A LICHFIELD mental health counsellor has offered advice to students as they prepare to receive their GCSE grades.
Results day will take place tomorrow (21st August) with youngsters preparing to head into school to find out how they got on.
Sheila McMahon said it was natural for students to be anxious, but said it was important for them to realise that the future can be bright regardless of the outcome of their exams.
She said:
“Your exam results do not define you. We often hear stories of entrepreneurs who didn’t pass their exams and went on to be highly successful people
“If you want to be highly successful, then passing exams is only one way of achieving this. If you don’t want to be highly successful, then that is fine too.
“I often counsel highly successful businesspeople who now wish they had a much easier job without responsibility without the pressure of success and allowing for a simpler life.”
Sheila said there were practical steps youngsters could take if they begin to feel overwhelmed.
“If you want to keep calm then you can focus on your breathing.
“You can try rectangular breathing, where you breathe in for four seconds, pause for two seconds, breathe out for five seconds and then repeat.
“I wish everyone well as they collect their exam results – but remember, you can only do your best and that is good enough.”
