The thing about stress is that it can do one of two things; drive you to succeed or make you crumble under the pressure. For me, I thrive on stress as it impels me to achieve, but it does have its drawbacks. Being a complete workaholic does take its toll and being a perfectionist has its problems too. The stress of trying to do something to the best of my ability, and then not completing it to how I want it to be, can often cause huge amounts of stress and can result in complete exhaustion. Quite frankly, I just put too much pressure on myself!
During my Year 10 GCSEs, I had worked incredibly hard and thankfully, this was reflected in the grades I achieved. But, about a week after my exams, I fell ill. I originally thought it was just a normal virus and that it would pass within a few days. How wrong was I? This lasted for the entire 6 week holidays, and my Doctor told me I had caught a nasty bug. I had overworked myself and stopped suddenly, so my body just went into shutdown mode. I had swollen glands in my stomach, meaning I had to eat bland food, which resulted in a diet of fish fingers and mashed potato for almost 6 weeks. My Dad does make the best mashed potato so it wasn't too bad! However, my weight plummeted which was concerning.
So how did I avoid this happening the following years? Here are some of my tips to avoid post exam anxiety (if that is a thing!?):
1. Work hard in the first place, but take regular breaks.
2. Don't isolate yourself; go out occasionally with friends or family. Breaks are SO important.
3. Make a timetable to ensure you don't leave revision to the very last minute. This will minimise emotional breakdowns!
4. Eat healthily- fruit and veg- to stop you catching a horrible virus and keep your immune system strong and ready to fight those nasty germs.
5. After your exams have finished, stop slowly. Keep yourself busy doing things you enjoy, why not go out with family and friends?
6. Try not to worry about results day, it's done now and there is nothing you can do to change the outcome, but this is definitely easier said than done.
7. Get a summer job! This way you can pay for going out with your friends and save a little bit of money for the upcoming year, as well as keeping yourself occupied.
No matter what happens, everything happens for a reason. Pathways may open up, or close and take you in a new direction. One of my closest friends constantly reminded me through exam season that 'Grades are just a letter on a page, don't let them define you' which is so true. There is so much more to a person than grades.
https://issuu.com/beechpublications-ng10/docs/grapevine_in_wollaton_1__may_2016_m
If you are sitting upcoming exams, good luck!
Emma ♡ x
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