Helping Students Navigate Their Emotions During Exam Season

Exam season is one which cause can cause a whirlwind of emotions, stress and anxiety. It’s important that we are able to help students navigate through their feelings. At Fixup seminars we’ve written an article with different approaches you could take that can empower your students.
 
The best place to begin is by talking to your students to find out how they are feeling and what is triggering these emotions. In doing so you’ll know exactly what to address. For some students it could be a fear of failure, for another it could be a negative mindset, lack of motivation or inspiration. Giving your students the space to verbalise what’s really going on in their minds is the first step of dealing with the issue and is somewhat freeing. 
 
The conversations we have with ourselves are important and they should be positive and nurturing. Using affirmations can be a powerful tool. Select two to three relevant affirmations and get your students to start the day by reading them out loud. You could also get your students to write them on cue cards in a creative, inspiring and personal way as a little reminder when they need a pick me up. Here are some to get you started.
 
At times there seems to be a negative connotation around the word EXAMS which probably adds unnecessary distress. Perhaps helping your students change their minds about what they think exams are and how they define them personally can help change their perspective. Remind them that their grades don’t define them and that it’s what you do after that matters.
 
When anxiety hits relaxation tips are a great way to combat it. Take a minute to close your eyes, inhale for a count of three, then exhale for a count of five and then repeat. It only takes a moment and helps your body and mind relax so you will be in a better frame of mind to concentrate. Teach this technique to your students so that they have a solution for when anxiety decides to creep up on them.
 
A lack of clarity creates chaos and frustration. Help your students create a plan and timetable of when their exams are so therefore preparing is a lot easier. It could also be beneficial for students to revise topics on the same days, as the exams will be held.
 
Practice focusing their attention on the task at hand, rather than getting tangled in panic and thinking of the “what if” Help them understand that the present moment is what’s most important and they do after.