How To Handle Your Stress When Exam Is Approaching?

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How to handle exam stress

Announcement: Cambridge IGCSE, O Level and AS & A Level June 2025 past papers are now available.

We have received enormous amount of stress rescue requests from candidates. Especially when the exam is approaching.

We do hope parents and educators are paying kind attention to this post.

All of the candidates are pouring their hearts out to us, crying for help, because there is really no one listening to them or helping them.

Here are some of their cry out:

  • Fear of failing.
  • Not being able to recall stuff I just studied,
  • Not enough time!!!
  • I’m so scared right now! Do you think there’s any chance I might improve in time for my examinations?
  • Pressure from teachers and parents.
  • Feeling like I’m not worth anything or good enough.
  • I feel myself getting everything and understanding it but if I try to solve anything, it just doesn’t happen and it’s extremely frustrating.
  • My teachers do not seem passionate with teaching, they are interested in being given more money incentives on top of their salaries, they want money, my school is poor to pay more money.
  • I am scared from the examinations.

… and many many more.

Therefore, in this article, we will discuss how to “handle” your stress. Hope this would help you not only in your exam, you probably will carry this throughout your life. 🙂


Can We “Handle” Stress?

Contrary to popular belief, we CAN NOT “handle” stress.

Stress does not exist. It is NOT a thing that you can hold nor eat 😉

Stress is a feeling resulting from your thought.

From your ‘negative’ thought to be precise.

When your mind constantly thinking on negative thoughts, for example: you are scared to fail, or not getting an A*, or not good enough comparing to your older brothers or sisters, etc…; you create a bad feeling inside your body from all the negative thoughts.

The bad feeling that you feel, is what you call ‘stress’.

The more you want to “handle” your stress, the more you think there is something wrong about you. Then, you put more pressure and create more unwanted negative thoughts about yourself.

Why would you do that then?

Shall we agree from now on you don’t try to “handle” your stress anymore?

We only take “YES” as the answer 😉

So what should you do then? Keep reading…

1. Admit You Have Negative Thought(s)

There is really no big deal to admit we have negative thoughts. Everyone has them.

Just the courage to admit we have them, we have already eliminated most of the bad feelings.

Aren’t you feel lighter now?

Know that you can’t fight darkness with darkness. You can only fight darkness with light. By admitting the existence of negativity, you have inserted the light of positivity.

That is the most important starting point, and it is essential for you to continue to the next step.

2. Change Your Thoughts

Now that you know stress is the bad feelings you created from all your negative thoughts.

All you need to do now is – Change Your Thoughts.

Here are some steps for you to start doing that:

  • Start by imagining the positive outcomes that you want to see or to have. For example: imagine you score A* in Maths, then feel the happiness feeling when you see your result slip.
    As Albert Einstein said: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
  • Make a list of things that you are afraid or frustrated of. Next, write the positive opposite of it. For example: I am scared of exams. The positive opposite you could write: I handle exam with ease / I write smoothly in the exam / I am entering the exam hall with full energy and I can’t wait to put everything I know down on the paper to show that I deserved an A* 🙂
  • Know that examination is just a method used to see if you have understood the theory thoroughly and know how to present it out.
  • Examination is also a way to let you find out what is your best talent. You will notice a trend that you tend to do well in certain subjects, but not the others. So, there is really no big deal if you can’t do well in Physics but trump in Arts. Because that is your best talent that you are meant to be the best in order to contribute to mankind in the future.

When you are making your list, you will notice that you have a shift in your feeling.

You will feel must lighter, your mind is clearer, you have so much energy that you want to jump into the exam hall right now, and most importantly, you will notice a big smile on your face because now you are a much happier person!

The final step is, you must train yourself to keep this happy feeling and not let yourself slide backwards again to the negative thoughts.

Step 3 will show you exactly how to do that.

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3. Get Good Results By Keeping The Positive Thoughts

The best way to keep your mind on positive thoughts is gratitude.

If you make a search, you will discover many great minds had always said the same thing about gratitude, and what kind of miracle it would bring to you.

Here are some of them:

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.” ~ Tony Robbins

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.” ~ Melodie Beatty

Make gratitude your daily dose in your daily life.

You could be grateful for the chance to study, the ability to read and write, to be able to attend your exam at your comfort, to have a comfortable bed to sleep on each night, the luxury of clean running water and electricity, the money that have been given to you so you could continue your education, the fresh air, all your favourite food that is always available at your reach, etc etc etc …

The list is so vast that we simply couldn’t put everything here. But you get the idea of where to start 🙂

Pay attention to how you feel. If you are not feeling good, that means your mind is currently broadcasting negative thoughts.

