Study and Exams - The 4 F's to Stick to

There is no doubt that this time of year brings much additional and unavoidable stress and pressure onto those of us who face exams for our school/university studies. While some of this pressure and stress is just a part of what education and examinations bring, there is a large proportion of additional stress that we place on ourselves to study well, perform well, and dedicate a large proportion of our time toward this – due to perfectionistic tendencies, negative/disordered thoughts, and the symptoms associated with mental health issues and illness.

In my earlier years and experiences with schooling I had a very unhealthy relationship with my academic achievement – I placed too much of my self-worth on achieving highly and spent too much time worrying about grades, stressing around study, and putting too great an expectation to achieve nothing less of excellency. This was clearly unsustainable, leading me to alienate almost everyone from my life (family and friends), consume myself in books, cut off all other forms of pleasure or fun I had once enjoyed and ultimately became a large contributing factor and trigger for my depression, anxiety, and eating disorder. Ultimately, I was admitted to hospital due to my severity of my illnesses, putting a halt to all forms of study and left me bed-ridden; and three months later needing to re-teach myself a better, more sustainable style of and approach to study. This has all lead me to where I am today: successfully building myself up to full-time study over a period of 4 years, valuing and keeping close relationships with my family and friends, getting involved in the wider experience of university, and being able to do things outside of study that I want to do – my crafts, Netflix, and healthy exercise. Exams and study are not a fun time for anyone, let alone those of us who struggle with our mental health; so I have devised a list of my top tips and words of advice for all of you who are entering or enduring end-of-year exams, based upon my experiences and lessons I learned the hard way so you don’t have to!

Firstly, you need to put you first and realise that you can put a hold on your studies and always come back to it – if your health is in decline, or impacting your ability to really give life your all, or you are not really feeling it anymore; you need to cut off the things that are draining you. You can always drop a NCEA standard or university course, take a few weeks, months or a year off to put you and your health first. You may not like the idea of it (I know at the time I sure as hell didn’t), but the future you will thank you for it.

Remember the 4 Fs – Food, fun, fitness and feeling refreshed

• Food: you need to fuel yourself well during your studies (even if you feel like you aren’t doing much else than sitting and studying) – it takes a lot of energy to keep the brain ticking over. It can also be too easy to take out your stresses and worries on something that you feel you can control, such as food – it is important not to do this! Sometimes, you may need to make a rough meal plan, or have set times for food or keep alarms on your phone to remind you to get some grub in your tum.

• Fun: remember to have some time away from the books and to not feel guilty about it! You cannot expect your brain to work effectively for 8-14hrs straight, breaks are 100% needed! So whether it be reading a chapter of your book or a look through a magazine, painting your nails, watching a bit of Netflix or YouTube, getting a bit crafty, baking something, seeing a friend – it doesn’t matter what it is, just make sure you get away from the books and do something that you enjoy!

• Fitness: moving your body in a positive, proactive, and loving way can give you a feel good buzz and really aid in information retention! Going on a walk or outdoors, doing a class with a friend, doing some yoga or Pilates at home, or hitting the gym – just get moving! However, I do err on the side of caution if your physical health does not allow this, or it wouldn’t be wise for you to do so – the alternatives to exercise would include some meditation, breathing techniques, and stretching your body.

• Feeling Refreshed: most of us will absolute throw any form of quality sleep out the window in favour of those extra hours of study and cramming you could get done. You could not be more wrong about this! Don’t underestimate the quality of sleep – a good 7-8 hours of decent zzz’s can mean improve your study recall and performance during your exams. Sure, copious amounts of coffee or awful energy drinks could keep your eyes open but this does nothing for your wider health and wellbeing and is really not sustainable.

Above all – be kind to yourself and know that in the long run, a grade on a single paper means bugger all. You will not be in a job interview and be asked whether you got an excellence on your Level 2 Chemistry Externals, or whether you got enough credits to get an endorsement, or whether your friends and family will think of you differently if you get a B instead of the A+ you wanted. What feels major now will probably not be remembered when you are 80, 60, or 40.

Your friend,

Rawing Meg xx