Stress!!

onethreefive

Hi,
I really don't know what to do to be honest! I'm 18 and in my last year of school (hopefully) but I feel so overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do! Its just got so frustrating how no matter how many hours of study I do I'm still achieving average or below average results. It's gotten to the point where I feel like I just want to quit school but I know I can't for obvious reasons. I don't go out like nearly everyone else because I don't like drinking and it seems like school is my entire life. I spend 11 hours or so there everyday monday to friday!
I honestly never realized how hard it would be and am completely overwhelmed! I don't know what to do! Stress levels are mental over it right now and its only September.
Don't know what to do but all suggestions are welcome

freshpopcorn

Do you have a study plan OP?
It is important to remember to factor breaks into this as well because without them you will become over tired and it will be hard to focus.
How did you get on with exams in general? Do you always achieve what you want to achieve and are you goals achievable? I had a friend in secondary school who wanted to be a doctor and he did all ordinary level subject so when it came round to exams, he used get upset because he wouldn't have enough points. So it is important to set achievable goals.
Do you know what course you want to do OP/ how many points you'l need to get? I knew I was good at geography and if I studied this a little I would get good results. However with French I had no interest in it and even if I studied it for hours I wouldn't have got a good result. So I knew not to get upset about it.
Are you able to do the work or are you having difficulties? Would getting grinds help you or would you need to drop down to ordinary level in some subjects if their causing you a lot of difficulty.
You should also talk to you careers guidance teacher.
Its also important to have a break and relax.

LegacyUser

Hi, onethreefive here (can't log in on phone)
Yeah I have a study timetable done out that im nearly always sticking to. I recently spent 40 minutes a day for six days studying for a test that was relatively small and I got an E in it. I just dont get it. I have so much different things to be doing for various subjects and I am completely overwhelmed by it. My life only consists of school and sleep and I am so fed up of the first one. If I didn't want to go to college I would leave now before I end up getting even more stressed out. The course I want is relatively low but I want to get the best I can. My sister got really high points in her LC and everyone keeps saying im going to beat it but I can't. Im just so fed up. People who do nothing are getting the same or better than me and I spend ages trying to study. I dont really know what the guidance teacher will be able to do because I am already doing two ordinary level subjects and I can't afford to do anymore. Grinds are out of the question because of money. I did buy online grinds at the start of the summer to help me revise but they were very inconvenient to use sometimes. I just want to pack it in
I dont know if anyones seen the video for an avicci song where the woman gives up and plans on moving to Barbados but thats how I feel right now haha!
Thanks for the reply :-)

Fatandunfit

Hey OP. You need to stop. Stop being at school for 11 hours every day. Believe me when I say this, you are overworked, overtired and eventually you are going to be run down. I did this for a year at work and I nearly had a nervous breakdown and all that hard work got me nothing as I was so tired that I kept making mistakes. As the previous poster said, make a study plan. It could take you a couple of weeks to get this right for you but it will be worth it if you stick with it. If you want to still do a long day only do one a week. You will find that concentrating will become easier and the workload isn't as crazy as it looks now. Take a few deep breaths and start the study plan.

Sorry just saw that you have a study plan already. Go to your teacher in each subject and tell them what you are studying. Potentially you are studying things that won't come up in exams. You may need to be more selective in studying topics in detail.
The teacher should be able to give you guidance in this area. Good luck

ivytwine

Hey OP, you have my sympathies. Looking back at the LC now I don't even know how I did it. I didn't do afterschool study but I'm pretty sure when you tot up all the time I spent doing homework and study every evening it probably added up to 11 hours a day.

The Leaving Cert is totally outmoded and the stress is highly unneccessary in my opinion. Anyway I doubt Ruairi Quinn is reading this so I'll move on.

Agree with all the rest, you need a study plan. You also need to allow a certain slot for each subject and when the slot is done, you move on. Obviously in the run up to a test or whatever that might change but trying to beat things into your brain is not helping.

Now maybe the amount of time you're spending is counterproductive? Your brain is like a sponge, true, but it also gets tired, and if it's tired information just simply won't go in. It also needs fuel; fresh air, sleep and good food. Examine all the above. Are you eating well? (Lots of fish, fruit, vegetables, water, it really makes a difference!) Are you getting outside enough? A walk in the evening would be vital to clear the head. How's your sleeping?

