I'm scared of the future

I know this is a pretty cliche topic to talk about because a lot of people feel it too, but this feels like too much to handle. My first exam is the 22nd May which is about 5 or 6 weeks away. I'm starting to feel depressed and just empty because I simply can't revise properly. I sit down, do questions and mindmaps with a five minute break every now and then, but l can't persuade myself that it's going to work and stay in my head. I never feel like I'm doing it right and when I'm not doing it I feel so damn guilty but as soon as I sit down to do it, I just feel empty, like It's not worth it because I'm going to fail all of my exams anyway. I've never really got any amazing results in tests or exams, and with the new course for maths this year I feel like I'm never gonna get that 5, because no matter how much I practice questions I get rubbish grades.

I don't know anymore. I just want to sleep and not wake up. The stress is too much and I feel like my whole future will mess up. I need help...

Reply 1

EmmaCx

Original post by WaffleCoyote

You should consider talking to your doctor about this, they may be able to refer you for counselling or suggest alternative methods of coping with stress. Just remember though, a lot of people are currently feeling this way. It can be so easy to beat ourselves up and assume that everyone else is doing so much better than us. Everyone has their fears, everyone is struggling in their own way.

Trust in yourself that your revision will be useful, because it is. If you really feel that the way you are revising is ineffective though, then feel free to try other methods. You don't have to limit yourself. There are so many different ways to revise. Some people struggle with revision because they try and force themselves to revise in a way that isn't suitable for them - e.g. not everyone finds notes effectives, but there's the misconception that writing out notes is the main way to revise. Check out this website - https://learning-styles-online.com/overview/. It tells you about all the different learning styles, and gives you so many suggestions of how to revise. Try experimenting with different methods and see what works best for you!

Have you checked out the revision resources that The Student Room has already? There are plenty of quizzes, pre-made flashcards, revision cards, revision notes, mind maps, crosswords, etc - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/learning.php . Obviously these won't be quite as effective as you researching the topics in order to make these resources yourself, but they may still help you out. You can also make your own here - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/g/make

Make yourself a study planner. This is a brilliant way of staying on track with your revision. Ideally, you should be doing about 3 to 4 hours of revision, for each subject, each week. On top of this, you should try to do at least one past paper, for each subject, each week. The Student Room has a handy online tool for this that you can use - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/g/planner
"A good revision plan should be:
Realistic: everyone has good intentions, but be careful not to set a plan you can’t stick to. Nobody can do 12 hours of revision a day.
Detailed: a good plan breaks revision into chunks, specifies times for studying and assigns each time to a subject or topic.
Flexible: some topics are difficult and may take you longer than you planned. Don’t be afraid to adjust your plan accordingly."

Consider using the Pomodoro Technique as well, I know a lot of people find this helps them be more productive during their revision;
The process is simple. For every project throughout the day, you budget your time into short increments and take breaks periodically. You work for 25 minutes, then take break for five minutes.After four “pomodoros” have passed, (100 minutes of work time with 15 minutes of break time) you then take a 15-20 minute break. - http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/the-pomodoro-technique-is-it-right-for-you.html

Some people try and revise for hours upon hours, which isn't really realistic for them. Because they are forcing themselves to revise for so long, they aren't actually taking much knowledge in. Taking regular breaks is a great way of remaining productive, and ensuring you are properly getting something out of your revision.

Using past papers as part of your revision is essential. I know it's obvious, but they are such a useful way to prep for the exams. Time yourself while doing them as well, some people just work there way from them - that isn't making them as effective as they can be. Once the alarm goes off, stop answering questions and go straight to your marking guide. This can help you practice managing your time in the exam. Be really strict with yourself, don't award yourself points for 'I knew what I meant' or I was 'half right' because you aren't going to pick these points up in the exam. After each past paper, go through and see what concepts you really struggled with. See where you consistently dropped marks etc. Spotting patterns can really help you see what you are struggling with. From there, you can then focus your attention onto learning those concepts.

The Student Room has a big collection of GCSE past papers & marking guides for a variety of exam boards. Check it out - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/g/past-papers.

Just relax. Remember that you can do things like re-sitting your GCSEs. I struggled with my exams, and done badly, because I had a lot of personal issues going on at the time. I then went onto college (I'm Scottish), and done an apprenticeship. Now I will be starting University in September. It is possible. There is more than one route to where you want to be, and it doesn't really matter how long it takes for you to get there.