Top Tips for Exam Stress

Exam season can be an overwhelming time for young people and their parents and carers. The pressure to perform can cause stress and anxiety, sleep patterns can be disturbed and even physical health can be affected. 

Exam Stress

Hypnotherapy is a gentle and relaxing therapy, and also a powerful tool to help ease exam stress, build resilience and increase confidence. Clinical hypnotherapists use a range of techniques to promote a deep sense of calm in the chaos of revision, so that young people have a toolbelt of skills to cope with this difficult time. Visualisation is particularly beneficial to students wishing to feel more positive and calm, and NLP techniques can be useful additions in alleviating anxiety.

In addition to hypnotherapy, here are some additional tips to help exam stress:

1. Make a plan together for revision and some fun activities too. It’s really important to schedule breaks in revision and plan activities and social interactions which will boost feel-good chemicals and help manage stress. 

2. Prioritise sleep. REM sleep helps us to process stress so it’s important to prioritise this during tricky times. Encourage relaxing, screen-free activities before bedtime to enable time to wind down.

3. Decide on a study space and make sure everything needed is to hand, including snacks. Try to keep it neat, as a tidy workspace helps to reduce stress. 

4. Start small. It’s normal to want to procrastinate about a task that’s uncomfortable, but a gradual approach will help. Encourage your child to start with a small task for 10 minutes and build momentum from there. They’ll feel good from achieving that task and that will inspire them to do more. 

5. Try not to compare revision plans or grades to others. Remind your child of their strengths and encourage them to follow their own goals and dreams.