High levels of anxiety experienced during exams

Children these days are under more pressure than ever to succeed

ISLAMABAD: Exam stress and anxiety amongst students is a recurrent problem and often, the challenge is so acute, it leads many students to seek professional help to be able to cope with the most stressful time of the year.

"Students experience higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, fear, hopelessness and rage than ever before during this time period. Exam time can be painful for so many," said Clinical Psychologist Dr Huma Shafiq.

Experts believe exam stress comes from a mixture of three sources: Pressure young people put on themselves, pressure from school and perceived pressure from parents. She said that young people today are under more pressure to succeed than ever before and comparisons with others over social media exacerbate the pressures. She advised students to devise a work-rest balance, get adequate sleep and maintain a healthy diet that will translate into a positive lifestyle.



Dr Huma cautions against multitasking. "It can result in 'fragmented thinking.’ Attempting to do three, four or five different things at once takes its toll on a young person and their ability to focus on just one thing," she said. The psychologist recommends various coping strategies to tackle stress, including a practice known as 'mindfulness.’

"Focus on one thing in the moment, on purpose, in a compassionate manner-in other words, when your mind starts to jump around to other thoughts, try not to judge this, instead bring your focus gently back to the task that you are purposely setting your attention to," she advises.

“Mindfulness increases the likelihood of results being more effective in that task as all our attention is focused on it and our minds have quietened as we take control of what thoughts and actions we pay attention to and focus on."

Mindful awareness, rather than anxious responding, helps a child to positively alter their mind set, she said. Fear of failure is also contributing to rising levels of anxiety amongst young students, she believes and resilience to not doing as well as hoped for is paramount for the well-being of children, she said.

"We spend so much time focusing on success that we are left not knowing what to do in case of failure. Failure does not have to be a bad thing and we can learn an awful lot from it," she added.

"Teachers and parents need to talk about social and emotional issues and strategies on dealing with stress. They also need to address the fact that failure or imperfect performance is normal, natural and healthy and a part of the learning process," she concluded.  

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2018.