Anxious Issues: Exams

Hello my lovelies! 

Everyone gets stressed about exams, so it can be even harder if you don't handle stress well. Put some time aside chill out and have fun, but don't forget about the studying you have to do in order to pass. Use yoga, exercise, movies or your hobby in breaks from studying and if you feel under extreme pressure don't be scared to talk to someone. There are support methods in place at all schools, colleges and universities so don't be afraid to take advantage of them at any time of year. There are also many support sites online, the BBC and the NHS have tons of information available online and you can call Childline on 0800 1111 if you just want to talk things through, remember that you are never alone in dealing with stressful situations.

With Christmas and the New Year not only may you be looking forward to presents and the changes in your life, but many of you may be frantically panicking about January exams. For some, these are GCSE, or prehaps A Level or BTEC, for others it might be module exams for your University degree or a college course; either way, you're all in the same boat. This is a stressful time for everyone but it may just get a little too crazy for our liking. 

So many people use the excuse:"It's Christmas time, there are a lot of things going on, how on Earth am I meant to find time to study?" You make time. Some people feel like there's simply no time to study around these holidays but if you really want to get the grades, you'll find the time to earn them. Create a timetable of what's going on around Christmas and put in some hours of study. I'm not saying work on Christmas Day because that would be ridiculous, give yourself the main holiday off, but there's nothing to stop you putting in an hour's worth of studying on the other days surrounding this time.

When you do your studying, take regular breaks. Without breaks, your brain starts driving you crazy and you will get stressed out. Make sure you have something to drink (not energy drinks; as much as red bull keeps you alert, it's not good for you) and something to eat in order to keep you alert and don't study late at night when you are too tired to take things in properly. I can speak from experience saying that late nights studying just don't work, things don't sink in properly and you only end up even more stressed out than you were before you started. You may feel wide awake at 3am but you won't remember much when you wake up at lunch time.

Most people find exam season so stressful because they just can't sit down and read and have everything go in, however things don't have to be that way. Everyone has their own individual learning styles, to minimise stress levels you need to find your own. There are many forms of studying that you could do; reading notes, re-writing notes, recording notes as spoken word and listening back, using sticky notes, mind maps etc. Find your style and things will become a whole lot easier, I only figured this out after the third attempt of my Unit 1 History GCSE exam when I decided to write everything on a timeline using sticky notes. This one trick made everything feel more organised and under control and my grade went from an E to a B in no time! 

Whatever you do though, don't let studying take up all of your time. You do need that time to relax, take a break and spend some time enjoying yourself. Too much work can cause more strain than too little.

One more thing....

MERRY CHRISTMAS! <3 

I hope you've all had a perfectly wonderful time with friends and family and have received everything you could possibly hope for.

Over the next week I will be sharing some of the wonderful things I got for Christmas so feel free to share with everything what it is that's got you smiling this year!

Love you all!

T xxx