Help your teen through exam burnout and exhaustion

Have you spotted exhaustion, stress, or burnout symptoms in your teen as a result of exam preparation? The time of exam prep can take a serious toll on students, and this can have a negative effect on their mental and physical well-being. The symptoms of such a situation can vary from student to student. So if you are not sure about the symptoms or how to tackle the situation, then worry not because we are here to help you with that.

Read the points mentioned below to know more about spotting exhaustion and burnout in your teens and ways to make the situation better.

Depressed appetite

One of the most notable initial signs is decreased appetite. Keep track of how your child is eating during exam preparation. Some teens tend to lose their appetite during this, and some start to eat unhealthy foods like excessive junk food. Both of these situations can be an indicator of depressed appetite and eating patterns. If this is happening, they might be taking extra stress. Stress has a high association with appetite. If someone is facing mental stress, then it can directly suppress their appetite in a negative way. Eventually, your child will have even less productivity and hence further increased stress levels.

Disturbed sleeping pattern

If your child is taking too much stress, their sleeping pattern might get disturbed. So yet another symptom of exhaustion during exams. If you find them up when they should be asleep or vice versa, or simply unable to sleep at all, just know that something might not be right, and there might be an increased stress level that is not letting them have a smooth sleep pattern. If you notice something like this during the time they are preparing for their exam, it could be due to the exam stress they are bearing. Not having enough sleep or a disturbed sleeping pattern will only worsen the situation for their preparation instead of letting them be productive.

Random tantrums

During this time, some students might throw random and useless tantrums that might even annoy you or make you angry. These Might not be so usual, and they are basically a result of the stress they are encountering during the exams. Sometimes you will notice them getting annoyed over petty things or at times where there is not even any need for the tantrums, but you will see them throwing some. Exam stress tends to make teens a bit annoyed. This is just another symptom that your child might be under the influence of exam stress. This change will be highly notable, especially in the case where the particular teen is usually found to be in a good mood, but suddenly, during their exam time, you see them highly annoyed.

Avoiding social interactions 

When you see them avoiding interaction with their peers or siblings etc., they might be shutting people out and taking all the exam stress on their own. During this time, they will come out of their room lesser and interact less with other people. This shouldn't be considered normal behavior. The more they stay out of interaction with the outer world, the more likely they will stress about the whole situation. You don't want them to feel alone during this time so consider this another symptom of exam exhaustion.

Not enjoying their routine activities.

Usually, teens have some routine activities that they enjoy during the day. It could be any hobby or general activity like gardening, listening to music, playing basketball, and so much more. When they are encountering exam stress, there are chances that they will not be enjoying those things like they used to. So make sure to notice the little things that they used to love doing previously, but now, as the time of their exams approaches, they don't even care about those things. If a teen is coming from loving to do some activity to totally ignoring it and not even thinking about it, they might be facing a stressful situation during exams where they need to relax a bit.

How you can play your part

During this time, they are going to need a lot of support from your side, both in noticeable and unnoticeable ways. They might feel like they are alone in a race they have to win in any case. Let them know that you are there with them, and they will have your support till the end.Here are some important ways through which you can let your presence known and help your teens cope with the exam stress.

Talk to them on random topics.

At this time, they need a friend in you. Sit with them and have a discussion on random topics that might lift off their exam stress a bit. In between these discussions, when they get a bit relaxed, they will share about the exam stress as well. They really need to talk out their stress, but they will likely not do it unless they feel comfortable around someone they trust to share their problems or progress. Be that person in their life. Let them feel like they have a friend to talk to. This session can help them a lot in sharing the burden that they are carrying along at this time.

Formulate a schedule with them

Help them make a study schedule that can be effective and relaxing for them at the same. Include different activities. A perfect timetable should be ideally balanced with a time slot allotted for the study, revision, and some fun activities in between. Some activities that can relieve stress can be very helpful in a routine where they have to study all day long. You can do activities like going out for a walk, watching something on television, get a cup of coffee with a friend. This can really help them alleviate their working stress, and they can get back to studying with lesser stress.

Give a piece of advice you find useful in a stressful situation.

We all come across some kind of stressful situation in life, and everyone deals with it differently. The way you think you deal better with such situations, make it known to them. Advise them on how they can cope with the stress in a better way. This is kind of just like leading by example. Advice on dealing with stress is more impactful when it is personally being used by someone rather than simply throwing up advice you heard somewhere.

If need be, hire a tutor for professional assistance.

Sometimes the situation just does not come in under control, and you are unable to find an effective way to keep your child away from the extra exhaustion they are going through. In such a situation, it's better to get help from a professional who can assist them in dealing with academic stress in a productive way. A private tutor is the best option you can go for who can give your child the particular attention while learning so that they don't feel overwhelmed or greatly stressed. A tutor knows how to calm the student and make them believe that they have got this under control.

Conclusion

If you see any symptoms in your teenager that are associated with excessive exam stress, exhaustion, or simply burnout, just know that your child needs some support from your side, and there are several ways you can do that, as mentioned above. So make sure to be there for your child and help them in all the ways you can. If you are unable to ensure this, hire a private tutor to make them feel relaxed and productive.