About students’ mental health around the exam period

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Mental Health for Romania podcast! We’re back with a seasonal episode about mental health during exam periods. Today’s episode is very special, not only because we’re tackling a topic that has been less studied in Romania, namely mental health among university students, but also because a large part of today’s episode is made up of your experiences — the experiences of students who are going through exam period right now.

Mental health among university students has started to be recognized as an important public health issue internationally. In a study that I actually led in the UK among PhD students, we found that family support, good overall health, sleep, and higher self-esteem are good indicators of better mental health and lower levels of stress. These are some of the factors that we also identified in the experiences of the students who wrote to us, which we’ll get to shortly. Another study conducted in the UK set out to identify the things that students consider to be priorities when it comes to their mental health at university, and these are some of the categories they identified as being important, which I’d like to share with you today.

1. The first category is that it’s important for universities to provide interventions and services, and that these should be evaluated to determine whether they are effective.
2. Another category they identified was the importance of rethinking how students learn and how they are assessed, such as having fewer contact hours and more time for collaboration.
3. A third category they identified is the importance of having educational initiatives about what mental health is, how to manage mental health disorders, and how to prevent them, both for students and university staff.
4. Another category they identified is the importance of understanding what makes students feel that they belong in the university environment, in order to prevent feelings of loneliness. This is because there are many studies linking loneliness to mental health disorders among students, so how can we help students feel less alone?
5. Another category they identified is the importance of having prevalence data, particularly data on the prevalence of mental health disorders by faculty, year of study, and so on, in order to better understand how we can prevent these disorders or how we can support students who are already experiencing them. At present, data from other countries indicate that between 20 and 40% of students likely meet the diagnostic criteria for a mental health disorder, which is a very high percentage.
6. The last category they identified is the importance of understanding what the consequences of poor mental health can be, for example, in terms of the chances of finding a job later on after university or when it comes to social life.

I think it’s important to keep these priority areas in mind as we go through the experiences of the students going through exam period who wrote to us, and I’d like to thank them very much for taking the time to share their experiences with us. Exam period is an extremely stressful time in a student’s life, as you probably already know if you’re a student or if you’ve attended university. Especially in the absence of adequate support, or if it’s your first exam period, when you simply don’t know what to expect.

The first message we received was from Ioana, who is a first-year student in the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, specializing in Social Work. She told us that she was fairly calm during this exam period and tried not to stress because she had a few experiences during her high school graduation exams that showed her she didn’t need to be stressed in order to succeed. Ioana tells us: “So, I started paying more attention to myself when it comes to exams, so I organized my time in such a way that I could also put in the minimum amount of effort needed for studying. I would take breaks to do my hobby or just go for a walk with my friends.” So, there are a few things that Ioana highlighted, such as trying to take care of herself, making time for things she enjoys, and also spending time with people who provide her with support—things that we also found in the studies mentioned earlier.

The next message we received is anonymous, from someone who is a first-year medical student, specializing in General Medicine. They tell us: “First exam period — stress, fear, uncertainty. It’s a strange feeling of not really understanding what’s happening, combined with the stress caused by new situations. A carousel of emotions. Days filled with stress, panic, and fear of what’s to come. Good days, when I’m productive and confident in my abilities. I’m looking for ways to balance this out, so I’m not constantly at either extreme. To avoid burnout, I made myself a study schedule so I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. I divided up the material and set realistic goals for myself. I don’t overwork myself; I study as much as I feel I can, and never after 10 p.m. I try to sleep 7–9 hours a night and go to bed and wake up at the same time. I think routine is very important, and I’m trying to incorporate it into my life, taking small steps: a sleep schedule, eating, studying. For my soul, I read a book I enjoy, buy myself flowers, listen to music, and dance. I try not to forget that I’m human. Balance between studying and mental health.” Absolutely! This message perfectly shows us how important it is to balance exam periods and studying with other activities that we enjoy, and not to forget the importance of having a routine.

Another message we received is from someone anonymous who studies Finance and Banking in Cluj. They say: “I’m a first-year student, and this is my first exam period, and to be honest, it’s not what I expected. I’ve been very stressed, ever since the winter break ended and I realized that exam period was coming. I constantly feel like I’m not prepared enough, even though I get quite good results when I sit down to do a practice exam. And to relax a little, I listen to music, read, cook, or clean; I try not to think about exams anymore.” Exactly! Similar to the previous messages, it’s very important to identify things that we enjoy, things that make us feel like ourselves, outside of exams, studying, and university. Let’s not forget that we are whole people, and that this is just one aspect of our lives.

