Samaritans on hand for stressed out students
Date: Friday 16th May 2008
Contact: Claire Duncan
Phone: +44 (0)208 394
8345
Email: c.duncan@samaritans.org
Out of hours press phone: +44 (0)7943
809162
Emotional support charity available round-the-clock for
students worried about exams and results accuracy
Samaritans is urging young people stressed
out about exams to contact the charity for completely confidential
emotional support any time of the night or day.
Panic, anxiety, fear about the future, guilt
and despair are just some of the feelings students may be going
through during the Summer examinations period and the work on the
reliability of the exam assessment system by OFQUAL, the new
regulator of qualifications, exams and tests in England, could
further enhance the worries of young people at this
time.
Anyone wanting to talk in confidence to a
trained Samaritans volunteer can contact the charity by phone,
email, text, face to face or through written correspondence.
Exams and waiting for exam results can bring
on a unique kind of stress – for students and parents or guardians.
High expectations and pressure from parents, teachers or friends
can push students to the brink, particularly when they feel their
results don’t quite meet those expectations. Learning how to
recognise when they’re under stress is one of the first steps
towards dealing with it.
Samaritans Schools Consultation Officer,
Amanda Edmondson said: “Talking about your feelings puts you back
in control and reveals the choices you have. Many people feel
pressured into hiding their feelings out of embarrassment or
concern, not wanting to burden family or friends, but hiding under
a calm exterior only saves the problem for later and stress can
build up until it becomes unbearable”.
Relationship Psychologist and Agony Aunt,
Susan Quilliam, said: “The thing to realise is that if you know
yourself you have done your best then nobody can ask anything more
of you. Of course you will feel stressed and of course you will
want to do well and that is the point that you may want a little
extra support if you feel you are not coping. Talk to your mates
and family and remember that someone from Samaritans is there to
listen 24/7 however big or small the problem seems, if you feel you
need a little help then just pick up the phone.
Susan’s top tips to help young people get through the tough
exam period:
- Keep healthy. Eating
sensibly, taking exercise, getting a good night’s sleep and
limiting alcohol and coffee can all help you stay physically on top
of your game.
- Study effectively. Make a
revision list, set up a supportive environment, work through the
topics steadily, take regular short breaks and swap support with
friends by forming a study group.
- Manage external pressures.
Talk to those who care for you about how well you can realistically
be expected to do. Put expectations in context and help them
understand that pressuring you isn’t helpful.
- Manage internal stress.
Concentrate simply on doing the best you can - no one can ask more
of you. If you don’t get the results you want there are always
other options, some of which may actually suit you better.
Samaritans has been working
in schools for many years and launched its schools programme DEAL
in October 2006, Developing Awareness and Learning, to improve the
emotional health of teens across the UK and Ireland and equip them
with the emotional skills they need to cope with society’s everyday
pressures.
DEAL goes to every secondary
school, to be used as part of a ‘whole school’ approach to
emotional health and wellbeing. It builds on extensive work
Samaritans has done with schools and will actively promote the
emotional wellbeing of young people, raise awareness of emotional
health, promote positive ways of coping and challenge the stigma
around asking for help.
Samaritans will be piloting
a new suicide and self harm response kit in schools from September
for people who are struggling to cope.
-ends-
Notes to editors
It is the aim of Samaritans
to make emotional health a mainstream issue. Samaritans'
vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because
people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly
without fear of being judged. Samaritans believes that
offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence,
and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal
feelings.
Samaritans is a registered charity, founded in
1953, which offers 24-hour confidential emotional support to anyone
in emotional distress. The service is offered by 16,800
trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary
support. Across the UK, you can call Samaritans on 08457 90
90 90 (1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland) email jo@samaritans.org, write to
Samaritans at Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA, or if you are
deaf or hard of hearing use the single national minicom number
08457 90 91 92. Log on to www.samaritans.org for more information.
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