Coping With Final Exams: If You’re Struggling, Here’s What You Can Do

First of all, it’s okay to admit that you’re struggling.

Exam time is an incredibly stressful period of your life and it’s easy to feel as though you have the entire world resting on your shoulders.

It’s a tough balancing act to fulfil, and sometimes, pressures might compound and send you teetering over the edge.

I spoke with Colin Balog, a Youth Ambassador at ReachOut, to get some tips about what you can do if you’ve hit a rough patch.

"Generally speaking, exams constitute a hugely stressful time that can exacerbate any existing problems a Year 12 student may be facing—particularly issues with anxiety and depression come to mind," he said.

Here are some guidelines to hopefully make the next few weeks run smoothly.

Illness or Misadventure On Exam Day

No, misadventure isn't like when the DuckTales kids got into trouble.

Sometimes, you can't help but get sick the day before an exam. It happens. So too do random accidents - and, hopefully less frequently, tragedy. These can hinder your ability to complete an assignment on time or function during an exam (or, perhaps, even attend one).

In Colin's experience, many people will experience a "burnout" period, which is when someone doesn't study for ages but finds they need to cram for tests later on. "This is especially true leading up to major assessments and final exams," he says. It's at these times you end up being more prone to exhaustion and having an increased susceptibility to physical and mental illness.

There are some pretty important steps to take if you feel that you’re suffering from illness or are experiencing a misadventure. Generally speaking, you’ll have to fill out an application form and notify your principal as soon as possible. If you have no time to do so prior to the exam, you can notify the Presiding Officer as you enter the examination room.

The next step is making sure you obtain the necessary documentation as evidence to support your illness/misadventure application. If you did not sit an exam, you’ll have to provide clear justification as to why you were unable to attend.

If you are suffering from anxiety or mental health related concerns, you might wonder what counts as medical documentation. I posed this question to Colin:

"I know that most things that are signed by a medical practitioner will have some weight," he explained.

"If they're to be used as justification for adverse circumstances for an altered ATAR, the process can be quite rigorous. Make sure that you get signed documentation from any and all therapy, counselling, and psychiatric appointments. Get written and signed mental health reports from your health care professionals, with specific mention to how your mental health may have affected your ability to study/sit exams."

In terms of processing, this may differ from state to state. Usually there will be a body to preside over your case and a final judgment will be ruled. Each case is individual, so it’s incredibly important to have a strong arsenal of evidence.

Balancing Work And Study

A lot of you out there might be studying and working at the same time. Perhaps you work somewhere casually. Either way, it's important to know how to balance these two (very important) facets of your life.

If you need to take time away from work, you might just have to sit down for a chat with your supervisor. It can be really daunting (trust me, I know) but it might just be the best thing for your mental and physical well-being. I asked Colin why people are usually afraid to speak to their employers about taking time off.

"A lot of students don't like to ask for time off from employers because [most students working casual jobs] feel like when they want more hours later, say, after exams are over, the employer won't give them the hours, or worse, the employer will stop giving them hours altogether in favour of someone more available."

Colin's advice is to not worry so much about this, as many employers are very understanding. He adds, "if they're not, you might want to think about finding a different employer who will treat you better."

If your employment is on a casual basis, you’d probably already know that you aren’t legally guaranteed any shifts. That’s why you should be getting paid casual loading fees, to make up for the lack of security and paid leave. In other words—it’s a flexible arrangement.

According to Working Life, this flexibility should go both ways. Your boss isn’t entitled to roster you on, and you are free to turn down a shift if required. The best way to go about this is giving as much notice as possible when changing or cancelling a shift. Sometimes it’s a good option to find someone to switch with, but run this by your employer first.

One thing’s for sure; make sure you let work know that you can’t come in. Don’t just do a “no show”.

Finding The Right Person To Talk To

This one’s important; really important.

I asked Colin about the best people to contact if you’re feeling distressed during exam season.

"Your school counsellor should always be around in some capacity. I had fantastic experiences with mine," he said.

"She was able to give me a lot of advice over my years there and was just pleasant to speak to in general."

If, for whatever reason, you can’t manage to get in touch with your in-house school counsellor, you can resource some other options.

Colin says if you don't feel comfortable with your school counsellor, go to your parents. His were extremely supportive during Year 12 and were always willing to help him de-stress.

"Sometimes just washing the dishes with my dad while we chatted was enough to take my mind off things for a while," he shared.

Finally, it might be good just to take a while to debrief with your friends.

"Study together, be there for each other, look out for one another," Colin suggests.

Visit ReachOut to get support to help you with everything from everyday issues through to tough times.

Photo: iStock