Stop the stress caused by final exams
Year 12 exams are a major source of stress for students, parents and families.
Not only do high anxiety levels during this time impact on our youths’ well-being and performance in this high octane final year of secondary school, it can continue to affect mental health in the years ahead.
Anxiety is the number one mental health issue today and one in four people suffer from symptoms. The anxiety associated with school and year 12 exams specifically has increased dramatically since I began practicing in 1982.
Year 12 certificates were good idea at the time
The reasons behind NSW’s HSC, Victoria’s VCE, Northern Territory’s NTCE and the year 12 certificates of other Australian states and territories made sense at the time they were launched. There needed to be a reliable, consistent score or ranking that could inform tertiary educational institutions about the abilities of students applying to them.
Unpredicted however, was the pressure that was consequently exerted on schools, teachers, parents and especially pupils to score high scores and rankings. From term four of year 11 until 14 months later, all pupils are driven, motivated, coached, lectured, corrected and told to focus on achieving an excellent result. The last months of year 12 are relentless where even school holidays are expected to be filled with hours of study and revision.
While the goal may have been virtuous and understandable, it has taken its toll on mental and physical health. What I observe in my practice every day are students who cannot sleep, cannot eat, are shaky and cannot focus. Students often feel sick and nauseas. Panic attacks are common especially on the day of an exam.
42% suffer severe anxiety
This is not just my observation. There was a study in 2015 on the levels of stress in HSC students. Nearly half of the students who were measured (42%) registered severe anxiety – high enough to require clinical assessment and treatment. This percentage, by the way, is nearly double the rate of anxiety in the regular population of individuals. It is also a higher proportion than found in earlier studies.
The facts: stress and learning
There is a myth that stress is good for studying. Many students believe that they require stress to force them to meet deadlines and study for long periods of time. Students who are relaxed and pace themselves are often doubted by their parents and teachers who worry that relaxed students will not achieve high scores and aren’t taking it seriously enough.
On the contrary; a small amount of stress (eustress) may be beneficial but moderate to severe levels of stress are definitely not helpful. Understanding the brain and what happens when we are stressed has gone a long way to explaining why this myth is rubbish. In fact, it is downright harmful.
Neurobiological research has revealed that when a person is stressed, their ability to learn decreases.
Here’s how it works scientifically
When stressed, the primitive part of the brain activates a neural circuit which mobilises bodily functions essential for survival (like increased heart rate and shallow breathing). These bodily functions cause feelings of distress. They cause individuals to feel sick, yuck and out of control.
Now, because your primitive brain is firing as if you are in danger, the functioning of your essential body parts and limbs are the brain’s focus, which leaves no opportunity for the thinking parts of your brain to work.
That’s why when you are really stressed you find it difficult to focus, your memory suffers, and it takes extra effort to learn new information. You might tell yourself that you are alert and being constructive, but studies have proven that cognitive functions are compromised under duress.
Tips to stop their stress so they can keep learning
Students learn most when they feel safe. Students remember the best when they are relaxed and calm. Calmness means that all brain energy can be directed to understanding, problem solving and remembering.
If you are a parent or educator, here’s how to help:
- Don’t make threats about what will happen if they don’t do well. Motivate and encourage, instead.
- Don’t overload them with work. Allow them to have time for sport, relaxation and socialising.
- Let them work in their own unique way. For example, some students prefer to study straight after school,while others prefer to relax for half an hour before opening the books.
- Encourage laughter before learning.
How Anxiety Solutions CBT Psychology Practice can help students doing their HSC
If you or a loved one are feeling extremely stressed; are finding it difficult to study; have broken sleep; are always tired; can’t stop intrusive thoughts; are obsessing about your results; feel nauseas; have irritable bowel; are experiencing headaches; have no appetite; don’t want to socialise; are having panic attacks; and/or hate yourself …
I strongly recommend that you seek treatment, and soon.
The science of neurobiology shows that neural networks get thicker and more entrenched over time unless you break the cycle. This means that your symptoms will worsen and be harder to undo if you do nothing.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been proven to be the most effective means of reducing symptoms of stress and anxiety. At Anxiety Solutions CBT Psychology Practice we have taught effective CBT tools to hundreds of students whose symptoms were reduced in a short space of time, sometimes as little as 3 weeks.
Your current and future mental health is important. Take care of it now. Call 02 9328 5899 for an initial, no commitment session.
