exam stress

LegacyUser

I have final year exams coming up in just over a week. I'm really unprepared and finding it impossible to get any work done. Exams always trigger an awful amount of stress for me and it gets worse all the time. I've done a lot of repeats in my time in college due to stuff going on in my personal life. Someone in particular made college very hard for me, I've spent most of my time in college down and depressed, I also lost someone close to me during exam time before. This stuff always bothers me but exam time is a huge trigger for it and I find it so hard to concentrate on getting anything done. I feel physically sick, I can't sleep even though I'm up all day trying to get stuff done which makes me exhausted the next day. At this stage I think I'm a lost cause, everything in the past continues to get in my way of moving on and I'm seriously considering bailing exams and giving up but I just dont know what to do.

muireann50

The same thing has happened to me in college too. A lot of personal stuff meant that i was heading into exams feeling so totally unprepared and i was just panicing. The thought of having so much study to do in so little time can really overwhelm you. I thought of just bailing too and leaving the exams for another time but in the end I just said i'd give it my best shot. I did what i could and got on ok in the exams afterall.
Try not to dwell on how much you need to do and just go at it a bit at a time. You wont be able to learn everything in a week but if you can nail the main points it can get you through the exam. If theres a classmate you can talk to, ask for some outlines of what are the essential areas you need to study. If you really feel you can't do the exams this time talk to someone in college and maybe defer the exams for a few months so you have longer to prepare, you could be surprised how understanding college registrars etc can be. I hope it turns out ok for you, best of luck

Agent J

1) If you are physically at the point where your productivity is threathened then see your doctor. At the very least they might be able to provide a medical note to give you cover for your exams.


2)Perhaps consider seeing a counsellor?

If there are unresolved issues regarding a loss then perhaps getting a little help might be benificial. Colleges usually have some sort of free counselling


Now having said that. I have a suggestion. This is a personal suggestion & holds no medical weight whatsoever.

Exercise.

I'm not kidding. Even if its just getting a walk in a day it is something. I also know that is the last thing you feel like doing but it is one of my methods of dealing with exam/assignment stress & I cannot recommend it enough.. If you are already walking then look at couch to 5k. Whatever it is then up the level of it.

Set yourself some sort of fitness goal. Walk, run, swim, cycle. Anything.
It helps take your mind of things, makes you feel better & can help with sleep.

The other thing is to watch your diet.

The fitness & food forums are stacked with people who can direct you on these things.

LegacyUser

I have been in your place:

1. See your g.p.
2. I strongly advise that you talk to one of your tutors/ lecturers maybe they can suggest some solutions.
3. Resolve that you are going to do the best that you can with the time you have.
4. Talk to your classmates ask them if the lecturers' gave any hints, ask them what they are studying, discuss the best strategies.
5. Make out a realistic plan with a view to studying the most likely topics and strictly study as much of it as required then move on.

Give it your best shot, good luck.

LegacyUser

OP here, thanks to everyone that has replied, I can see where you're all coming from, I'd probably give some of the same advise to someone if I was asked. Ofc I didn't expect to get any responses supporting quiting but I think I have resigned myself to that fact by now.

muireann50 wrote: »

The same thing has happened to me in college too. A lot of personal stuff meant that i was heading into exams feeling so totally unprepared and i was just panicing. The thought of having so much study to do in so little time can really overwhelm you. I thought of just bailing too and leaving the exams for another time but in the end I just said i'd give it my best shot. I did what i could and got on ok in the exams afterall.
Try not to dwell on how much you need to do and just go at it a bit at a time. You wont be able to learn everything in a week but if you can nail the main points it can get you through the exam. If theres a classmate you can talk to, ask for some outlines of what are the essential areas you need to study. If you really feel you can't do the exams this time talk to someone in college and maybe defer the exams for a few months so you have longer to prepare, you could be surprised how understanding college registrars etc can be. I hope it turns out ok for you, best of luck

Muireann I can understand what you mean by being overwhelmed by the work but just giving it your best shot but honestly I'm well used to exams now, as negative as it sounds, I know I will fail.

I really dont need outlines etc from classmates, I've all the notes I could possibly have, tbh there's really no such thing as essential areas in my course, it's not like back in first year. It's more than that, it's a mental block and I physically feel unable to do them. Deferring is really not an option as its final year, also I would have further exams in a few months, I've dealt with lecturers before and yes they have been helpful but I'm really on my last straws now.

But thanks.

Agent J wrote: »

1) If you are physically at the point where your productivity is threathened then see your doctor. At the very least they might be able to provide a medical note to give you cover for your exams.


2)Perhaps consider seeing a counsellor?

If there are unresolved issues regarding a loss then perhaps getting a little help might be benificial. Colleges usually have some sort of free counselling


Now having said that. I have a suggestion. This is a personal suggestion & holds no medical weight whatsoever.

Exercise.

I'm not kidding. Even if its just getting a walk in a day it is something. I also know that is the last thing you feel like doing but it is one of my methods of dealing with exam/assignment stress & I cannot recommend it enough.. If you are already walking then look at couch to 5k. Whatever it is then up the level of it.

Set yourself some sort of fitness goal. Walk, run, swim, cycle. Anything.
It helps take your mind of things, makes you feel better & can help with sleep.

The other thing is to watch your diet.

The fitness & food forums are stacked with people who can direct you on these things.

AgentJ I think that is some really good advise but I would see it more as a long-term solution.

1) I really dont want to look for a medical note, I've already been through filling out extenuating circumstances etc last year to make it to this year coz of everything that was going on, I realise now it was not very wise not to take some time to get over everything that happened, but I had already been on a year off repeating externally while a lot of the stressful stuff was going on and thought it would be good to get back to college to focus on something else. It didnt help, nothing has really been resolved, college this year has been a good distraction but soon as it hit exam time I was instantly reminded of how not ok I am.

2) Counselling is not something I've ever considered, I dont need it for the loss, I've just had a lot of stress over the last few years and everything combined gets the better of me sometimes, tbh I think I'd be happier just getting back into something I used to do as a hobby but have let slip aside now but I cant help my ego feeling bruised not making it through college when I'm more than capable.

Exercise and diet.....I agree with you, while you couldn't tell from looking at me but I have let both slip and have noticed in the past how eating better has improved how I felt. I've actually considered the couch to 5k before! These things are usually just a distraction from college work though as the work has always been quite intense. I do think these are more longer term solutions but I will definitely be trying to sort them.

shotbest1 wrote: »

I have been in your place:

1. See your g.p.
2. I strongly advise that you talk to one of your tutors/ lecturers maybe they can suggest some solutions.
3. Resolve that you are going to do the best that you can with the time you have.
4. Talk to your classmates ask them if the lecturers' gave any hints, ask them what they are studying, discuss the best strategies.
5. Make out a realistic plan with a view to studying the most likely topics and strictly study as much of it as required then move on.

Give it your best shot, good luck.

I've really been through more than enough with lecturers before, it is embarrassing at this stage, more time has never helped me, I still always feel like nothing has been resolved. But thanks, I appreciate your intentions.