There's lots of excellent advice out there about learning and studying methods. Our brains are incredible and you can get the grades up, but not like this.

Try in as far as you can to take one day off totally a week. In LC I tried as much as possible to do work on a Saturday morning/afternoon, which gave me the rest of the weekend off if possible. Is attending afterschool study actually productive for you? It wasn't for me at all, which is why I didn't go.

Finally, the reason people who are going out are doing better is probably because this is their stress reliever. Forgetting all about it for a night does do you good.

Do you play any sport or do anything outside of school? For me, it was music. I made sure to play violin for half an hour every night, even the week of the LC, it made me feel so much better and relieved my stress greatly.

heretochat

I would go along with ivy as well in stressing (pardon the pun) that something outside of school and studying is important. For me it was sport but it canbe music as in ivy's case or even walking the dog (or yourself)..

Thing is to have a balance. Yes stick to study plans if you can but do't beat yourself up if you don't rigidly

And I had a parent as well who said I would ace my sibling's results and that was not helpful at all..

Diziet

Studying for hours and hours is not the answer. Clearly the amount of study matters, but you need to be finding out where you are going wrong and fixig it, otherwise you are just repeating mistakes. If you studied a lot and you got an E, then go back and understand where you went wrong. Are you studying the wrong things? Misunderstanding the questions? Do you have gaps in your understanding?

For items you struggle with, a few hours of targetted grinds (with a human!) can be like switching a light on. No wonder you are fed up.

ivytwine

heretochat wrote: »

I would go along with ivy as well in stressing (pardon the pun) that something outside of school and studying is important. For me it was sport but it canbe music as in ivy's case or even walking the dog (or yourself)..

Thing is to have a balance. Yes stick to study plans if you can but do't beat yourself up if you don't rigidly

And I had a parent as well who said I would ace my sibling's results and that was not helpful at all..

Bit OT, but anyway...

I should also emphasise that I gave up grade study during my LC and played purely for pleasure, did a lot more trad and popular than the rigidly classical. (Never went back to the grades after... oh well). It's no good saying play sport or music if you're doing it competitively, I know fellas driven crazy by their hurling coaches in LC year, expecting them to focus on getting on the minor panel to the detriment of everything else.

What you do to relax should just be only for that purpose, and because you enjoy it, no matter how good, bad or indifferent you are. You can always go back to the competitive aspect next June

heretochat

ivytwine wrote: »

Bit OT, but anyway...

I should also emphasise that I gave up grade study during my LC and played purely for pleasure, did a lot more trad and popular than the rigidly classical. (Never went back to the grades after... oh well). It's no good saying play sport or music if you're doing it competitively, I know fellas driven crazy by their hurling coaches in LC year, expecting them to focus on getting on the minor panel to the detriment of everything else.

What you do to relax should just be only for that purpose, and because you enjoy it, no matter how good, bad or indifferent you are. You can always go back to the competitive aspect next June

Some people get overly invested in it. I was speaking from my own experience. I found getting out training and having the craic with team mates/friends got me away from the books for a couple of hours and I went back to them a lot fresher. Everyone is different and everyone has different views on what works.

I was purely expressing what worked for me. That may not work for the OP at all I know.

ivytwine

heretochat wrote: »

Some people get overly invested in it. I was speaking from my own experience. I found getting out training and having the craic with team mates/friends got me away from the books for a couple of hours and I went back to them a lot fresher. Everyone is different and everyone has different views on what works.

I was purely expressing what worked for me. That may not work for the OP at all I know.

Oh no I wasn't criticising at all heretochat. As you say, everyone's different

onethreefive

Hi,
Thanks for all the replies I've come to the conclusion I'm going to try and not worry about it and I'm going to take 1 day a month off study. I literally couldn't study at home to save my life! Today I got so much done and am feeling way better Life goes on regardless of how I do in my results and I'm not going to let them depress me. It still seems teachers think their subject is the only one we are doing, its insane but sure what can you do Thanks for the advise I'm gonna go for a walk with the dog everyday regardless of weather and workload