{"id":78299,"date":"2026-03-12T13:21:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spunout.ie\/navigator\/real-life-stories\/how-i-managed-stress-while-facing-exams\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:21:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:21:07","slug":"how-i-managed-stress-while-facing-exams","status":"publish","type":"real-life-stories","link":"https:\/\/spunout.ie\/navigator\/real-life-stories\/how-i-managed-stress-while-facing-exams\/","title":{"rendered":"How I managed stress while facing exams"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was so overwhelmed in 6th year, I was facing what felt like the most important test throughout my whole education. Every exam up until this point seemed like a walk in the park, but the <a href='https:\/\/spunout.ie\/signpost\/studying-for-the-leaving-cert-exams'>Leaving Cert<\/a> was a completely different ball game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It came with so many expectations and so much <a href='https:\/\/spunout.ie\/voices\/opinion\/pressures-of-the-leaving-cert'>pressure<\/a>, which ultimately could end up being a lot of disappointment for both myself and my family. I knew how I was feeling was normal, but the sheer amount of time that I spent thinking about everything that could go wrong was consuming me, so I had to make a plan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class='wp-block-heading' id='h-how-did-i-calm-my-exam-nerves'><strong>How did I calm my exam nerves?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I had to get to the root of what my stresses were, so I sat down and opened a new note on my phone, making a list of the worst possible things that could happen and also my triggers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In school after class tests, I felt so uncomfortable when my other classmates would start discussing answers to certain questions, so I removed myself from the situation. When my mums friends would ask what I wanted to do after school, I freaked out a bit because I still didnt know myself. I had no idea what points I would get.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>How could I have all these answers for people when I didn&#8217;t even know myself? So to <a href='https:\/\/spunout.ie\/signpost\/getting-through-the-leaving-cert-exams'>take some stress off the upcoming exams<\/a>, I decided to focus on what I wanted from the Leaving Cert specifically.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class='wp-block-heading' id='h-what-did-the-leaving-certificate-mean-to-me'><strong>What did the Leaving Certificate mean to me?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To me, the Leaving Cert meant everything and nothing at the same time. I would go between the idea of <a href='https:\/\/spunout.ie\/signpost\/what-to-do-after-the-leaving-cert'>college and a gap year to go interrailing<\/a>. Ultimately I wanted to go to college; I wanted to have a degree and go on to specialise in a certain area.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After scouring through <a href='https:\/\/careersportal.ie\/'>CareersPortal<\/a>, a career guidance website, week after week I decided that I would like to study new media\/communications, as it was a broad degree with many different routes to go down afterwards.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As a safety net I applied to a <a href='https:\/\/spunout.ie\/voices\/experiences\/plc-course-dream-college'>PLC<\/a> (Post Leaving Certificate) course also in my hometown in the same area, so if things didn&#8217;t go to plan I would still be progressing with my education.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class='wp-block-heading' id='h-focus-on-the-future-post-exams'><strong>Focus on the future post exams<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>No matter what the outcome of the exams was, I tried to stay focused and optimistic about the <a href='https:\/\/spunout.ie\/signpost\/what-to-do-after-the-leaving-cert'>future<\/a>. I found this to be a great tool to combat exam stress and anxiety.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As much as the future was unknown to 18-year-old me, I knew it was going to be bright. I envisioned myself on <a href='https:\/\/spunout.ie\/signpost\/receiving-your-leaving-cert-results'>results day<\/a>, happy about all the hard work I had put in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class='wp-block-heading' id='h-hindsight-is-20-20'><strong>Hindsight is 20\/20<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To my surprise, I got offered not one but two courses. First was my level 6\/7 and then followed my level 8. I didn&#8217;t end up needing to do my interview for my PLC as I accepted my offer for New Media Studies in IADT.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Looking back, everything is always clearer, but understandably at the time I was my own worst enemy, focused on self-doubt and not envisioning how bright my future would be today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-78299","real-life-stories","type-real-life-stories","status-publish","hentry","reallife_topic-exam-stress","reallife_topic-feeling-stressed-or-low","reallife_topic-relate-to-others","reallife_topic-stress-and-anxiety"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How I managed stress while facing exams - spunout navigator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How I managed stress while facing exams - spunout navigator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I was so overwhelmed in 6th year, I was facing what felt like the most important test throughout my whole education. 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