Stress

[LoneWanderer]

Im not sure if this is a mental crisis or not but im in year 11 now. And that means that i finish my GCSEs I have 15 exams this year and im jsut getting soooooo stressed cos i have all this pressure on me to do well, ive done OK so far but im really worried because i have to get at least 6 Bs to get into private school, which my dad really really wants, I just really dont want him to be disappointed in me if i dont get the grades, and hen i start to think that, well if i dont get into private school i could jsut end my life and not have to worry about it anymore. Does anyone know how to not get stressed frome xams?

[Sapphire]

Pressure to perform well in exams is a real bitch to have to deal with but it is no reason to end your life. Trust me, it isn't worth it.

Have you got anyone you can talk to about this?
Do you have ways you can physically relax?
This is, I feel, vital to not getting too stressed out.

6 B's is a feasible goal for someone who works hard. If you keep on top of your work and don't let yourself get behind then you will do fine :)
And above all, try to remember that these exams are not the be all and end all. Life goes on.

[Nihilus]

Ending your life is a poor reason to do so. Try breathing exercises ( those help me alot) and take breaks when your stressed. If your in class taking a test use the breathing exercises.

[byee]

I think you might want to clarify dad's hopes for your grades/scores/private school attendance with his feelings about you, as a son. You might be adding stress here b/c you're experiencing them as one in the same.

Your dad might be sharing his desire for you to go to private school based on his own ideals of what would be best for you. You might be experiencing this more personally, as if his opinion of you will be reflected (or altered) by your acceptance or rejection into school. Maybe he's actually saying (or implying) this, but maybe he's not. Maybe you're expectations of yourself are based more on your need to please him.

In order to reduce the stress of disappointing him, you might want to first clarify what his real expectations are, and also let him know how additionally stressful the idea that there's more at stake here than private school admission. A frank convo with him might be very illuminating, as well as reassuring, which can only help your test taking performance.

[Zazu]

I agree with what IAMSAM said above, you really do need to clarify with your dad what you think about it all. You shouldn't feel that you have to go to this private school if you dont want to, your schooling should go in the direction of where you want it to go. So sit down with him and have a talk about what he expects of you, then if you feel he's expecting a lot / too much then tell him, just say that you'll do the best you can, and then if you do well it's a bonus.

I know how it feels with the stress of GCSEs coming up, I went through all that last year. But you've got to be really careful that the stress doesn't get on top of you and ruin any work that you do / ruin your revision. Just try and plan each week with what revision you want to do when you start it, and try and stick to your plan.

And trust me dude, suicide will not help anything. If you did kill yourself because you didn't get into private school then that really won't solve anything, not getting into a private school isn't the end of the world, I'm sure even if you didn't you're dad would be fine with it, most parents are actually really understanding underneath, your dad's probably just encouraging you a lot because he wants to see you do well. But yer as I said, most parents won't go ape if you don't lol.

And if you don't want to feel stressed before x-mas, then you just need to find a good thing to do which chills you out, i.e. deep breathing exercises / meditating.

So just sit down with your dad and talk to him, and plan out this coming year (your revision ect). I think you'll do fine in your GCSEs anyway, you seem like a fairly intelligent guy.

And finally, don't forget everyone here at VT is here to help you. If you ever need to talk to someone you can add me on msn, I've got first hand experience of what you're going through atm.