{"id":952,"date":"2025-11-12T09:34:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T09:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/?p=952"},"modified":"2025-11-12T09:34:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T09:34:22","slug":"are-exams-something-to-worry-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/2025\/11\/12\/are-exams-something-to-worry-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Are exams something to worry about?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a fine line between being serious about your exams and worrying about them. It\u2019s normal to be apprehensive or feel a little nervous from time to time. However, if you are, very stressed or anxious, worrying excessively or struggling to sleep, it\u2019s time to talk to someone. It\u2019s also OK if you don\u2019t have any real feelings about exams; some people even enjoy the process and are able to take each day as it comes, so don\u2019t worry if you\u2019re not worrying!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How can I look after myself?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There are steps you can take to look after yourself during your exams:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Make sure you have all the information you need about each exam<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 date, time, place, what you need to take with you&#8230;and what subject it is! Keep a copy at home so the people you live with know what you&#8217;re doing and when. Being well organised will help you stay calm.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It&#8217;s important to revise but you need to rest too.<\/strong>\u00a0Too much revision is as unhelpful as too little \u2013 find a balance between revising and take time out to do the things you enjoy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Go outside. <\/strong>Take your books and sit in the park in the sunshine; it&#8217;s good for the soul and the fresh air will do you good.<\/li>\n<li><strong>During exam time, it&#8217;s normal to feel some stress or anxiety, so keep some perspective.<\/strong>\u00a0You might find it helpful to practise techniques like relaxation, mindfulness, and breathing exercises.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mind.org.uk\/information-support\/types-of-mental-health-problems\/anxiety-and-panic-attacks\/panic-attacks\/\">What are panic attacks<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SRII9IQ5HOg\">how to cope with them<\/a><\/strong>. Includes tips for helping yourself and how to access treatment and support.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Talk to people.<\/strong>\u00a0Exams shouldn\u2019t make you feel upset, so if you need support, talk to your academics or someone else. Speak up about any worries or fears you may have \u2013 you&#8217;ll be surprised how many other people feel the same. You&#8217;re not alone.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Leave the exam at the door.<\/strong>\u00a0When it\u2019s done, it\u2019s done. Don\u2019t rush home and flick through your work to find all the things you might\u2019ve forgotten and avoid comparing notes with friends. You can\u2019t go back, so don\u2019t waste energy on something you can\u2019t change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>How can I look after my friends?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Spend time together, revising, resting, and staying in touch.<\/strong>\u00a0Don&#8217;t let anyone feel lonely.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to your friends.<\/strong>\u00a0You may love the buzz of exams but not everyone will feel that way. If a friend says they&#8217;re worried or anxious, take it seriously and ask them what you can do to help.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Help your friends to get help.<\/strong>\u00a0You can support your friends and be there for them, but sometimes that might mean you need to speak to someone to tell them that you&#8217;re worried about a friend.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If any of your friends don&#8217;t seem to be sleeping or they are more anxious than usual or tearful, please speak to someone, even if your friend doesn&#8217;t want you to.<\/strong>\u00a0Your friend might not realise how much they need some support until it arrives \u2013 and you might be the friend who has made that happen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Top tips<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Try not to compare yourself. <\/strong>The first step in managing exam stress is to not judge yourself against others: \u2018Everyone learns in different ways and at different paces.\u2019 Focus on what you want to achieve, not what others around you are doing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Create a strategy. <\/strong>Create a timetable and a plan of what you want to do, and how you will manage that time effectively. Remember that everyone learns in different ways.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Study together. <\/strong>Youth mental health charity YoungMinds suggests forming a study group with friends, which can help with making revision less intimidating. And don\u2019t forget to take breaks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Talk to people you trust. <\/strong>YoungMinds says: \u2018If you\u2019re struggling, it can help to let your friends and family know so they can offer support&#8217;. It\u2019s completely normal to feel stressed and moodier during exam time. Talking to people can help you offload and realise you\u2019re not alone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Keep things in perspective. <\/strong>YoungMinds suggest making a list of all the things you want from life that don\u2019t relate to exams. Shantanu advises focusing on what you want and your goals and trying to resist parental and other pressure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t forget to have fun. <\/strong>It\u2019s important to make sure you also find time to do things you enjoy, even if you\u2019re very busy. Constantly revising without a break can make you feel emotionally and physically drained, so it\u2019s crucial that you take time to step back and do something that you enjoy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you have persistent stress and anxiety or you are developing unmanageable physical symptoms then you should speak to your doctor or contact <a href=\"https:\/\/student.kent.ac.uk\/support\/wellbeing\">Student Support &amp; Wellbeing<\/a>\u00a0who can discuss putting in a support strategy to help you through this time.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Additional support<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You can use the free <a href=\"https:\/\/student.kent.ac.uk\/support\/spectrum-life\">Spectrum Life app<\/a> to help manage your wellbeing during exams. The app is free to all Kent students and comes with helpful advice, online workshops, guided meditation, and resources to manage your wellbeing during stressful times. You may also find this\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.studentminds.org.uk\/examstress.html\">Student Minds Exam Stress Support<\/a> useful.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a fine line between being serious about your exams and worrying about them. It\u2019s normal to be apprehensive or feel a little nervous from &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/2025\/11\/12\/are-exams-something-to-worry-about\/\">Read&nbsp;more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78257,"featured_media":403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[312383,205698,183846],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78257"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":953,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952\/revisions\/953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}