Clinical psychologist Natasha D'Cruz gives tips on how to beat stress during exams
Clinical psychologist Natasha D'Cruz gives tips on how to beat stress during exams
February heralds exam season and if you are appearing for the board exams or are a parent whose child is appearing for the board exams, it is the season of sleepless nights, extreme stress, endless studying and looming dread.u00a0
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| Take a chill pill: Clinical psychologist Natasha D'Cruz advises students to remain calm and composed during examinations |
What you need to remember though is that the hype and pressure associated with board exams is actually counterproductive. Although a slight amount of anticipation is expected and sometimes even helps during an exam, extreme stress inhibits performance. At this point, it is mostly about revising work (assuming, of course, most of the studying has been done earlier) and since stress only inhibits learning and recall, try your level best to stay relatively calm and composed.
Very often, students constantly feed themselves with thoughts of how they aren't prepared or haven't studied enough or are going to fail. This definitely damages self-confidence.
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To boost one's self-confidence, create a mental picture of yourself successfully completing your exam before drifting off to sleep. It is most effective if it is done every night, but even one day before an exam could make a significant difference in creating better exam results.
Taking several breaks is beneficial to learning. However, watching TV or playing Play Station doesn't count as taking a break as video games are very stimulating and aren't relaxing at all. So stay away from them during the exam season.
The importance of adequate rest and eating well cannot be stressed enough. Make sure you (or your child) eats healthy and rests enough. Not getting enough sleep could put several months of hard work down the drain. Make sure you are fit and healthy during your exams.
Make sure you revise important points 45 minutes before you sleep because the brain ruminates through the night what you did in the last 45 minutes before sleep. Use that time well and make it count.
Examinations need to be put into perspective. They may be important and they may determine which stream you can choose or which college you get into. But they are not the be all and end all of life. And they should be treated as such.
Exams are a means to an end. They are not a measure of success, ability or intellect and were never intended to be. Parents need to keep this in mind and refrain from pressurising their ward with unrealistic expectations.u00a0
Providing unconditional emotional support and reassurance is what the child truly needs which will be more valuable to them than anything else you can provide.
(Dr Natasha D'Cruz is a clinical psychologist, expressive therapist and director of Red Corner Consultants)
