‘Boot out stress, think happy thoughts’

KOCHI: The days that make or break the dreams of students are here, with class X and XII exams around the corner. Last-minute revisions and sleepless nights are adding to the stress of students, leaving even the good ones perplexed and anxious.

Everyone is susceptible. “When a student becomes anxious, he or she becomes unable to concentrate and tries to overcome it by avoiding studying altogether,” says Prakash Chandra, psychologist.
 He says the problem is not restricted to school children alone. “Even college students find means to avoid taking the bull by the horn,” he adds.

Counsellors and education experts prescribe days free of last-minute scramble. “The days before and during the exams need to be pressure free. You can’t gain much by studying into the night or going through different study materials. In fact,  nothing much can be gained by last-minute studies. Parents should make sure not to pressure their wards. Stand by them. Let them feel, come what they have your support,” says the psychologist.

Many parents feel the same.  Says Mary Regi, mother of a Class XII student. “I feel everything hinges on how the parents handle their child’s study regime. The planning should start from the beginning itself. A systematic pattern should be set,” says Mary, who is a senior officer with the BSNL. Her son, a Kendriya Vidyalaya student, is appearing for the Class XII examination.

Mary doesn’t believe in forcing her son to study more the day before the exams. “There is no use. This can only make the student anxious and confused. The child should be allowed to relax. He or she should not spend a sleepless night the day before the exam. Instead, it will be ideal to go to bed early and rise at the crack of dawn, have a cooling bath, a good breakfast and get ready to crack the paper,” she says.  As Tigi Soni, mother of a Class X student puts in, if they didn’t study properly the entire year, what can be achieved in the last few days. She feels beside students, parents too need counselling.

“As the exam date nears, parents start hyperventilating. They tend to badger their children in order to find seek succour from stress. This is wrong,” she says. Many teachers too agree.

According to a teacher of an aided higher secondary school, parents tend to become very anxious. “Parents set a target for their kids. And they pull all the stops in order to make their children achieve that target. They forget their actions very often prove to be detrimental to the well-being of their wards. Hence, it becomes very necessary to conduct counselling sessions for parents,” she says.  According to her, the recipe for a stress-free date with the board exams is to study well and advance revisions.