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severe panic attack in exam and consequences?

A bit of context:
I suffer from depression, severe anxiety (e.g. panic attacks which tend to span into a psychotic episode at their peak), OCD and I have a diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome. For the past year I have been in a psychiatric unit both formally and informally, but I started a new sixth form in November after my old sixth form abandoned me because of my illness :emo:

I'm due to take my psychology AS exam on Monday, but yesterday I had a severe panic attack. I gradually became psychotic where my parents had to call the police for fear of harming myself or my baby sister, who then called an ambulance after I had an asthma attack from hyperventilating. Fortunately things were on the mend by the time the police arrived who helped to calm me down, but i'm terrified of having a panic attack during my exam.

Is there anything that I could tell the exam board or apply for, such as, special consideration if a panic attack of this severity were to recur? Btw, my teachers are aware of my situation and i'll be taking my exam in isolation because of the anxiety issues.

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:frown: anyone?
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Reply 4
Original post by suicidaloverbusiness
A bit of context:
I suffer from depression, severe anxiety (e.g. panic attacks which tend to span into a psychotic episode at their peak), OCD and I have a diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome. For the past year I have been in a psychiatric unit both formally and informally, but I started a new sixth form in November after my old sixth form abandoned me because of my illness :emo:

I'm due to take my psychology AS exam on Monday, but yesterday I had a severe panic attack. I gradually became psychotic where my parents had to call the police for fear of harming myself or my baby sister, who then called an ambulance after I had an asthma attack from hyperventilating. Fortunately things were on the mend by the time the police arrived who helped to calm me down, but i'm terrified of having a panic attack during my exam.

Is there anything that I could tell the exam board or apply for, such as, special consideration if a panic attack of this severity were to recur? Btw, my teachers are aware of my situation and i'll be taking my exam in isolation because of the anxiety issues.


The official JCQ line for special consideration for January exams is that if you have a problem then you just have to re-take before the end of the course, i.e. in the summer.

In the longer term it is quite complicated. Special consideration is specifically not available for exam stress, so if your panic attacks are as a result of the exams then no allowance will be made. If you can provide evidence that you are having panic attacks for a different reason then it might be possible to put in for special consideration if you have a problem in the summer.
Original post by Data
The official JCQ line for special consideration for January exams is that if you have a problem then you just have to re-take before the end of the course, i.e. in the summer.

In the longer term it is quite complicated. Special consideration is specifically not available for exam stress, so if your panic attacks are as a result of the exams then no allowance will be made. If you can provide evidence that you are having panic attacks for a different reason then it might be possible to put in for special consideration if you have a problem in the summer.


I wouldn't really class psychosis in the same category of exam stress. :s-smilie:
Reply 6
Original post by suicidaloverbusiness
A bit of context:
I suffer from depression, severe anxiety (e.g. panic attacks which tend to span into a psychotic episode at their peak), OCD and I have a diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome. For the past year I have been in a psychiatric unit both formally and informally, but I started a new sixth form in November after my old sixth form abandoned me because of my illness :emo:

I'm due to take my psychology AS exam on Monday, but yesterday I had a severe panic attack. I gradually became psychotic where my parents had to call the police for fear of harming myself or my baby sister, who then called an ambulance after I had an asthma attack from hyperventilating. Fortunately things were on the mend by the time the police arrived who helped to calm me down, but i'm terrified of having a panic attack during my exam.

Is there anything that I could tell the exam board or apply for, such as, special consideration if a panic attack of this severity were to recur? Btw, my teachers are aware of my situation and i'll be taking my exam in isolation because of the anxiety issues.


i am in a similar situation at the moment. I too have told my teachers so that i can take the exam elsewhere. my teacher was really helpful, he told me to go the doctors to get a note so that if i do have a panic attack or am just generally quite anxious so that i am unable to concentrate on my exam, i can get some extra marks.

One thing that is getting me through this is knowing that i can walk out to calm down if i need to, and the amount of time i miss will be added on at the end. i dont know if this is the same for you but its deff a good idea.

