Self Care During A Levels

Hello, Reader!

I have a confession: I’ve always been terrible at handling stress. Especially when it’s related to my studies or exams. I’m that person that cries when overwhelmed and stressed. I shut myself off and focus all my energy on my work and I forget all about my health or wellbeing.

A-Levels are, as you all know, extremely stressful which really affected my mental health in year 12 because I wasn’t used to that amount of pressure. Because of this, I decided to find a way of de-stressing that allowed me to be productive but also to not ruin my physical nor mental health. But how can I fit time to take care of myself amongst all the studying I do? That is the tough part.

First, you have to be truthful with yourself; we all waste time on social media or Netflix whether it is instead of studying, after studying or in between studying. That’s perfectly okay! But what if you used some of that time to take care of your mental health? I’m a huge advocate of meditation, but I know it’s not for everyone. Before the exam period, I used to meditate maybe twice a week on average, just to reflect on my mental health and check up on myself. During the exam period - every single morning. Before every exam especially, just to put me in the right mindset so I could go into an exam with a clear and calm head. Not into meditation? Try taking a couple minutes to write a weekly reflection; how did your week go? Was it productive or not? Did you feel energised or tired? How can you feel more motivated? If your mind is drifting or going off on a tangent, let it. Just write everything down, you don’t have to read it over if you don’t want to - spill it out and then throw it away.

Physical health is also (obviously) really important. Stress can have real effects on your physical well-being; I struggled the most with stress acne. It’s the worst - not only was I stressed about work but I was even more stressed because my skin was breaking out. Face masks were my best friends throughout Sixth Form. I’d literally order them in packs of 12 and go through them at a ridiculous rate. I don’t know if they actually did anything for my skin, but I know for a fact that they made me feel more relaxed when I put one on to watch some Netflix or just sit back and listen to music. Just the act of putting on a facemask made me feel so much calmer and in control, because I knew that I took those 20-30 minutes just for myself to treat myself. Other than this, I’ve tried yoga, but I found it really tough to upkeep because I’m generally not a very sporty person so any kind of physical exercise just doesn’t really do it for me - but I do recommend it for those that enjoy it! Even if you don’t enjoy exercise, like me, just getting outside, a change of scenery, can make you feel so much better.

The general idea is that every once in a while you need to step away from your work and do something small just for yourself. Whatever makes you feel better about you.

Take care of yourself!
Love, Agnes xo