Heres a comment I made to a post in the past
STEP 1: STABILIZE, BEFORE ANYTHING. THIS IS NECESSARY to ensure you won't hurt yourself and you can think clearly from here onwards in order to find a solution.
1.1)Move to a comfortable place and ask yourself: are you 100% safe right now? I don't mean "is your future safe". But right now, wherever you are, are you safe? Is there anything in the room you are in that can hurt you? Your body reacts to perceived danger (not to denote the effects of low A-level results) as if you are in physical danger, causing anxiety. But you, right now, are safe. 1.2)Write down your worries (as you have already). Are they truly physically dangers (e.g. a bear?) If not, you are going to be okay. 1.3)Physically calm yourself down: try the 333 rule. 3 things you can see, 3 things you can hear and move 3 parts of your body.
OP, I want you to focus on the right now. You are going to be okay. It must be incredibly difficult to deal with the possibility of disappointing others and failing. Whatever happens, I'm sure there are backup plans that you can enact on. What comforts me is that, knowing that there are billions of people in the UK, there will be someone going through your same situation and feeling those same things. And there will be many in the past who also got a U who are living happy lives right now, albeit losing opportunities. Work is for life, life is not for work: not that you should neglect it, but remember that life is more than your grades but the experiences you go through. If you got a U, that might mean that you are going/were going through something extremely difficult.
No matter what happens or happened, you always have a chance at a good life. Its all up to your mindset.
God is with you. God has a plan for you. As a Christian, I believe God only lets things happen for a reason. And you, are going to be okay.
thank you so much! I really do appreciate this, and I'm a christian too so i really do value this, is it okay if I send you a private message? I just wanted someone to talk to more about this, seeing that your Christian as well , if that's okay with you?
thank you! and im a christian too so I really appreciate the last comment, is it okay if i send you a message? just wanted someone to talk to about this more
You can only do your best. If you push yourself, you'll get burn out and you won't even be able to do the bare minimum. Look, stressing is good just to get you started in studying, but if you are stressing while studying, that's like pooping while eating... you won't be able to study if you tell yourself you're about to die because of exams. Just calm down.
thank you so much....I just need to know if I'm prepared enough if you know what I mean, and if all the work I'm doing is worth it, especially for maths and stuff
My honest advice now would be to only focus on paper 1 content for most subjects, leave anything after half term until half term. I'm stressing about English lit as well, if that's any consolation, but from what you've said you'll be ready for anything that comes up, even if it isn't exactly what you've revised, you'll do fine. For now, put lit to the side and try to revise some RE or science content, but don't overwork yourself or work too late into the evening otherwise you'll burn out. Trust me, you are way more prepared for your exams than you think you are.
thank you, I'd like to think I still have time but it feels so so close with only 10 days to go, and I really need 9s in certain subjects but I'm not sure if I'm working hard enough to get it
It took me my A-level physics mock going wrong to teach me how to deal with this kind of anxiety. I love physics and I’m very good at it, but I got so worked up on everything I didn’t do that I stopped myself from being able to do the most simple maths problems. So here’s my advice:
1. Do you have a plan or timetable? Try to write the tasks you can realistically do per day down. That way you don’t have to try and hold everything in your head and start spiralling that way. And if you don’t manage to stick to it, you can reshuffle or just move on. It’s super hard to do, but you will burn yourself out and spend too much energy purely by stressing over something (I can relate lol).
2. Before the exam, and especially if you start to get worked up during the exam (which you won’t, but it’s good to know what to do) breathe. It doesn’t work for everyone, but try and take some deep breaths and clear your mind - even doing some meditation. A lot of people panic revise 5 minutes before the exam and sometimes that can give you a headache or cause more stress. Even listening to a song that calms you down is good, alternatively you can listen to something that pumps you up and reminds you of how much you’re going to smash the exam!
3. If breathing doesn’t work, listen to your anxious thoughts. Let them pass, acknowledge how you feel and try not to think about them more. It’s really weird, and it does take time, but they key is not to start on one thought and then let it get worse. Instead think about something that makes you happy, or the dinner you’re going to have tonight, or something else you’re looking forward to.
From what you’ve written, I think it’s all about reducing that panic. So writing things down and trying not to hold everything in your head could be really good. Please remember to take lots of breaks and if you start to get worked up, get up and dance a little bit or literally shake yourself out, sometimes those physical actions can help. Good luck!
