Every year, thousands of students take Advanced Placement Courses and the exams which follow these courses. Whether it is to earn college credits, have an impressive accomplishment on their resume, or please their parents, the majority of Wheatley students have taken at least one AP. Every May, the students within this course have to study an entire year’s worth of material in order to get the score they desire. Due to going to Wheatley, a highly competitive school, several students aim and hope for a 4 or 5.
Taking an endless amount of APs in a single year can be extremely stressful for many students. Students have and put pressure on themselves to achieve the score they desire and spend weeks preparing for the final exam. This immense amount of pressure often leads to mental health problems. When students start to feel an extreme amount of anxiety, this may lead to panic attacks and neglecting important things. For example, in the lead up to APs, many students receive limited amounts of sleep, neglect their family and friends, eat less, and take less care of themselves mentally and physically.
How To Manage This Stress?
Now that we have established that AP exams can cause intense stress which may lead to worsened mental health, how can students manage and limit this stress? One important method to limit this stress that many high school students often ignore, is meditation. Meditation can help people relax, calm your mind, and allow you to stay in the moment. As a result, this leads to better emotional and physical well-being. The second method is positive affirmations. Telling yourself statements like, “I am going to do well on this test,” and “Doing my best is enough,” motivate and encourage you by building up your confidence. Lastly, an efficient method that helps many people with their crowded thoughts is journaling. Journaling is an outlet to express your feelings, thoughts, and how you truly feel.
The Takeaway
Stress is inevitable, since it is a natural physical and mental response that you cannot avoid. However, what you can do is find methods and ways to assist you in managing your stress. Methods such as meditation, positive affirmations, journaling, and more allow you to limit your stress. Heavy coursework from AP exams can lead to high stress levels that may harm your mental health. However, despite what you may think, sleeping, exercising, being in touch with your emotions, and spending time with loved ones is as important as getting the grade you desire. This article is your reminder to take care of yourself and manage your stress by using healthy tactics and methods!