Thousands of high school students are sitting on Wednesday afternoon with sloshing armpits and a pounding heart waiting for that one phone call: did they pass or not? But what’s the best way to get through those tense hours? Therapist Miranda Meiners from Etten-Leur knows everything about stress and gives the five golden tips.
1. Watch your breathing
“If something exciting is about to happen, our breathing creeps up. It is often all the way up in the chest. Then consciously take a moment to take a few deep breaths and exhale completely. This is how breathing moves to the abdomen and the stress is relieved. Until you suddenly think about that phone call again, at least.”
2. Go do something active
“The most important thing you can do is look for distraction. And preferably something about sports, so that your brain is really busy with something else. Too hot to go for a run? Then go for a swim. For others it works perfectly to meditate. On YouTube you will find enough videos that allow you to take your mind off things for a while.”
3. Don’t stay at home with moms
“Also in the context of changing your mind: go out with some friends. For example, grab a nice terrace. And perhaps even more important: don’t sit next to your mother on the couch! She will probably only get on your nerves.” “Did you hear anything? What now?” That really doesn’t help at a time like this.”
4. Don’t check social media
“One of the worst things you can do is look at your phone. Then you see all those messages coming in from classmates who passed or failed. And you just think: shit, I haven’t heard anything yet. That’s how you keep going stimulated.”
5. Embrace the stress
“Know that it is not wrong in itself to feel stressed. The result of your exams is an important moment, on which a lot depends. You have been working on it for months, but now you cannot do anything about it yourself. It is “It’s against our nature to give up control like that. Then our body will react. With some tricks you can suppress the worst nerves, but stress is also part of it.”