). It actually helps you take a "break" during the exam. Usually, when I got stressed doing homework, the best way to lower my stress levels is to either do something different (as addressed previously) or go for a walk and refill my cup. Obviously, we can't really go for a walk during the exam so bringing in a water bottle and taking small sips is the next best thing. Disclaimer: I wouldn't recommend taking huge gulps of water so you won't have to go to the bathroom too often. So yeah, I'd highly recommend bringing in a drink bottle (and this is also coming from someone who gets anxious over the thought of using the bathroom, which then ends up triggering my need to go to the bathroom. Weird, I know).

Hope this helps!

[Kombmail]

Just adding onto the topic of stress, my parents are ASIANS as in indian asians and they give me alot of stress because of me being the goody two shoes student of the family. They will always expect me to do the dishes and doing this gives me lesser time on my studies. If I ask about this to my parents I in return recieve blunt comments of yelling from them, They just don't understand that I cannot be a cleaner 24/7 for my whole life.


Please help me guys, I have actually been sucicidal about this in the past.

from,
Komal

[jamonwindeyer]

Just adding onto the topic of stress, my parents are ASIANS as in indian asians and they give me alot of stress because of me being the goody two shoes student of the family. They will always expect me to do the dishes and doing this gives me lesser time on my studies. If I ask about this to my parents I in return recieve blunt comments of yelling from them, They just don't understand that I cannot be a cleaner 24/7 for my whole life.


Please help me guys, I have actually been sucicidal about this in the past.

from,
Komal

Hey! If you are at the point where helping out with the dishes throws off your entire study routine, something else is up! You need to be balancing work with family time and relaxation, stress can build up really quickly if you don't give yourself other avenues to relieve it you'll be more productive for it too!

Here's a useful guide that might help!
It's really, really important for you to look after your mental health during tough times like the HSC. No one on ATAR Notes is a professional, so I'd really strongly encourage you to reach out to someone who is a professional, if you do feel like you need to. All of the services below are fantastic and will be able to help:
*   Lifeline (13 11 14)
*   beyondblue (1300 22 4636, http://www.beyondblue.org.au)
*   headspace (http://www.headspace.org.au)

Look after yourself!