Alex's Answer

Hi there and welcome to Ask Alex. Thank you for sending in your question. 

It sounds like you might be having a tough time with school and exams at the minute. Feeling unmotivated can be difficult to cope with, so it’s understandable that this might be overwhelming at times. You’ve taken a positive step for yourself by reaching out to someone to express how you’re feeling. Many young people go through something similar when it comes to exams and feeling stressed or anxious about school, so please know that you’re not alone and that these feelings are normal. There are things you can do to try and improve how you’re feeling and there are also services you can access out there that might be worth considering. 

Sometimes making simple changes to our daily routine can make a huge difference to how we’re feeling, especially when it comes to staying motivated. Getting enough sleep, eating healthily, making time for exercise, rest and fun are a few ways to keep yourself feeling happy and well both mentally and physically. Coming up with a schedule – keep it realistic and achievable – and sticking to it can be helpful too. Tapping into the social supports available to you in your life might also be something to think about, have you considered talking to someone close to you in your life? When we express how we’re feeling to others it can help us to feel better and doing so might inspire ideas and solutions on how to try and make make things better. You say that sometimes you feel unable to get out of bed due the lack of motivation, that must be difficult for you. If you feel that this may be impacting your metal health or as a result of your mental health, there are also services out there that can help improve your wellbeing. 

Your school should have structures in place to help students who are struggling with exams or their mental health. Exploring options in your school such as extra tuition, chatting to a school counsellor or your year head could help you cope with these feelings of being stressed. Along with school, there are also other services out there that can support you with your mental health if you feel this is something you might need. You have the right to seek help for your mental health and you can do so by contacting your GP, or you can visit www.yourmentalhealth.ie. Childline also have listening services that are available 24 hours a day, all year round if you need to talk. All our services are free, confidential and non-judgmental. You can call us on 1800 66 66 66, text 50101 or webchat with us on www.childline.ie. We also have some articles that might be helpful for you to read through on our website, which you can access via the following link: https://www.childline.ie/exams/. 

Hopefully this answer is helpful to you in finding ways to cope with your exam stress and feeling a bit better in yourself. 

Take care, 

Alex.