Year 12 is a stressful time. You feel like you’re under a lot of pressure to perform and achieve the results you want. Unfortunately, the stress this creates can often impede your ability to perform to the best of your abilities. In this article, I want to highlight some of the ways you can manage and mitigate the stress of year 12.
Being stressed is a bit like holding a glass of water. You wouldn’t think twice about holding a glass of water for a few minutes but if you had to hold it for a few hours it would become seriously painful! Stress is similar in that being stressed, even at a relatively low level, for long periods of time can have serious effects. In my experience, there are two main ways to deal with this: establishing good patterns of de-stressing behaviour and taking sustained breaks from study.
Everyone has activities which they enjoy and which serve as a break from stress and worry. Unfortunately, however, for the overwhelming majority of people, these activities do not overlap with study meaning the many people cut down on them or stop them all together. While this seems logical it can often have the unintended side effect of taking away de-stressing activities right at the time we need them the most! I would therefore strongly recommend that during year 12 you don’t just stop your hobbies and other activities you enjoy but instead try to seek a balance that allows you to achieve your academic goals while still allowing you to reap the many benefits they provide.
The other way to manage long-term stress is to take breaks or holidays during year 12. Again this can seem counterintuitive advice; how can you holiday when you have so much work to do? The reason that holidays are actually a good time investment is that if you get stressed or burnt out from too much study the amount you study, as well as the quality of the study, will radically decrease. In my experience, therefore, going on holiday or taking a break can actually be the most productive way you can spend your time! In addition, holidays can be a great way to get perspective on year 12, spend time with your family and experience new things: all very important parts of life.
Hope these tips help you to manage the stress of year 12.
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