Vocational School of Justice
‘TAKE CARE OF YOUR MORAL IMMUNE SYSTEM BEFORE LYS EXAM’
As the time gets shorter for the Undergraduate Placement Exam (LYS) that will seal the fate of millions of students, the experts suggested that the students take care of their moral immune systems on this last turn. Clinical Psychologist Nilgün Köstem, Coordinator of IUE Psychological Development and Counselling Centre, pointed out that the students might be experiencing stress due to the upcoming exam and that they needed to come up with a study plan which won’t consume their energy and motivation.
Köstem, who stated that anxiety and excitement, when above a certain level, have negative impact on success, made the following recommendations to students:
“Make a realistic plan about how to make the best of this time right before the exam. Unrealistic goals that will put you under pressure will cause your stress levels to increase. Set realistic, reachable goals. A study that enables you to follow the plan and reach your goals would lessen your stress.”
‘Grades do not define you’
Assigning too much meaning to exams and success increased the level of anxiety and excitement, stated Köstem, and that exams were tools that measured knowledge and skills specific to certain subjects and areas. Köstem pointed out that exam grade by itself did not define a person and that the students needed to set forth their expectations from the exam.
‘Your mental health plays a role in your performance’
Köstem, indicating that stress can affect every part of life, stated the following:
“Coping up with stress requires a strong immune system. When I say this I mean a moral immune system. If bacteria and viruses, which do not make us sick normally start to affect us when our immune systems are down, so do the stress factors that we can usually deal with make us feel down when our moral immune system is down. We need sleep, healthy nutrition, rest in order to maintain our physical immunity, and we need entertainment, resting, socializing in order to protect and maintain our mental health. Seeing our friends, something we should never pass over, helps us get rid of the stress and to get stronger against new causes of stress. If making time for such activities makes you feel unnecessary and a waste of time, remember that it is very important in terms of your overall mental health and performance.”