I hope that this helps. On my behalf its quite nice to hear from someone who is going through a similar problem so thx
Reply 7
i suffer from panic attacks too and know this is easier said than done.. but try not to worry about it.
generally, when i'm thinking DONTHAPPENDONTHAPPENDONTHAPPEN... thats when they do, cos my mind is so focused on them.

i hope it goes ok, its good your teachers know - maybe they can notify the exam board is something happens? in one of my GCSEs we had non stop fire alarms because of a fault with the system, they wrote a note to be sent with the papers and i think we all got special consideration.

good luck :smile: x
Original post by npaul4
i am in a similar situation at the moment. I too have told my teachers so that i can take the exam elsewhere. my teacher was really helpful, he told me to go the doctors to get a note so that if i do have a panic attack or am just generally quite anxious so that i am unable to concentrate on my exam, i can get some extra marks.

One thing that is getting me through this is knowing that i can walk out to calm down if i need to, and the amount of time i miss will be added on at the end. i dont know if this is the same for you but its deff a good idea.

I hope that this helps. On my behalf its quite nice to hear from someone who is going through a similar problem so thx


I'm sorry to hear that you're going through such a tough time too :hugs:
I'm glad I could be of comfort to you. :smile: I think i'll ask for 5 minutes' time out if my panic attacks do happen, hopefully the invigilator will be understanding.
Original post by Samz
i suffer from panic attacks too and know this is easier said than done.. but try not to worry about it.
generally, when i'm thinking DONTHAPPENDONTHAPPENDONTHAPPEN... thats when they do, cos my mind is so focused on them.

i hope it goes ok, its good your teachers know - maybe they can notify the exam board is something happens? in one of my GCSEs we had non stop fire alarms because of a fault with the system, they wrote a note to be sent with the papers and i think we all got special consideration.

good luck :smile: x


Panic attacks really are horrible and i'm sorry to hear you suffer from them too. :hugs: I'll try my best to relax, but i'm trying to think ahead - just in case anything happens. If I were eligible for special consideration - which category would I fall into? :s-smilie:
Reply 10
Original post by suicidaloverbusiness
I'm sorry to hear that you're going through such a tough time too :hugs:
I'm glad I could be of comfort to you. :smile: I think i'll ask for 5 minutes' time out if my panic attacks do happen, hopefully the invigilator will be understanding.


yeah i would deffinately do that. ask a teacher to talk to the invigilator before hand to make him/her aware in advance, so that you're not worrying during the exam about whether they will let you leave or not
Reply 11
Original post by suicidaloverbusiness
Panic attacks really are horrible and i'm sorry to hear you suffer from them too. :hugs: I'll try my best to relax, but i'm trying to think ahead - just in case anything happens. If I were eligible for special consideration - which category would I fall into? :s-smilie:


my teacher just said that it would be the same as if you were ill, as long as you have a docs note they will treat you just the same
Original post by npaul4
my teacher just said that it would be the same as if you were ill, as long as you have a docs note they will treat you just the same


ok, my GP is kind of crap tbh, but I have a psychiatric consultant and a key worker nurse allocated to me from the youth support clinical team, a note from them would suffice wouldn't it?
Reply 13
Original post by suicidaloverbusiness
I wouldn't really class psychosis in the same category of exam stress. :s-smilie:


However, if it is caused by the exam then the rules stand - no special consideration allowed for symptoms of exam stress (on the logic that all candidate are in the same situation so no one is entitled to an uplift).

You need to ask for everything you can that will limit the exam's effect on you - you say you will be on your own, do you need to be facing the door? do you need to be able to see out of the window? Are they willing to let you have rest breaks and go for an escorted walk round out side if you need a break? Make sure you have talked through everything that you might want to help keep you calm during the exam.
Original post by Data
However, if it is caused by the exam then the rules stand - no special consideration allowed for symptoms of exam stress (on the logic that all candidate are in the same situation so no one is entitled to an uplift).

