GCSE results day: How to cope with exam results stress
A range of emotions for those going through it, and their loved ones too but youth charity Young Minds reminds us that results are not the only measure of success - and if things do not turn out as you had hoped, there are lots of other ways to get where you want to go.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Well, it's perfectly natural and normal to feel anxiety coming up to an exam. It's the
00:06end of two years worth of study for GCSE and A-level students. We need to just monitor
00:12that anxiety and make sure that it's the normal feeling of anxiety and stress and it's not
00:17turned into something more serious.
00:19Yeah, talking of something more serious, what impact can excess stress have on young people
00:26at this time of year?
00:28Well, you and I both know that excess stress can have an impact on adults in, you know,
00:33in your physical health as well as your mental health. And with young people with already
00:37pre-existing health issues, it can be exasperated at this time of the year. They really need
00:42to reach out for that support and get extra support to get through these exams. You know,
00:47we also have students who have the kind of normal stresses and anxiety of exams as well,
00:53who also need to be supported on how to deal with those feelings and know that what is
00:57normal feeling of stress and anxiety and what isn't.
01:00How do we identify if it's becoming a bit more of a problem than it should be?
01:05It can come out in more physical aspects like, you know, not being able to eat or sleep and
01:11other physical ways that stress can come out into someone's health.
01:16While GCSE results day can be an extremely stressful time for pupils, it can also have
01:21an effect on those around them. That's according to a survey that found that parents are just
01:25as stressed or almost just as stressed as their children at this time of year.
01:30Your stress does rub off on your child. So, if you can try to remain calm, have a nice
01:36calm supportive environment at home. And students, it's similar advice to you. Hopefully you
01:42don't have to calm your parents down, but learn mechanisms that you can control or try
01:47to calm your nervous system. When you get that internal shaky fear, breathe, breathe
01:53deeply, count your breathing, have some methodologies that you use to relax.