Test Stress: How To Help Kids Cope During Exams

Whether the pressure comes from peers, teachers, parents or yourself, examination stress can be all consuming for some young people.

Most of the time children are resilient, adaptable and pretty laid back about life changes and being put on the spot, but some have a shadow hanging over them as exams creep up. Some get scared, panic and start doubting themselves - and they may try all sorts of strategies to withdraw and make excuses as to why it might be best not to continue.

As we become stressed, the psychological and physiological effects swamp our bodies and minds with emotions and feelings that are uncomfortable, unless we know how to manage them.

When a child experiences stress, the endocrine system releases hormones from the pituitary gland that stimulates the adrenals to activate adrenaline and cortisol. As this causes high blood pressure and increased blood sugar levels, we experience feelings of anxiety, shortness of breath and we may appear fearful or excited.

All this puts the body into the sympathetic fight-or-flight mode.

In the short term, this stress can be manageable and can actually be productive - improving or enhancing performance. However, over a long period of time - such as during the run up to, and the week of, multiple examinations - the body is not able to return to the parasympathetic mode and establish equilibrium.

A body that remains in fight-or-flight over a prolonged period can develop serious health issues, as well as challenging behavioral problems.

Signs of stress in children

• Difficulty getting to sleep
• Tired all the time
• Tearful
• Headaches
• Dizziness and blurred vision
• Anxiety and irritability
• These feelings and symptoms can become amplified if people around children, such as parents, peers or teachers are exhibiting stress.

Kids can become entangled in the energy fields of others' emotions and feelings, which can influence how they feel.

Here are some tips and tools to help kids manage stress

• Planning and time management; create a timetable with lots of breaks to balance out the concentration process. Make this fun by drawing pictures and using vibrant colors
• Help your kids study in a group if possible, as this is very supportive
• Be sure they are getting as much sleep as possible (definitely 8 hours), as this is restorative and energizing
• Feed them healthy, fresh food to optimize brain function and supplement especially with omega-3 fatty acids
• Help them connect with natural beauty, like a walk in the park, on the beach, in the woods (this is my favorite - they get a massive Qi boost from nature and great exercise)
• Use aromatherapy essential oils in a burner or simply have them inhale from the bottle. I recommend rosemary for clarity, frankincense for calm and jasmine for nurturing. There are many others; use what best resonates with your kids. The molecules in essential oils act on the limbic system to calm and sooth emotions.
• Our Emotional Stress Relief (ESR) Infoceutical, combined with Sleep or Chill Infoceutical can help promote calmness, clarity and relaxation.
• Meditation recordings that guide through chakra balancing. You can also use the miHealth device to balance your children's chakras.
• Positive Affirmation Technique by saying aloud positive affirmations that relate to their specific fears or anxiety in that situation.

Example:
I am feeling really excited about this exam
I am completely confident about this subject
I love this subject
I am happy to be in this situation
I know this​

• Listen to beautiful music; such as our NES imprinted music which is designed to induce relaxation, focus, love, and improve the body-field's overall coherence.

We also offer targeted stress-reducing therapy sessions using the miHealth device functions for mental clarity, inner peace, trust, energy, and sleep.

At school and home, in a safe and secure environment, children can learn and experience the ways of adult responsibilities and develop strong work and social ethics. We can support our children to be the best that they can be and know that there is far more to the rich tapestry of life and living than the results that are scored in tests.

Let’s teach and educate our children stress management skills and show them how to be responsible for their health and well-being.