I'm a big stresshead. I stress very easily and worry about everyone. As school got tougher and I had 23 GCSE exams to worry about, I had to learn to control and deal with my stress levels to enable me to actually function!
The best way that I learnt to deal with it was to stay as organised as possible. I bought these cardboard containers to keep my different school stuff contained and labelled them with the subject titles so that it was easy to pull one out whenever I needed to revise. I also kept my exam timetable pinned to my wall so that I didn't get mixed up with which subject came next!
I also learnt to think about each day separately and not worry about the next few weeks. This helps to keep stress levels down because it is a lot less overwhelming!
2016:
Wow... I started this blog many years ago and I'm now in university. I think it's safe to say I learned how to manage stress reasonably well- eventually. I revised a lot for GCSEs thinking that they were the most important exams of my life, and did well. But no one really prepared me for how difficult AS Levels are.
Year 12 was a struggle. I moved to three different colleges within two weeks because the first two were far too strict and my anxious brain could not handle it at the time. The third one seemed perfect though. My best friend was there, which helped a lot, but I also forced myself to not be shy and talk to lots of people in my lessons. By doing this I met many new friends and my boyfriend who I'm still with now! This side of college was excellent but the jump from GCSE to A Level was extreme. I revised from September to June but put far too much pressure on myself. I was commuting for an hour each way and doing 11 hour days, to then come home and revise for at least an hour each night. This eventually caught up on me and the morning before my chemistry exam I collapsed. As I did so I bashed my head onto the corner of a wardrobe and frightened my poor mum quite a bit. When I came back to consciousness I encouraged her that everything was okay but due to the knock of my head and the amount of blood everywhere- she called 999. I was taken to hospital and therefore missed my exam that day; I was devastated.
After this however, I finally learned that rest time is essential. I went to see Ariana Grande perform just two days after this incident and really let loose, singing my heart out, and then finished my exams shortly afterwards. That summer I spent the majority of my time in the wonderful city of Liverpool with my boyfriend and friends, having bbq's and sleepovers and the most wonderful beach day.
Year 13 was much, much better. Every Saturday up until April I had a day off and made sure to plan something fun, like going shopping or to the museums or a trip to the beach. I completed all of my exams including the year 12 ones that I missed, and got AAB, making it into medical school. Results day left me and my wonderful mum elated. I still put pressure on myself, but the panic attacks reduced a lot in regularity, and I got higher than the results I needed.
Now I'm at university, cooking, washing, cleaning, and most importantly learning so much. Studying medicine is so inspiring and to have a foundation year gives me a chance to ease myself in to a big change. I miss my family, my boyfriend, and my best friends. But I've made a group of girl friends who are amazing, and we all look after each other to the best of our abilities. I have exams coming up in two weeks, so there will be an update on how I managed to handle my stress and panic then. But, so far, so good. In the words of Laurie Hernandez- I got this.
2016:
Wow... I started this blog many years ago and I'm now in university. I think it's safe to say I learned how to manage stress reasonably well- eventually. I revised a lot for GCSEs thinking that they were the most important exams of my life, and did well. But no one really prepared me for how difficult AS Levels are.
Year 12 was a struggle. I moved to three different colleges within two weeks because the first two were far too strict and my anxious brain could not handle it at the time. The third one seemed perfect though. My best friend was there, which helped a lot, but I also forced myself to not be shy and talk to lots of people in my lessons. By doing this I met many new friends and my boyfriend who I'm still with now! This side of college was excellent but the jump from GCSE to A Level was extreme. I revised from September to June but put far too much pressure on myself. I was commuting for an hour each way and doing 11 hour days, to then come home and revise for at least an hour each night. This eventually caught up on me and the morning before my chemistry exam I collapsed. As I did so I bashed my head onto the corner of a wardrobe and frightened my poor mum quite a bit. When I came back to consciousness I encouraged her that everything was okay but due to the knock of my head and the amount of blood everywhere- she called 999. I was taken to hospital and therefore missed my exam that day; I was devastated.
After this however, I finally learned that rest time is essential. I went to see Ariana Grande perform just two days after this incident and really let loose, singing my heart out, and then finished my exams shortly afterwards. That summer I spent the majority of my time in the wonderful city of Liverpool with my boyfriend and friends, having bbq's and sleepovers and the most wonderful beach day.
Year 13 was much, much better. Every Saturday up until April I had a day off and made sure to plan something fun, like going shopping or to the museums or a trip to the beach. I completed all of my exams including the year 12 ones that I missed, and got AAB, making it into medical school. Results day left me and my wonderful mum elated. I still put pressure on myself, but the panic attacks reduced a lot in regularity, and I got higher than the results I needed.
Now I'm at university, cooking, washing, cleaning, and most importantly learning so much. Studying medicine is so inspiring and to have a foundation year gives me a chance to ease myself in to a big change. I miss my family, my boyfriend, and my best friends. But I've made a group of girl friends who are amazing, and we all look after each other to the best of our abilities. I have exams coming up in two weeks, so there will be an update on how I managed to handle my stress and panic then. But, so far, so good. In the words of Laurie Hernandez- I got this.
