This article is a guest blog from our lovely Year 11 work experience student, Isla, who recently had a placement at the clinic to learn more about working in the field of psychology.
As the world around us has rapidly evolved, so have the experiences of different generations within our society. More specifically, the issues faced by many adolescents today are quite different to those experienced by their parents when they were that same age. For this reason I have decided use this opportunity to give a small insight into my experience as an adolescent currently in senior schooling, specifically relating to school-related stress.
For some background, my name is Isla and I am currently completing my work experience at Brisbane Wellbeing Clinic as I wish to study psychology at university. I have always been quite the perfectionist when it comes to schoolwork and achieving well academically. I very much enjoy learning new things and find great satisfaction in working hard to produce assessment that I am proud of. My senior subjects are English, Mathematical Methods, Specialist Mathematics, Economics, Modern History and Psychology.
If the step up into senior school wasn’t difficult enough already, the introduction of the ATAR system has made the process an even more intense one. For both students and teachers, the usual stressors of the finals years of study, as well as the switch to ATAR, are the cause of a number of challenges. I feel it is important to discuss these issues for those both in and out of the current schooling system. I am by no means a psychologist, but I can certainly share strategies that have worked for my peers and I when overcoming some of these challenges.
These tips are designed for students by a student to deal with temporary school-related stress. If you find that the issues discussed are becoming too overwhelming for you to deal with alone, speak to a trusted adult or friend and seek professional help if required.
Perfectionism/High Personal Standards – An issue that I see very often, and experience myself, is perfectionism or high standards of oneself. I notice that this is becoming more and more common among students and that this pressure is not only from within themselves but also from their families. Failing an exam or performing poorly on an assignment is distressing for those with very high personal standards. With all the challenges thrown at us throughout life, we are of course going to make mistakes, however this pattern of thinking can often make it difficult for us to see that and we think that we are a failure or not good enough. The strategies that have helped me the most in dealing with this are looking at the situation through a wider lens and finding the positives in the experience. One failed exam or assignment is not going to derail whole life and focusing on the ‘negative’ end result without noticing the positives will often leave you feeling down.
Pre-Exam Stress – It is very common, and totally normal, to feel stressed and nervous before an exam, especially during this important period of school. However, when this stress overtakes us it can become very difficult to perform to our best ability. It is common between my peers and I to have last minute feelings of panic before we enter the exam room, asking a million questions and bouncing off one another, creating a hectic environment. Though it may seem like productive last-minute cramming, in reality all that this achieves is making us more nervous. To prevent this, I have found that grounding techniques work best. My most commonly used exercise is where you focus on all the things around you that are a certain colour – green, red, blue, whichever colour you would like. This allows you to become present in the moment and pull away from hectic or panicked thoughts, helping you to enter the exam room relaxed and ready to perform to your best ability.
Photo by Kelvin Valerio from Pexels
Mental ‘Blanks’ – We have all experienced it at some point, you read a question on your exam and even though you know that you know the answer, it has temporarily disappeared from your mind. I won’t lie, this is a really tough one to deal with. You can’t pull out a textbook or check your notes during the exam, you are essentially stuck unless you are able to remember the answer. However, there are still strategies that can ease the stress of blanking. Instead of becoming fixated on that one question, it is ideal to move on, continue answering questions and come back to it later. Though moving on seems simple, it is easy to become overwhelmed and not be able to answer anything else. If this happens, I would suggest implementing the grounding technique I mentioned previously. Even if you only remember part of the solution, make sure you write it down. This may help to trigger your memory and you can receive partial marks for what you have managed to write. The main objective of these strategies is to not let one question affect your performance throughout the rest of the paper.
Senior schooling is an extremely stressful and eventful time for everyone, and I have only talked about a few of the most common issues faced by my peers and I. As we navigate through this tough time it is important to remember that this is only one part of our life, and stressing over every mark on each piece of assessment simply isn’t worth it. Though the exercises I have suggested are very simple, I have found that they can make those tough assessment periods a little easier and I hope that they are also able to help someone else.
Author: Isla Vardy, Year 11 Work experience at the Brisbane Wellbeing Psychologists