Exam Anxiety

Teenage metal health has suffered since COVID lockdown and the effects of being away from school, the socialisation skills lost due to lockdown and performance worry and fear have contributed to another mini epidemic in UK schools, the rise of teenage exam anxiety.

Feeling worried is perfectly normal for an exam, our bodies release the hormone adrenaline to help us deal with the panic and another hormone cortisol, which maintains a level of alertness after the danger that caused adrenaline to be released, cortisol levels should return to normal levels after the danger has gone away - this is why we suddenly panic but then feel better within 10 minutes of the shock. However, constantly over-riding this fright response leads to cortisol levels remaining high in the blood and one cause of this is a constant worry about exams, the fear you should normally experience just as you sit down and open the exam paper comes on must earlier, weeks of even months before you actually sit the exam, This prolonged heighten level of fear raises cortisol levels, which in turn affects our body and mind, we feel anxious, worried, we constantly think and stress over our worth, how good are we, we go around in negative thought processes that spiral ever downwards into, what phycologists call, the pit of despair.

Identifying the causes or triggers to anxiety takes a while and talking with someone who understands the causes, someone who knows the right questions to ask and someone who is good at listening but also has tools and methods to help overcome the fears associated with exam performance is a key step to tacking, what is a life debilitating condition.

As a teacher and a life coach, I have helped many students overcome their fears of exams and exam performance anxiety. Most students do eventually overcome their fears but some do not or wont and as a teacher, one has to be very mindful that not everyone wants to be helped, my philosophy is that I want to help others to help themselves. What this means in practice is I will always try to help a student who has exam anxiety, I`ll work with a client to identify the triggers, find personalised solutions, methods and tools to help overcome anxiety and to help them build up their confidence, self-esteem and self-worth so they enter the exam season feeling capable and competent.

I feel now is the time to offer these services because as a teacher, I am very worried that a generation of students are going to be left behind because of what has happened to society and the fact that a life coach or mentor could help one child attend their exams, get some qualifications to enable the student to progress into a better career and improve their life chances.

If you feel that your child is suffering from exam anxiety or if you just want some coaching on how to help your child through the pressures of exams, please get in touch and I can make an appointment to meet with you and your child.