You need to ask for everything you can that will limit the exam's effect on you - you say you will be on your own, do you need to be facing the door? do you need to be able to see out of the window? Are they willing to let you have rest breaks and go for an escorted walk round out side if you need a break? Make sure you have talked through everything that you might want to help keep you calm during the exam.


ok, but the exam is on tuesday, that leaves monday for me to arrange all this :frown:
Reply 15
Original post by suicidaloverbusiness
ok, my GP is kind of crap tbh, but I have a psychiatric consultant and a key worker nurse allocated to me from the youth support clinical team, a note from them would suffice wouldn't it?


that should be fine, as long as they can explain that you've been suffering from panic attacks for a while and that its got nothing to do with the "stress" of exams in general which everyone experiences to an extent.

i havent actually gone to anyone yet apart from school teachers etc about my panic attacks. i know what you mean about your gp, mines the same so im not sure how to get my note, as a note from a teacher wouldnt be accepted. im not actually sure whether i want to get extra consideration as i think that people will think its cheating as there isnt anything physically wrong with me. But i know that i will be a nervous wreck during my exams and will deff be making several stupid errors due to being unable to concentrate so i dont want to hinder my university place by not doing anything about it. :frown: its deff a difficult time for us sufferers
Original post by npaul4
that should be fine, as long as they can explain that you've been suffering from panic attacks for a while and that its got nothing to do with the "stress" of exams in general which everyone experiences to an extent.

i havent actually gone to anyone yet apart from school teachers etc about my panic attacks. i know what you mean about your gp, mines the same so im not sure how to get my note, as a note from a teacher wouldnt be accepted. im not actually sure whether i want to get extra consideration as i think that people will think its cheating as there isnt anything physically wrong with me. But i know that i will be a nervous wreck during my exams and will deff be making several stupid errors due to being unable to concentrate so i dont want to hinder my university place by not doing anything about it. :frown: its deff a difficult time for us sufferers


Well, they can definitely prove that it's been going on for a while...heck i've been in a psychiatric hospital for the past 10 months being treated for my psychosis and depression. :redface: I know what you mean by the special consideration, it feels like i'm just fishing for marks. This is the first exam since I tried to...you know...and this time last year I was in such a state. I'm just scared of anything happening in the exam, I don't want to jeopardise the hard work i've put in. The fact that i'm sitting my exam now is such a massive achievement for me in itself. I hate it when people assume i'm just another student trying to get an unfair advantage. :frown: It's depressing to say the least. :frown:
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 17
Original post by suicidaloverbusiness
Well, they can definitely prove that it's been going on for a while...heck i've been in a psychiatric hospital for the past 10 months being treated for my psychosis and depression. :redface: I know what you mean by the special consideration, it feels like i'm just fishing for marks. This is the first exam since I tried to...you know...and this time last year I was in such a state. I'm just scared of anything happening in the exam, I don't want to jeopardise the hard work i've put in. The fact that i'm sitting my exam now is such a massive achievement for me in itself. I hate it when people assume i'm just another student trying to get an unfair advantage. :frown: It's depressing to say the least. :frown:


i completely understand, several months ago I thought I was going to have to drop out of sixth form whereas now im still here and going to sit an exam on thurs so its a massive achievement for me too.
my view i guess, is that i want to get through these exams and if i need to have all this extra help to get me through it then i will. although its difficult you just have to ignore what other people say, you know that you wouldnt be doing this if you didnt need it.
Original post by npaul4
i completely understand, several months ago I thought I was going to have to drop out of sixth form whereas now im still here and going to sit an exam on thurs so its a massive achievement for me too.
my view i guess, is that i want to get through these exams and if i need to have all this extra help to get me through it then i will. although its difficult you just have to ignore what other people say, you know that you wouldnt be doing this if you didnt need it.


Aww :hugs: well done to you for it, I know how hard it can be. Besides I was ashamed of my depression and wouldn't let anyone help, I was severely depressed from year 9. I had to go through my GCSEs without any support so I only see it as a fair adjustment now.
Reply 19
Original post by suicidaloverbusiness
Aww :hugs: well done to you for it, I know how hard it can be. Besides I was ashamed of my depression and wouldn't let anyone help, I was severely depressed from year 9. I had to go through my GCSEs without any support so I only see it as a fair adjustment now.


thx, it must have been really hard for you too. hopefully the more things that you get through, the exam on tues being one of them, the more positive things you have got to think of when you are struggling.

how many exams have you got coming up?

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