Dealing with matric-exam results anxiety

MATRIC results are expected to be released on January 19. The Grade 12 learners of 2022 are anticipating their results as the day is only a few moments away. Anxiety comes with worrying if they made it, and for some, if they qualify for admission to tertiary education. This time is crucial for learners to take care of themselves instead of drowning in their sorrows and making matters worse. Success at School shares tips on how to stay calm during the wait for the matric final-exam results. 

1. Don’t bottle your feelings up  

If you’re nervous or anxious, talk about it. Tell your family or friends, or write it down in a diary. Don’t be embarrassed about your feelings – you might think nobody else is feeling this way, but chances are, they are. Exams are stressful. Bottling up stress can make it worse, so it’s really important not to keep it all inside.

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2. Make a plan

Be organised – know what time you’ve got to go and pick up your results and where you need to go. Think about what you might need to do if you don’t get the grades you were hoping for so you’re not panicking on the day.

For example, if your university place or job offer is dependent on you getting certain results, have their number handy so that you can call them on the day to see if they’re still willing to offer you the position. 

3. Get plenty of rest

Sleep may be the last thing on your mind the evening before results day, but a good 40 winks will put you in a good frame of mind to face what lies ahead.

There are things you can do to help those elusive zzzs come your way. Get up nice and early the morning before rather than having a mammoth lie in, and do some exercise at some point during the day so that you’re nice and tired when you go to bed.

Avoid too much caffeine, especially six hours before you go to bed, and have a nice, relaxing bath in the evening. Resist the urge to go over and over your exams in your head because it won’t help, and there’s really nothing you can do about it now.

It might be an idea to stay off social media if exams are all everyone seems to be talking about because it’ll only make you feel worse. Try reading one of your favourite books instead to help your mind unwind.

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4. Don’t go alone

You may not think you want to take your mum along with you to school, but you’ll probably really appreciate having a family member with you when you get there and the nerves set in.

Firstly, if you need to go by car, they can drive you and your bundle of nerves there and bring you home again.

Secondly, if things don’t go according to plan, two heads are better than one when it comes to gathering as much info as possible about your next steps, assessing the options and coming up with a plan of action.

Finally, even if they don’t come in handy for either of the above, they might buy you a nice lunch afterwards.

5. If you didn’t get the exam results you were hoping for

Do not panic. We repeat, do NOT panic. You have plenty of options if you didn’t get the exam grades you wanted. 

Take a deep breath and start talking. Speak to your teacher, careers adviser, and whoever else you can to find out what you should do next.

Find out as much as you can before making a decision, and remember, this is not the end of the world. There are many extremely successful people out there who didn’t get the grades they were hoping for either. There are lots of paths to success so use your disappointment as motivation to find yours.

Again, you may want to stay off social media for the day. Chances are there’ll be lots of excited chatter about results that won’t make you feel any better. 

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If you got the exam results you wanted

YAY! Massive well done to you, and make sure you celebrate your tremendous achievement.

But be aware that others around you may not have had such happy news – so tone down the gloating, shrieking and general madness until you know that there’s no one nearby who’s upset by their results.