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If you’ve felt stressed at any point during your education, you’re not alone. In fact, we’d be surprised if you didn’t get stressed at least once while taking your GCSEs and A-levels or studying at university. It’s completely normal to sometimes feel stressed about school, and there are plenty of methods and resources available to help you manage your worries. This article shows where you might experience stress in school, and has useful advice and places to look for guidance should you come up against some pressure.
CONTENTS
- When students might experience stress
- What students can do manage stress
- Where students can get help with stress
When students might experience stress
Knowing when you might experience stress during your education is handy because it means you can see it coming. If you know that beginning your studies for a new exam level or waiting for results will be a difficult time, you’ll be able to anticipate the stress and plan for ways to deal with it.
Starting sixth form
Sixth form can be a big change from your secondary school years, with increased workloads, complicated lessons and plenty of coursework. It’s no surprise that sixth form can get stressful. With that being said, there are things you can do to stall your sixth form strains...
Check out our five top ways to manage sixth form stress
Revising
When exams are approaching, it’s totally normal to feel some anxiety building, especially when you’re reading up on a particularly complex subject. Luckily, we’ve got some helpful tips for taking care of your mental health while getting some serious revision done.
Read our best tips for looking after your mental health while revising
Exams
It’s the big day – exams. You’ve been working up to this point for a year (or more), so of course the tension will be high. There’s no need to panic, because you’ve got this. Keep in mind our advice for exam day success and smash those exams!
See our guide for exam day success
Results Day
Waiting for weeks until your exam results arrive can be rather stressful indeed, and on results day it can be overwhelming. It’s important to keep your mental health in mind, no matter what happens, and we’ve got guidance for how to do exactly that.
Find out how to look after your wellbeing on results day
Clearing
Clearing can be stressful, as it can feel like everything needs to happen quickly or you’ll miss out on going to uni. But Clearing doesn’t have to be problematic! We’ve got loads of advice over on our Clearing Hub, which should help you all the way through Clearing and beyond.
Discover 17 myths about Clearing you shouldn’t believe
Starting university
Remember how starting sixth form was a change of pace? Well, starting uni is another big change of pace. But don’t worry – your university knows that this can be a stressful time and will have resources available to help you adjust to your new surroundings and workload.
Read more about how universities offer student mental health support
What students can do manage stress
So now that you know when stress might strike, what can be done about it? Well, everyone has different ways of dealing with stress, so it'll often be a case of finding what works for you. We have a few recommendations below for what you could try when you begin to feel the pressure getting to you.
Make a plan
If you’ve got a lot to do, taking a few minutes to separate everything into manageable chunks and writing down how you’ll approach it is well worth the time. It can show you where you’ll need to focus more energy, how much time you can set aside for the tasks, when you’ll have time to take a break and give you the satisfying feeling of ticking off each item when they’re finished.
Get some exercise
If you’re feeling anxious while studying or revising, it’s a good idea to take a break and get moving. Whether it’s a quick walk around your neighbourhood, a jog at a local park or a kickabout with friends, exercise is excellent for helping to relieve stress. It also gets positive endorphins going in your brain, so you can come back to your studies feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the next task.
Sleep
On the opposite end of the scale, when it’s time to rest, make sure you get plenty of everyone’s least active hobby – sleep! Getting a good sleep can help with your concentration and emotional stability, and can also bolster your mood, so it’s immensely useful for helping with the stress of studying and exams.
Talk to someone
Just like how making a plan and seeing everything you have to do written down can help you to focus on your tasks in a straightforward way, talking to someone when you’re feeling stressed can help you to assess and address what you’re experiencing. Talk to a friend, a parent, a sibling or a teacher and let them know what’s going on – we’re certain they'll have felt something similar at some point and will be happy to listen.
Be kind to yourself
This one is a little more conceptual than the others, but stick with us. It’s important to be kind to yourself when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Remind yourself that everybody experiences stress at some point and that’s completely fine. Keep in mind that if you start to feel like it’s becoming too much to handle, there are places you can go to talk to people and get advice and guidance on how to manage the strain. Take regular breaks, be your own cheerleader and make some time for things you really enjoy alongside your work.
Where students can get help with stress
If you’re looking for somewhere to find help with school stress, then there are plenty of places to go, resources to read and people to talk to. Get in touch with them and be open and honest about what you’re feeling, and they will do their best to help you out.
Mental health organisations
There are several charities and organisations which specialise in helping people impacted by mental health issues like stress. In fact, there are some charities which specialise in mental health for students, and they’ll know exactly what you’re going through and be happy to help. Here are some charities you can call if you just need someone to chat to about something that's worrying you.
GP
Going to your GP can be intimidating, but the help they can offer is invaluable. Your GP will be able to assess your situation and your concerns, make a diagnosis and give you options for the next steps. This can involve being referred to another service like a mental health specialist, a counsellor or a therapist, which will help you to develop skills to manage your stress.
Friends and family
Whether you need to talk about the stress of school that you’re going through, or simply just chatting about anything, talking to your friends and family will be a great relief. It’s fairly likely that they'll have experienced similar feelings and can offer up some handy advice that helped them make their way through education.
University
When you get to university, you’ll often find that the institution provides support for students in a variety of ways, including mental health support. Check out the university’s website to find out what services it provides, or whether it works with external providers to support the students. You can also get in touch with the student wellbeing services at your uni, who might be able to arrange drop-in sessions to offer support and guidance on stress or any other issues you may have.
