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Understanding exam stress
Exams are stressful for most of us. And we all experience stress in different ways.
If you're struggling to cope, you're not alone. We're here to help you manage your feelings around exams.
What's on this page?
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Do you need tips for coping with exam stress?
We have a page of tips and advice on how to cope with exam stress.
What is exam stress?
Exams can come with a lot of pressure. And it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by them.
Lots of us know what it feels like to be stressed. But there’s no one way to describe what stress is.
Stress might feel different for you than it does for someone else. How we experience stress can feel different at different times. It can also depend on what's causing it.
Feeling stressed, worried or under pressure around exams can be difficult to manage. But there are things that can help – it's about finding what's right for you.
Young people we spoke to described exam stress as:
Like a constant, overwhelming presence in the weeks leading up to an exam, dominated by anxious thoughts of preparation, panic and self-doubt – Pippa, 18
A short period of your life but it can feel so long and consuming – especially with other things in the background like growing up, friendships and other changes – Megan, 17
It's having a weight over my shoulders of not wanting to disappoint not only myself, but those around me – Lace, 17
All of these negative emotions were built up inside of me and I didn't know what to do with them – Bernadine, 18
What causes exam stress?
Exam stress can be more than feeling nervous on the day of an exam. It can also be how you feel leading up to exams, during exams and when waiting for results. Other things might make us feel worse too.
These might include:
- Not feeling ready or prepared for exams, like feeling behind with revision. Childline have more information about preparing for exams.
- Worrying about how you'll do in exams, especially when you don't know what will be in them.
- Worrying about sitting exams in different situations, like in a new place or under timed conditions. Or if you’re homeschooled or sitting exams in hospital.
- Pressure from others, like parents, carers or teachers.
- Putting pressure on yourself to get certain grades.
- Comparing yourself to others, like believing you have to get the same results as your friends or partner. Or feeling you’re not coping as well as the people you see on social media.
- Worrying about the future, like getting into university or getting a job.
- Having struggled with exams before, like worrying about future exams if you’ve found SATs or GCSEs stressful.
- Coping with life changes, like moving from secondary school to college.
- Having problems at home or in relationships with family, friends or partners.
- Caring for a family member or someone you live with.
- Living with physical or mental health problems or not having the right support.
- Being neurodivergent, like being autistic or having ADHD or dyslexia.
You may feel stressed for reasons that aren't listed here. You might also experience a few of these things at the same time. And things might build up and feel overwhelming.
We can learn to manage exam stress. And some of the ways you manage exam stress may help you to cope in other ways, too. We have tips for how to manage exam stress.
I was detained in an inpatient setting whilst being treated for my mental health at the time I was sitting my exams. I felt very alone and was disconnected from the outside world and I didn't have many people to talk and relate with – Lace, 17
Being homeschooled is a very different experience to people at school – you're often going to an exam centre you've never been in before with people that you don't know. You also may not have done mock exams or been in that kind of environment for a long time – Megan, 17
How might exam stress affect me?
Exam stress can affect how we feel, think and behave. You might experience different things before, during and after your exams.
Some of us might have gone through a lot of stress in our lives. Or exams might be one of the first stressful events that we’ve faced.
Knowing how stress looks like for us can help us to recognise the signs, try to manage our stress and ask for support.
We've listed some feelings, thoughts and behaviours you might experience below.
- Anxious or worried
- Overwhelmed
- Upset
- Panicky
- Exhausted
- Guilty
- Bored or fed up
- Frustrated or angry
- Embarrassed
- Irritable
- Disappointed
- Confused
- Shaking
- Feeling sick
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Stomach pain
- Changes in eating habits
- Crying or feeling like we want to cry more than usual
- Struggling to concentrate
- Forgetful
- Restless
- Feeling tense in our body
- Changes in breathing or breathing very fast
- Sweating a lot
- Feeling tired
- Fear of failure
- Fear of disappointing ourselves or others
- Comparing ourselves to others
- Feeling like we can't cope
- Feeling like things are pointless
- Thinking that we're silly or stupid
- Doubting ourselves
- Feeling like we need to be perfect
- Believing everything is wrong or bad
- Avoiding things like revision
- Working too much without taking breaks
- Saying negative things about ourselves
- Not doing things we usually enjoy
- Not spending enough time with people we care about
- Finding it harder to look after our wellbeing, like not feeling able to sleep or eat
- Using unhealthy ways to cope, like self-harm
If we're struggling to manage our stress, or we try to do too much, we might start to feel burnt out. This means we might feel exhausted or unwell, both in our body and mind. Burnout tells us that we need to rest.
Exam stress would affect me physically, like I would get headaches and neck pain. On the worse days I’d get dizzy and find it hard to concentrate and stay calm – Megan, 17
Feeling under pressure
We may feel like other people are putting a lot of pressure on us. Or we may be putting pressure on ourselves.
Expectations and pressure can be hard to manage. If you're struggling, try thinking about the following:
- Where is the pressure is coming from? It might be from yourself, a parent, family member or carer. Maybe your school is putting pressure on you to do well.
- What could others do to help? Let them know how you're feeling and what you'd like from them, like help with managing revision or taking breaks. We have some tips to help you open up.
- Am I comparing myself to others? People around us can influence the way we feel about ourselves. Focus on what you can do and try and believe in your own abilities. For more information, see our page on confidence and self-esteem.
There was pressure from being labelled as academically bright and despite what was happening in my personal life, I felt I had to put my all into something that is 1% of my life – Lace, 17
The pressure of learning such a large amount of content in such a short period of time whilst being expected to perform to your best ability can be extremely overwhelming and unrealistic – Dylan, 17
Tips for coping with exam stress
Exam stress can feel like a lot to cope with, but there are things you can do to improve your wellbeing. We have tips and ideas to help you cope at different times.
How to cope with exam stress
We have lots of tips for coping with exam stress and feelings around exams.
I like to have a routine after school. I may dedicate like an hour or so to revising and another hour to self-care – Shiloh, 16
Support from school or college
Your teachers might be able to offer support to help with your exams. Or you can get support from your care team if you’re in hospital. You could ask for help with:
- How to revise
- Topics you're struggling with
- Preparing for exams
- Balancing different subjects and topics
- How to take care of yourself
Your school or hospital might be able to offer you more support, like a counselling service.
If you have a mental health problem that counts as a disability, you may be able to get reasonable adjustments. For example, this might include extra time for exams. Or sitting exams in a different room. For more information about reasonable adjustments, see our page on your rights.
If you're not sure what support is available, talk to an adult you trust, like a teacher or school nurse.
My stress from the upcoming exams often cause me to not eat properly as a way of coping. To combat this, my teachers have allowed me to eat in separate rooms – and even leave revision lessons to eat – Freddie, 17
Other types of support
Not all of us can find the support we need from school or college. If you feel like things are getting too much, you could
- Look for a type of support that feels right for you, which you can find on our page about support options.
- Talk to someone you trust, like a family member, partner or friend. For ideas on how to start the conversation, see our page on opening up to others.
- Talk to other young people who might feel similar on message boards like The Mix or Childline.
- Speak to someone confidentially, like a counsellor at The Mix or Childline.
- Visit our useful contacts page for a list of other organisations who can help. Some offer text or instant messaging services for extra privacy.
Care team
These people look after you when you're getting treatment and support for a mental health problem. Your care team might include nurses, doctors and therapists.
They may look after you in hospital, at home or support you through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
Visit our full treatment and support glossary
Counselling
This is a type of talking therapy with a trained counsellor. Counselling can help you:
- Talk through a problem or situation that is negatively affecting your mental health
- Recognise how it affects you
- Work out positive coping strategies or ways to make the situation better
It may be face-to-face, over the phone or over video call.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryPublished: March 2025
Next review planned: March 2028
We spoke to young people who agreed to give quotes for this page. Their experiences are not related to the people shown in the photos.
References are available on request. If you want to reproduce this content, see our permissions and licensing page.
