If you or someone you know needs someone to talk to, for any reason, about anything, you can visit Headspace, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, 24 hours a day.
Whether you’re at secondary school, university or TAFE, studying can be stressful. Throw other life events into the mix and it can sometimes feel like it’s hard to cope.
If you’re feeling stressed and need help with personal stuff, studying advice or some support about what to do when you finish your education, there are people who can help.
Preventing study stress
Stress is part of student life, especially when exams are involved. Taking care of your mental health all year round is always the priority but when exam time comes around, there are a few other things you can do.
Here are some ideas:
- Get organised. This can mean paying attention to the times of day your study is most effective and plan your day around that.
- Leading up to exams, get enough exercise, eat well and get plenty of sleep.
- Talk to your teachers about how you’re feeling.
- Give yourself time to relax every day.
- Spend time with people who make you feel happy.
- Be well prepared for any exams. Know the time, location and what you need to take with you. Be at least 10 minutes early so you don’t feel rushed.
There are also support services available, if you need them.
Affordable services
As a student you can access counselling services for less than the normal rate, there could even be free or low-cost services available at your school, university or TAFE.
If your place of education has a wellness counsellor, talk to them first. If not, talk to a teacher you trust.
If you prefer to speak to someone outside of your school, university or TAFE you can go to your doctor or use Beyond Blue’s get support service so you can talk to a counsellor for free either online or by phone.
Better Health also has a guide to managing stress.
Read about more supports available in our guide to mental health and wellbeing.
If you or someone you know needs someone to talk to, for any reason, about anything, you can visit Headspace, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, 24 hours a day.
Career counselling
At some point in life, you’ll need to decide about what you’d like to do as a job.
It’s a big decision to make but career counselling can help take the stress out of the process.
Career counsellors know a lot about educational, work and training options. By talking to you about your interests and experience, a good career counsellor can help you make decisions on what you might study for further education or what work or training you can or should do.
Most schools, universities and TAFEs have career counsellors or career resource centres that offer free or low-cost services.