Tips from psychologist Meral for students on managing exam stress

Yalova Provincial Health Directorate Center for Public Health Psychologist Aslıhan Meral provided advice to students on managing exam stress ahead of the upcoming High School Transition Exam (LGS) and Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS). On June 2nd, Sunday LGS, and on June 8-9 YKS exams, Psychologist Aslıhan Meral, advised students prior to the exams, stating ‘We have both the High School Entrance Exam ahead of us, the university entrance exams the following week. Children are in an exciting moment, there is only one week left. Make use of this last week. It will be good for them to manage their anxieties as much as possible, a light exercise, taking a walk will be beneficial for them.’ Emphasizing the importance of focusing on positive thoughts to manage anxiety and directing the thought content more willingly towards positivity, Meral said, ‘It will be good to focus on thoughts that will reveal our potential. We also recommend breathing exercises. By controlling their breath both before and during the exam, they can calm themselves, visualize the message that everything is going well, everything is going fine in their minds, with a calm breath.’ Meral pointed out the importance of families managing their anxieties during this process, saying, ‘I understand the anxieties of families during this period. It will be good for families to manage their anxieties as much as possible. Shifting the meaning they attach to the exam to a more functional place, emphasizing that this is not the end of life, just a small part of a long lifespan, focusing not on the result but on the process is critical for families. Serving as a role model for their children, fulfilling their responsibilities, reflecting a positive perception regarding their own responsibilities to the children will help in forming a positive perception for them about their own exams. We cannot say anything about ‘educated rice’ but we should be open to everything that they believe will work and calm them.’ Advising students not to disrupt their daily routines as much as possible the night before the exam, Meral stated, ‘Of course, going to bed early, waking up early, eating, drinking, maintaining the routine is important. They should feel as if they are going to do a part of their daily life with ease, in their normal clothes, as if they are going to a mock exam, it will be good for the children. Of course, going to the exam room early, checking their documents are things to do but not studying for the exam the day before, transitioning to rest, clearing the mind, as I said, taking walks, doing light exercises, and spending enjoyable time will be beneficial.’ Meral pointed out that when the expected result does not come in the exam, when they do not pass the exam or cannot be placed where they want, the perception that everything will end could lead children, young people, and students into more anxiety. Mentioning that families can also experience anxiety alongside them, Meral stated, ‘Therefore, everything is not over, this is a learning process. The exam is also a learning process. The good side is that everything we learn continues to stay with us. This becomes an equipment, accumulation of knowledge, and in the next stages, we can reuse what we have learned. Even if we do not go to the high school we want, we will use the knowledge we have gained during high school education in the university exam. Even if we do not go to the university we want, there is a chance to take the exam again. Or there is a chance to use this knowledge again. What we call lifelong learning is exactly this. We are always developing, always learning, our life does not end or get saved with a single exam.