Dealing with depression during exams

TSMGUY

It's weird, English and maths both went very well and I'm not stressed about my next exams. I've worked all year and I'm confident it'll pay off.

The problem is I can physically feel myself entering into depression. I physically have no energy and my mind is very foggy. I literally just want to sleep all day, Obviously I can't and I don't want all of my hard work to go down the drain because of my temporary slump.

Any suggestions on what I should do here? I'm trying to be "positive" but physically I feel like s***.

reason vs religion

Happens to everyone. Schools should do more to forewarn students that they will get very little work done during the exam period, which would reduce the no-study guilt. Something like an hour or two of activities after exams would be cool.

Just relax, watch some TV, and do a half hour of revision before bed!

jesushimself

I've been hitting bouts of depression the last couple of years and never really done anything about it. It hit it's worst coming up to the leaving cert so I decided it was probably time to try sort it out so I went to my GP who put me on lexapro and I feel like a completely different person. They take over a week to really kick in but maybe talking to your GP about it would help, I don't know if there's any short term solutions but what I will say is just keep your head up,there's not long left.
If you have a half day or a day in between exams,don't stress yourself trying to shove more information into your head, just sit back relax and take it easy it'll all be over soon

sheep?

That sucks OP, especially at this time in your life. I'd recommend doing some meditation, it always helps me during bouts of depression/anxiety:

1: Find somewhere that you won't be disturbed for 5-10 mins.

2: Either sit straight up on a chair, feet planted, arms on your knees, or sit on the floor, cross-legged. You could even lay down on the ground if that suits.

3: Close your eyes and breath naturally, in and out (obvz) and just try to be "in the moment", just thinking about breathing in and out.

4: When you start thinking about anything else (and you will, that's okay), imagine the thoughts are like clouds drifting by in the sky. The sky is your mind, the clouds are the thoughts. They'll come, grand, but they'll float on by as well. Whatever metaphor works for you. I like to think of a river. Some people think of them as cars going by while you sit at the side of the road. Point is: These thoughts (whatever they are: School, stress, exams, relationships, what to eat for dinner) will come. The important thing is to recognise that your mind has wandered slightly and to bring your focus back to the breathing.

5: It will happen over and over again. That's fine. It's natural. Every time it does, just bring yourself back to the breathing, gently.

6: If you want after a few minutes (no need to time exactly) expand your field of thought out into the body as a whole, and imagine that each breath is filling your insides, refreshing and nourishing.

7: When you're ready and calm and feel like you want to, open your eyes.


Look, I'm not going to say that this will help 100% but in our busy world, it's rare that we take 5-10 mins to ourselves (watching TV/tablet alone doesn't count). It's amazing the difference making a conscious effort to take a step outside of the rush to just breath can do. It helps me, and it might help you too.

Best of luck in the exams and in the future OP!

legocrazy505

TSMGUY wrote: »

It's weird, English and maths both went very well and I'm not stressed about my next exams. I've worked all year and I'm confident it'll pay off.

The problem is I can physically feel myself entering into depression. I physically have no energy and my mind is very foggy. I literally just want to sleep all day, Obviously I can't and I don't want all of my hard work to go down the drain because of my temporary slump.

Any suggestions on what I should do here? I'm trying to be "positive" but physically I feel like s***.

That's basically been me for the past year. Personally I just trudge through knowing that when it's all over on June 22nd I'll be free and even if I don't get my first choice I know the top four are things I'd love to do as well.

To get over it, take an hour out or something. I play video games to relax but everyone's different. I just like to sit down and play something that helps me escape from it all. Like even right now I'm going to watch the F1 and have a nice dinner and probably will do just an hour or two of study later.

Taking time out of the day to just do something you want to do honestly makes me feel better than forcing myself through hours upon hours of going through whatever subject is up next. At this point sleep, food, relax and some focused study are the best things to do.

KaTEA

TSMGUY wrote: »

It's weird, English and maths both went very well and I'm not stressed about my next exams. I've worked all year and I'm confident it'll pay off.

The problem is I can physically feel myself entering into depression. I physically have no energy and my mind is very foggy. I literally just want to sleep all day, Obviously I can't and I don't want all of my hard work to go down the drain because of my temporary slump.

Any suggestions on what I should do here? I'm trying to be "positive" but physically I feel like s***.

I literally feel the same:(
Just feel so drained at this point, but have been studying all year long!

randylonghorn

1. Get some exercise / fresh air.

2. Eat (fairly) sensibly. Avoid sugary treats / drinks for the most part.

3. Get a decent night's sleep.

Won't solve it, it's a normal part of the adrenalin rush / ebb around exams, but it will help.

Anything else you normally find relaxes you / relieves stress.

Something like meditation is great if you can do it, but if you haven't attempted it before, you may find it difficult to get into it.

TSMGUY

randylonghorn wrote: »

Anything else you normally find relaxes you / relieves stress.

.

LOL!

On a serious note, I feel a lot better. I'm fairly lucky not to have two exams on any one day (don't do Irish or French).

Thanks a lot guys.

randylonghorn

I see you understood me perfectly ... :pac: