Don't stress over exams - talk it out

Year 11 Aquinas College students Devon Brickland, Aaron Hansen and Erin Taylor-Levey are not surprised students turn to helplines for support for the stress that comes with exams. Photo / George Novak

Some Tauranga teens are turning to youth helplines for advice as they struggle with the stress of preparing for exams.

Teen phone counselling service 0800 What's Up has received an increased number of calls from young people during exam time.

Manager Rhonda Morrison said sometimes young people needed someone outside their normal circle to talk to about the pressure and stress they were feeling.

Year 11 Aquinas College students Erin Taylor-Levey, 16, and Sophia Burton, 15, said they were not surprised students turned to help lines for support during exams.

Sophia said each teacher stressing the importance of studying for their subject added to the tension.

Another Tauranga high school student, who asked not to be identified, had called helplines a couple of times due to the stress of studying for exams.

The student was surprised when the call taker told said they had a large number of calls from students in the same situation.

"The pressure is really high because school doesn't really work for me.

"I'm more of a practical sort of person. There's lots of pressure from different people."

Calls to the helpline usually helped to relieve some pressure, the student said.

"It's just being able to talk to somebody because everybody else is studying."

Youthline National Spokesman Stephen Bell said exam anxiety was common.

"It's natural to feel anxious and nervous at this time of year, and the pressure and stress affects people in different ways. Feeling more irritable, emotional and tired are just a few of the ways people can be affected during exam season," Mr Bell said.

It was crucial for students to take care of themselves.

"To help stay on top of things it is important to balance study with self-care.

"Get some fresh air, take regular breaks, eat healthily and make sure you allow yourself some time to relax."

There was no one-size-fits-all response to anxiety issues but the first step was always reaching out to a trusted person and asking for help, Mr Bell said.

"Youthline is here to help everyone; you may just need a listening ear or some strategies you can use to cope under exam pressure.

"The main thing is, talk it out, you will feel much better for it."

Stress and anxiety were consistently in the top 12 issues present in calls and texts to Youthline.

Contact Youthline on 0800 376 633 or free text 234, or chat at www.whatsup.co.nz or call 0800 What's Up.

2014 NCEA exams
• 9671 students across the Bay of Plenty region
• More than 120 NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship exams
• Exams began on November 7 and end on December 2