Students are required to take final exams at the end of each school semester to show teachers what they have learned throughout the year. Finals can impact a student’s mental health due to more stress, pressure to do well, and balancing study time with normal life.
Finals cause a lot of stress for students, which can affect their performance on their tests/assignments and a higher level of anxiety among students.
“I’m not doing well thinking about finals, I’m stressed and tired and every time I try to study I start to cry or I just can’t keep doing it because I get flustered and my mind starts to get distracted and I’m very overwhelmed with everything.” Freshman Juliet Blackburn said.
Even people that have never taken finals before feel a much higher amount of stress than normal, and many freshmen overcompensate when studying for their finals, giving them less time and more stress for their everyday activities.
“I just like try not to focus as hard on my final, so that i don’t get too stressed,” Sophomore Ryder Worthington said. “But, if I start to worry about one, I zero in on that one and it stresses me out and makes me nervous for all the other ones as well.”
There are several ways that you can avoid stressing over your finals but most students still struggle with managing their time, and most students feel drained and burnt out by the time finals come.
Junior Danika Ivancic said, “During finals week I get way more irritated than usual. The constant studying and burnout diminishes my motivation. Sometimes I don’t want to get out of bed because I’m so tired. I end up sleeping for 2-4 hours afterschool then study until midnight. It’s the most dreadful time of the year.”
Students of all ages struggle, and for most students it seems to get harder for them as the years go on. Anxiety plays a huge factor in a lot of the stress that students feel.
Alina Abbott, Senior at SRA, has an effective way to study that helps her calm her anxiety and focus on her studying. She said, “The week before finals for me is hours in the library, because studying in my household is impossible. When I’m under a lot of stress, my anxiety kicks in and I can hardly focus, especially with all of the background noise. The final I’d stress over the most was bio-med, and I was very thankful to have friends who were willing to meet at the library to study. I highly recommend it if you struggle to focus like I do.”
Finals are incredibly stressful for the majority of students. Take time to study for your finals but take breaks when you need to and find what works for you. In the end, these finals won’t matter to you in 5+ years, so it’s not worth stressing over them and letting that take over your life. Just breathe, relax, and get through your finals one at a time.
