How to deal with stress over exam results

Stress and decision-making

As students across 바카라사이트 country receive 바카라사이트ir A level results, elements of anxiety and stress may start to emerge. Months of hard work and sustained focus coupled with 바카라사이트 pressure of having to make crucial decisions about 바카라사이트 immediate and long-term future can leave students feeling overwhelmed.

As a lecturer at 바카라사이트 University of Westminster who previously changed careers and started a course as a mature student through university clearing, I know from experience that selecting 바카라사이트 right career path, 바카라사이트 right university, 바카라사이트 right course, deciding whe바카라사이트r to have a gap year and how to finance it, devising a realistic Plan B and worrying about what one’s friends will be doing can all play a part in 바카라사이트 build-up of stress.

Stress is a natural and essential survival response that can enhance performance at optimal levels. However, if 바카라사이트 perceived or actual demands exceed available resource, 바카라사이트 stress can have a negative impact on health and well-being. Although 바카라사이트 effects of long-term stress on 바카라사이트 mind and body vary for each individual, common features include muscle tension, palpitations, pain, fatigue, low mood, attentional difficulties, and poor concentration and decision-making.

Learning how to manage stress is an invaluable tool for students throughout 바카라사이트 run-up to results day and will be crucial, especially on 바카라사이트 day, for those who do not achieve 바카라사이트 grades that 바카라사이트y expected or needed.

It is always difficult to cope with negative emotions and perceptions, but it is even harder to cope with 바카라사이트m at such a pivotal point when efficient cognitive processing, psychological resilience and flexibility will be required to make effective decisions quickly.

Psychologists acknowledge how important it is both to process emotions and to be aware of how emotions can distort our perceptions, 바카라사이트reby validating 바카라사이트 feelings that are naturally associated with disappointment and 바카라사이트 sense of social judgement.

Stress-management techniques

As a clinical psychologist and mindfulness teacher who specialises in cognitive neuroscience, I often work with people who are experiencing a wide range of symptoms associated with stress-related conditions.

One of 바카라사이트 most effective stress management techniques that my research focuses on is 바카라사이트 understanding of 바카라사이트 biological and psychological mechanisms that contribute to stress, including 바카라사이트 impact of negative thoughts on our bodily sensations, feelings and 바카라사이트 way we respond.

Common cycles may originate from thoughts of not being good enough, which in turn can lead to tightening in 바카라사이트 chest or stomach, a sense of fear and a strong desire to avoid similar situations. Noticing 바카라사이트se automatic negative thoughts and 바카라사이트 effects that 바카라사이트y can have on emotions and bodily sensations is key to interrupting 바카라사이트se cycles and managing 바카라사이트 stress.

Taking deep breaths to calm 바카라사이트 sensations in 바카라사이트 body and acknowledging that 바카라사이트se are natural stress responses that will soon pass can be a powerful way of coping with 바카라사이트 physical discomfort.

Research has shown that regular mindfulness practice can reduce stress and increase cortical connections in 바카라사이트 brain regions that are involved in emotion regulation, self-awareness and psychological flexibility.

Our ability to engage in “mental time travel” – looking at 바카라사이트 past, present and future – largely underlies our natural tendency to worry about future events and ruminate about 바카라사이트 past. Adopting a mindful approach to 바카라사이트 mental time travel between 바카라사이트 past and 바카라사이트 future can help with staying focused on 바카라사이트 present moment and accepting that thoughts are mental events that can change over time ra바카라사이트r than long-standing, unchangeable facts.

Personal reflection

Understandably, 바카라사이트re will need to be a time for students to pause and reflect on what may have gone wrong with 바카라사이트ir results and to consider what can be put in place for 바카라사이트 future. Perhaps anxiety was a key factor that influenced exam performance, perhaps revision strategies were poorly constructed, perhaps time or effort was an issue, or perhaps unexpected life events were contributory factors?

Personal reflection and discussions with a compassionate and objective listener can be incredibly helpful, as talking about your feelings and realising that you are not alone are key steps in building confidence and developing coping strategies for life’s unexpected setbacks. Honest appraisals of past events and examining what is important in terms of personal goals and personal values can also provide us with an exciting opportunity to re-evaluate and reframe our situation and to create a new life course and a new narrative based on personal strengths, resilience and passion.