I have big exams coming up and I have just been really, really stressed. I have been up and down, one minuet happy one minuet hatting the world. How do I handle the stress? I know how to handle the study, but no one has talked about handling the stress and pressure of it all.

I also am scared that I am going to relapse back into my old habits, and I don't want to take medication, and i don't want to see a physiatrist /councillor/phycologist either, I have had some bad experiences and I just give up with them. I just don't want to find one that 'suits me.' I just want to be happy. But with the exams that 'determines the rest of my life' (as they say) and crap from my parents not letting me be independent and trying to protect me from the world and i just feel that I don't need to be, I am now old enough to look out for myself. And now I just feel myself loosing control and feeling the urges coming back to me to pick up a knife.
I really don't want to do it, and so far I no I wont, but its just going to get worse for the next three months or so.

I just want to run away sometimes and hide from the world where nothing can get to me and where non of this bothers me. :(

How can I cope?

Exams ARE really stressful, and I don't doubt that you're really anxious about them.

Here's what I would do:

I don't know how far away they are, but if they're in a week or two, start studying now. Don't study for hours religiously; that'll only increase your stress. Study for an hour or two each night, quiz yourself on the stuff you looked over, and review it the next night.

When you find yourself slipping into those depressive moments, stop. Go listen to your favorite music. Come on here and chill lol. Read a few chapters of a book you love. Wind down by doing something that you like, even if it's something like singing at the top of your lungs as you drive around the neighborhood. It'll get you back in a good mood, or at least make you feel better for awhile.

Also remember that while these exams are important, they do not define your life. Remember that everyone else who has to take them is just as nervous as you (unless they're stupid and don't care), and that your parents are not the only ones who are putting pressure on their kids.

I think that you're still fighting the battle against your bad experiences...but I also think that you're doing a great job by resisting the pull to do it again. I have no experience in this type of stuff, but I think that if you keep resisting and keep reminding yourself about the stuff that does make you happy, you'll succeed in that particular struggle.

Exams are never, ever fun...but I promise you'll feel so much better when they're over. *hugs* Good luck!

Try to get rid of that 'I can't handle this' way of thinking. The more you say this to yourself and to others (for whatever reason;)), the more you'll believe in it. So none of that anymore. Head up, and be strong. Being all scared and sad etc about it won't help you any further.

Like Katya said, get ready for your exams soon enough.
I'm lucky to be able to study very easily and quickly (my latest examens started at 8.10/10.00 in the morning, I started studying at midnight earliest, which means I spent 1/2 hours studying for each one of them)

BUT, back to you. I think it's a great feeling that you already know major parts of your theory for your exams, days, or even weeks, before your exams actually takes place. The sooner you start dealing with each one of them, the less heavy the stress will be the day before the "big day".

What I'd recommend you, is not to start too late with your last exam. At that time, you"ll be like: 'omg this is the last one, I'm so tired, I want all this to be over so I'll just study quick to be over with it'
You're not going to be fully motivated if you have that state of mind.
It's way better to start with it a few days sooner, and to be able to rest a little more the day before the exam :)

If you do all this, you'll be able to do whatever you want whilst a few hours = get away from the world, the stress. Since that's what you wanted ;)

Concerning the studying itself, which you'll know, try to work with schemes as much as possible! The less big it seems, the better; right?
And write down everything you have to know by heart; writing and saying it up loud helps very much. And, enough sleep of course. Avoid the sleepless nights.

Oh and, don't study hours without stopping. Rather study 30 minutes, then do something else you like for 30 minutes. Helps way better ;) Good for your concentration, memory and state of mind :)

Oh god! now i'm passing for almost the same, which I do to control the stress is to try to calm down and think about everything positively and try to control myself, believe me that if you put into practice that i promise that you'll feel better.

Actually i'm passing for the same thing of the exams,i have to study a lot for a maths exam,and the worst is that i'm stupid on Maths so i dunno' what am i going to do,but i just try to calm down,that's the best thing you can do:)

Hope that helped:)
<3

Thanks alot guys, its helped me heaps.
My trials start tommorow, but its really the ones in like a few months that worry me, because its the big one and if i'm like this with the trials, then the actual HSC scares me. So i thought i should find a way to prevent all that happaning. So thank you so much guys, I will let you know what happens. ;)


<333

I start revising 3-4 days before the exam. Don’t see the point in starting too soon, ‘cause there’s a chance you’ll forget material. Plus, I always do cribs, knowing I have smth to back up my knowledge makes me less nervous.

As for the stress… yes there’s stress, but in last years I’ve developed this kind of attitude toward exams, like they’re not the most important thing in your life, even if lots of people go around saying that. I think that it’s just wrong to cripple your nerve cells every time ‘cause of them, especially that there are a lot of other reasons which cause stress in everyday life. They just don’t worth that.

And you know, that really helps me! I wasn’t stressed at all while passing my last exams and I did great. Just get some rest more often and do your favorite stuff, and remember the more you’re thinking about exams, or more important about not passing them, the more stressed you get.

Just combine studying with rest more often and I’m sure you’ll be better!

I know this is kinda an old thread, but I didn't want to start another one and get it locked.

I find this very stress-relieving. Just did this today. (sooo totally copied/pasted from my LJ, too. :))
___________

You will find out a lot about your life by looking into your notebook. Not the stuff written in it necessarily, but the clutter inside, if there is any.

For example, my notebook was a total disaster, papers everywhere, not able to find anything. A complete metaphor for my life. No organization, just extreme chaos.

Then I cleaned it out and organized everything and I feel SO much better. Not kidding here either. And I HATE cleaning.

Try it the next time you are in stressful chaos, if you can, organize something. It will probably make you feel tons better when you are finished.

:)

Yeah now that you mention it... Before my last exam i spent 3 hours cleaning out my room because we had visitors coming so i took the oppotunity to have a majour clean out, and you can imagne how much shit i hade if it took 3 hours :p
And i felt a reliefe afterwards and well felt good.

Its such a good idea!