Morag from Manama

Exam season is just around the corner for many students in Bahrain and globally. I have been struggling to find the correct words to describe examinations and all I keep hearing is a voice in my head reminding me how exams ‘suck’! Nobody looks forward to exams and for many, revising for exams comes with a sense of dread and pressure.

As parents it’s vital that we familiarise ourselves with the signs of anxiety and stress that our children may show at this point in their lives and how to help them cope with stress.

Recently, an expat friend witnessed her daughter experience a full-blown panic attack triggered by rising levels of exam stress. Not only was it frightening for my friend to witness but also she said it was a clear light bulb moment when she realised that her daughter had been showing all the symptoms for weeks beforehand.

Neither her, nor her daughter, had pinpointed exam anxiety as the root cause of the lethargy, nausea and loss of appetite that she had been suffering. In fact, my friend had started to worry that her daughter was developing an eating disorder when all along it was stress-related to her exams.

The battle for many students is managing the stress and keeping it under control. Staying healthy is an easy way to help keep stress levels down during revision time, it will also increase your child’s productivity.

Stress Symptoms

Students should look out for the following signs:
Difficulty sleeping or difficulty getting out of bed in the morning
Tiredness
Lack of appetite
Headaches
Forgetfulness
Loss of interest in activities
Irritability
Nausea
Forgetfulness

Learning to recognise when your child is stressing out can be really helpful as they may not be able to recognise their symptoms for themselves. Preparing healthy food and snacks, as fuel for their body and brain is important as is staying hydrated.

Encouraging your child to get a good eight to 10 hours sleep each night will be beneficial, whilst taking some form of daily exercise will aid in the release of their happy endorphins.

Let’s remind our children that exams don’t last forever and they aren’t a true representation of who they really are.