The next message is anonymous again, from someone who studies dentistry. They say: “I feel very tired and disheartened because I constantly compare myself to others. To take care of myself, I try, unsuccessfully, to get enough sleep every night. After my evening shower, I always do my skincare routine, I make vitamin-packed smoothies, and I try to eat healthier.” Again, as we mentioned earlier, routine, sleep, exercise, and healthy eating are all very important. We can organise our time in such a way that we create a schedule for ourselves — for example, taking a shower when we wake up, going outside for a little while, and then setting aside some time for studying, when we know we can concentrate best. For some people, that might be in the morning; for others, in the evening; and for others, it might even be around lunchtime. It’s easier said than done, but it’s important to set boundaries around our time, because otherwise we risk spending the whole day studying, which isn’t necessarily productive, since we can’t concentrate for more than a certain number of hours.

Another message I received is from Antonia, who is studying Chinese and English in her second year and is going to have around six or seven exams this semester, which is a lot of exams. “Hello! I feel a little anxious, considering that our professors tell us that we should be able to write essays using only Chinese characters, given that most of us started learning this language from scratch in our first year. Chinese doesn’t have an alphabet, so all the characters have to be memorised, and for most of our exams we have to learn theory by heart because practical work doesn’t really count. What do I do to take care of myself during this period? Well, I try to organise my days, my study hours and the material, get more sleep, and make time for other activities as well, such as webinars and online events, which I absolutely love. I try to take regular breaks and retain information using as many different methods as possible, such as organising information in Excel spreadsheets, recitation, flashcards, and other creative methods, depending on the information. Sometimes I procrastinate too, but I realise when I’m doing it and try to sit down at my desk and carry on with my work, or at least do something, even if it’s just a little.” Indeed, consistency is more important than the number of hours we spend studying or trying to study. It’s important to do a little bit at a time, but consistently, just as Antonia told us. And I also think it’s very important to experiment with different ways of organising and learning the information we need to retain, precisely so that we can find the method or methods that work best for us.

The next message is from someone anonymous, who studies Romanian Language and Literature, World and Comparative Literature. They tell us: “I feel very stressed because this is my first exam period and I don’t know what to expect. Plus, there are rumours that the Romanian Language and Literature professors are very strict. To take care of myself, I try to go for walks as much as I can, exercise, and spend time with my friends and family, and with my pets.” There you have it—it’s very important to have support around us. It’s also important to recognise that it’s normal to feel a little stressed when it comes to new experiences, such as our first exam period, and it’s really helpful to be able to surround ourselves with friends and family who can offer us support.

The last message I received is from someone anonymous, who is in the second year of a Master’s degree in Physics. They tell us: “On top of my exams, I moved house yesterday so that I wouldn’t have to commute every day. Besides the stress of my dissertation — I haven’t really felt the stress of exam period for a long time — I can say that I cried a lot yesterday and today because of the move. What I’ve done is surround myself with people, but I know that’s not where the solution lies. It’s extremely difficult when fears, depression and anxiety take over your life. What I’m doing for myself is, little by little, learning how to reconnect with myself, showing my brain that there is light between therapy sessions, and it doesn’t always work. And when it comes to exam period, I watch films about scientists to find my inspiration again.” The student who sent us this message touched on a few very important points that I don’t think we talk about enough, namely the fact that, quite often, in order to pursue university studies, we move to another city or even another country, which is a major change in our lives. We move away from our core support network, from our family and friends. And of course, there’s a period of adjustment, with many wonderful things, such as having the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. But periods of transition aren’t necessarily easy. I really liked that she said she watches films about scientists to find her inspiration again. That’s a great way to motivate ourselves when we’re feeling a little low, but also to remind ourselves why we’re doing what we’re doing, where we want to get to, and to relax a little as well. We also need to be aware that anything we try to implement in our lives requires consistency, and that it’s absolutely normal for things not to work out the first time, or not to work out all the time. No two days are the same. What’s important is what we do for ourselves and our mental health on most days.

I hope these experiences show you that you’re not alone, and that so many people are going through experiences similar to yours, right now. I’d also like this episode to serve as a wake-up call when it comes to students’ mental health. And I’d like to point out here that all these concerns have started to motivate national efforts to assess students’ mental health, with one such study being carried out within our own NGO. The data are currently being analysed and will be published soon, so stay tuned. This is a step in the right direction, and we look forward to seeing more initiatives like this.

Thank you for listening all the way to the end, and good luck with your exams! And thank you to the students who took the time to write to us! Until next time, take care of yourselves and your mental health! Bye-bye!