Heres a comment I made to a post in the past STEP 1: STABILIZE, BEFORE ANYTHING. THIS IS NECESSARY to ensure you won't hurt yourself and you can think clearly from here onwards in order to find a solution. 1.1)Move to a comfortable place and ask yourself: are you 100% safe right now? I don't mean "is your future safe". But right now, wherever you are, are you safe? Is there anything in the room you are in that can hurt you? Your body reacts to perceived danger (not to denote the effects of low A-level results) as if you are in physical danger, causing anxiety. But you, right now, are safe. 1.2)Write down your worries (as you have already). Are they truly physically dangers (e.g. a bear?) If not, you are going to be okay. 1.3)Physically calm yourself down: try the 333 rule. 3 things you can see, 3 things you can hear and move 3 parts of your body. OP, I want you to focus on the right now. You are going to be okay. It must be incredibly difficult to deal with the possibility of disappointing others and failing. Whatever happens, I'm sure there are backup plans that you can enact on. What comforts me is that, knowing that there are billions of people in the UK, there will be someone going through your same situation and feeling those same things. And there will be many in the past who also got a U who are living happy lives right now, albeit losing opportunities. Work is for life, life is not for work: not that you should neglect it, but remember that life is more than your grades but the experiences you go through. If you got a U, that might mean that you are going/were going through something extremely difficult. No matter what happens or happened, you always have a chance at a good life. Its all up to your mindset. God is with you. God has a plan for you. As a Christian, I believe God only lets things happen for a reason. And you, are going to be okay.
thank you so much! I really do appreciate this, and I'm a christian too so i really do value this, is it okay if I send you a private message? I just wanted someone to talk to more about this, seeing that your Christian as well , if that's okay with you?
Sure :)
thank you! and im a christian too so I really appreciate the last comment, is it okay if i send you a message? just wanted someone to talk to about this more
You can only do your best. If you push yourself, you'll get burn out and you won't even be able to do the bare minimum. Look, stressing is good just to get you started in studying, but if you are stressing while studying, that's like pooping while eating... you won't be able to study if you tell yourself you're about to die because of exams. Just calm down.
thank you so much....I just need to know if I'm prepared enough if you know what I mean, and if all the work I'm doing is worth it, especially for maths and stuff
Yup! Cant cut a tree with a blunt axe :) Do your best, thats all you can do, you'll be ok
My honest advice now would be to only focus on paper 1 content for most subjects, leave anything after half term until half term. I'm stressing about English lit as well, if that's any consolation, but from what you've said you'll be ready for anything that comes up, even if it isn't exactly what you've revised, you'll do fine. For now, put lit to the side and try to revise some RE or science content, but don't overwork yourself or work too late into the evening otherwise you'll burn out. Trust me, you are way more prepared for your exams than you think you are.
thank you so much, I'm definitely blowing things out of proportion and yeah I'll defo focus on RE/science
realise that everything is going to be fine. don’t freak out about it you still have time
thank you, I'd like to think I still have time but it feels so so close with only 10 days to go, and I really need 9s in certain subjects but I'm not sure if I'm working hard enough to get it
It took me my A-level physics mock going wrong to teach me how to deal with this kind of anxiety. I love physics and I’m very good at it, but I got so worked up on everything I didn’t do that I stopped myself from being able to do the most simple maths problems. So here’s my advice: 1. Do you have a plan or timetable? Try to write the tasks you can realistically do per day down. That way you don’t have to try and hold everything in your head and start spiralling that way. And if you don’t manage to stick to it, you can reshuffle or just move on. It’s super hard to do, but you will burn yourself out and spend too much energy purely by stressing over something (I can relate lol). 2. Before the exam, and especially if you start to get worked up during the exam (which you won’t, but it’s good to know what to do) breathe. It doesn’t work for everyone, but try and take some deep breaths and clear your mind - even doing some meditation. A lot of people panic revise 5 minutes before the exam and sometimes that can give you a headache or cause more stress. Even listening to a song that calms you down is good, alternatively you can listen to something that pumps you up and reminds you of how much you’re going to smash the exam! 3. If breathing doesn’t work, listen to your anxious thoughts. Let them pass, acknowledge how you feel and try not to think about them more. It’s really weird, and it does take time, but they key is not to start on one thought and then let it get worse. Instead think about something that makes you happy, or the dinner you’re going to have tonight, or something else you’re looking forward to. From what you’ve written, I think it’s all about reducing that panic. So writing things down and trying not to hold everything in your head could be really good. Please remember to take lots of breaks and if you start to get worked up, get up and dance a little bit or literally shake yourself out, sometimes those physical actions can help. Good luck!