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Belfast Samaritans - Press Release

Samaritans offers advice to students under pressure

Date: 27 May 2009

Contact: Alan Heron, Belfast Branch Publicity Officer

Phone: 07715857398

Email: alan.heron@drdni.gov.uk or  alanheron5@hotmail.co.uk

Samaritans is encouraging young people stressed out about exams to contact the charity for completely confidential emotional support any time of the day or night.

Panic, anxiety, fear about the future, guilt about possible failure and despair are just some of the feelings students may be going through during the summer examinations period. Anyone wanting to talk in confidence to a trained Samaritans volunteer can contact the charity by phone, email, or face to face. 

Exams and waiting for exam results can bring on a unique kind of stress – for students and parents or guardians. High expectations and pressure from parents, teachers or friends and long hours revising can push students to the brink, particularly when they fear their results don’t quite meet those expectations. Learning how to recognise signs of stress is one of the first steps towards dealing with it.

Belfast Samaritans  spokesman, Alan Heron, said: “Stress levels during the exam period can seem insurmountable, especially if you feel like your whole life is hanging on your results. If you feel stressed or spot signs of stress in yourself, talking to someone can offer huge emotional relief and help you gain a sense of perspective, clarity and control over your life. Many people feel reluctant to talk perhaps because they are embarrassed or don’t want to be a burden to others but hiding your feelings can result in stress building up to a boiling point where it becomes much more difficult to manage. If you feel there is no one you can talk to this is where Samaritans can help”.

Learning to recognise signs of stress:
If you think you might be experiencing stress ask yourself the following questions:

·         Are you angry and impatient with people close to you?

·         Do you feel close to tears over small events?

·         Are you behaving differently from usual?

·         Do you feel isolated from people around you?

·         Is your self-esteem at rock bottom?

Do you have any of these physical symptoms?

·         Sleeplessness

·         Loss of appetite or irregular eating

·         Panic attacks and difficulty breathing

·         Tight, knotty feelings in your stomach

·         Low energy and lack of concentration

·         Loss of interest in things around you

Relationship psychologist and Samaritans supporter Susan Quilliam's top tips to help young people cope with exam stress this year:

1. Get things in perspective. You'll cope much better if you can relax, focus and stay calm - so do your very best, but don't let panic set in. Remember that exams are important, but not your only shot at success in life. 

2. Train up. You'll do better if you stay physically and mentally fit. So have a regular programme of physical fitness - good diet, regular exercise, lots of sleep. And have a regular programme for revision - some each day, and lots of practice.

3. Control your life. This is not the time to be stretching yourself, taking on new challenges - or falling prey to crisis. Cancel anything stressful, cut down on your social life, avoid love dramas, ask family and friends to go easy on you. 

4. Get support. Find a study buddy you can ring for regular updates. Ask those close to you to be supportive rather than pressuring you to work harder. If you really get stressed, you're being sensible, not a wimp, to talk to friends, see your school counsellor or ring the Samaritans for 24/7 help.

Samaritans has been working in schools for many years and launched its schools programme  DEAL, Developing Awareness and Learning, in October 2006 to improve the emotional health of teens across the UK and Ireland and equip them with the emotional skills they need to cope with society’s everyday pressures.

DEAL goes to every secondary school, to be used as part of a ‘whole school’ approach to emotional health and wellbeing.  It builds on extensive work Samaritans has done with schools and will actively promote the emotional wellbeing of young people, raise awareness of emotional health, promote positive ways of coping and challenge the stigma around asking for help.

Samaritans will be piloting a new suicide and self harm response kit in schools from 2010 for young people who are struggling to cope emotionally.

If you are in emotional distress or worried about someone during the exam period or any other time, you can contact Samaritans for confidential, non-judgemental support 24/7 by Telephone on 08457 90 90 90 or Belfast Branch on 02890664422 or Email at jo@samaritans.org or face to face at the Belfast Branch at 5 Wellesley Avenue, just up from Queens University

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Notes to editors

About Samaritans:

Samaritans in Ireland receives over 500,000 contacts a year by phone, email, letter and face-to-face.

It is the aim of Samaritans to make emotional health a mainstream issue. Samaritans' vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged. Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings.

Samaritans is a registered charity, founded in 1953, which offers 24-hour confidential emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. The service is offered by almost 2,000 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support. You can call Samaritans in Ireland on 08457 90 90 90 (1850 60 90 90 in ROI) email jo@samaritans.org or write to Samaritans at Chris, PO Box 9090 , Stirling , FK8 2SA , Log on to www.samaritans.org for more information. Calls cost 6 cent per minute from Eircom landlines. Costs from other providers and mobiles will vary.