With exam season just around the corner, it is important that you keep your wellbeing in mind. Preparing for exams can be stressful and overwhelming. Whilst it’s important to try your best and go into exam season prepared, you shouldn’t let your mental wellbeing be pushed to the side.
1. Create a Schedule
Before you start revising, draw up a realistic study schedule that factors in your individual lifestyle and learning preferences. This can make studying feel much more manageable and can help to avoid procrastination (which often leads to much more stress). Creating a schedule can even be fun as you can customise it in any way you want. This can help you start off the exam season on a positive note.
2. Keep a Healthy Mindset
It is important to acknowledge that your self worth isn’t based on the exam results you get. Try your best and work hard, but remember that there is a lot more to life than exam results. Putting too much pressure on yourself can result in a decline in your mental health. We have previously written an article about the pressures of exam season which you can read here.
3. Get Outside
It is fairly common for young people to stay inside more and more as exams approach. But as research now definitively shows that connecting with nature benefits our mental health, we recommend doing the opposite. Many studies have shown that being outside can rapidly reduce stress. This is so important for looking after your overall wellbeing. Plus, distressing can help you go into your exams with a clearer head which could help you perform better.
4. Eating
Eating a healthy and fulfilling diet is really important for your mental wellbeing and is now a claim again backed by research. With the stress and business of exam season, it is common for young people to stop prioritising their diet. It is important for proper brain function to keep eating enough food and a balanced diet. Your body needs enough food to build neurotransmitters which help to regulate your thoughts and feelings.
5. Keep Social
As you can imagine, being social is super important for overall mental wellbeing. It is often easy to neglect your relationships with friends and family in periods of high stress, like exam season. This isn’t healthy though, and will likely only contribute to higher stress levels. In-between studying make sure you are continuing to spend quality time with your loved ones.
6. Reach Out
Always remember you can reach out! It is okay not to be okay. Many people find exam season overwhelming and there are people and services that can help. Go to our website to find available recourses. If you don’t want to speak to strangers, reach out to the people around you. Sometimes talking through your feelings can help bring things into perspective.
Talking to a Counsellor can help. Counselling provides a safe place to be heard and it is completely confidential. Counsellors do not give advice but do guide and support to enable positive decisions to be made. If you would like to be referred for our Talk2Us Service, or if you’re a parent, youth worker, social worker, teacher who would like to refer a young person for counselling, please read more here. Talk2Us is for those in the UK over the age of 9 years.
Conclusion
We understand the importance of exams, but your mental wellbeing will always be more important. Make sure you are looking after your mental health this exam season. Following these tips can help you bring more balance into your routine and reduce your stress levels. You can keep informed and support Stand Up to Bullying by:
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