Immediately find anything you could be grateful for to shift to positive thought.

***

Last but not least, please know that you are a worthy human being. Everyone is.

We are all here to do something important. We are all equipped with a special talent that only we have, no one else.

And we are meant to find out what we are good at, so we could contribute this talent to mankind. When you are contributing your best talent for the benefit of mankind, you will be rewarded handsomely (a.k.a earning a lot of money). 🙂

So now, go out there and score A*!

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325 responses

  1. hello igcse centre,
    I am really nervous..I am having my biology paper 4 exam next week on Tuesday and I really don’t know what to do…every time when I memorize something I forget it and I don’t know if I have tot solve or read the source or what should I do pleaaaase help!!

    1. Hi Dina,

      At this point of time, you shouldn’t rush to practice lots of past exam papers. This would stress you out. Just take all your previous practices, and go through all the common mistakes that you normally make. Go through them with a calm mind, and not beat yourself up for the mistakes that you had done. Take deep breath.

  2. hii, i am gonna have my biology paper 6 exams in 8 days and i am feeling sooo nervous! i have revised but i feel like i don’t know anything when i do the past papers. Can u give me some tips for the biology paper 6 exams? i am also very scared for my business studies exam, and it’s affecting me so much i can’t study effectively!

    1. Hello Jacey,

      At this point of time, you shouldn’t rush to practice lots of past exam papers. This would stress you out. Just take all your previous practices, and go through all the common mistakes that you normally make. Go through them with a calm mind, and not beat yourself up for the mistakes that you had done. Take deep breath.

      For Biology Paper 6, as with all exams it is essential that you read alternative to practical exam papers very carefully. You must follow the instructions on the paper so that you do the correct experiments and record the correct observations. Some of your observations are based on photographs or diagrams on the paper. Write down exactly what you see – as differences or similarities. Measurements may need to be made and magnifications calculation. You may be interested to purchase our A* Model Answers which shows the A* answers for the Alternative to Practical exam papers here: https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/

      With regards to Business Studies, demonstrate the application of knowledge and concepts using the given scenario. This doesn’t mean simply referencing the business name. Analyse the issues faced and make suitable recommendations as to what this particular business should do. Always use the information provided in the case study or question stem as a guide in considering what to write.

  3. How can i stop getting cold feet in all subjects…especially business? Im getting so scared nowadays that fear is affecting me very badly now….Im so scared for my externals in May/June 2019…plz help

    1. Hi Fiza,

      You can revise the subjects from the beginning. Highlight the important facts that you think could be on the test (you should refer to the latest syllabus on what is expected during exams). You can then use the past exam papers as your revision. Start with the latest papers as they have the newest syllabus format and continue with the older ones date back from 5 to 10 years. Then, revise on the most common mistakes that you always seem to make. Pay attention to the most common mistakes you always seem to make. Make notes and revise them, so you can avoid making the same mistakes in your actual exam. Kindly google alternative source for past exam papers.

      Here are some Business Studies tips for you:
      Demonstrate the application of knowledge and concepts using the given scenario. This doesn’t mean simply referencing the business name. Analyse the issues faced and make suitable recommendations as to what this particular business should do. Always use the information provided in the case study or question stem as a guide in considering what to write.

  4. Hi igcse team
    I am scared of paper 4 maths of IGCSE ..i feel like i get very cold feet because of the type of questions asked what can i do?

    1. Hi Fiza,

      With Maths, you’ll need a lot of practice.

      1. Learn and understand the key concepts and formulas. Familiarise/memorise the key equations/formulas (refer to the latest syllabus on what is expected).
      2. Do revision based on the latest syllabus and practice with the latest past exam papers. Pay attention to the most common mistakes you always seem to make. Make notes and revise them, so you can avoid making the same mistakes in your actual exam.

      You might be interested in our revision course. Our revision course provides video tutorial, revision timetable, downloadable exam-style practices, common mistakes candidates make during the exams, and also examiners’ advice.Please kindly find out the details here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses

  5. Hi, I?m taking 2020 IGCSE and want to study fashion designing and I do math, ICT, Business Studies, French,English, English Literature, Art and Design, Biology and Design and Technolgy. I don?t particularly enjoy biology and know it isn?t necessary for my carrer but i was wondering if i drop the subject would I still receive a certificate and what is the minimum subjects i can offer?

    1. Hi Jedidah,

      It is wise to check with the university the wish you apply to, and get the confirmation on required subjects. Furthermore, you will obtain separate IGCSE certificates for each subject.

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