While most of us were going about our daily lives this week with no special concerns, for anyone studying year 12, and those close to them, Wednesday was a huge day – their VCE English exam and the start for most of that highly pressured assessment season.
For those thousands who wrestled with the English paper, here's the good news: however you felt about the exam, with its curious watermelon cartoon, your English mark and, indeed, your final ATAR score are not the measure of who you are.
![Many schools are struggling with growing levels of perfectionism in teens.](/web/20161029053012im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/a/4/9/a/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsc6nv.png/1477575496235.jpg)
Take a few steps back from the pressure cooker that can be the final school year. What most parents and teachers want for you is to see you do the very best you can, make the most of your opportunities, but above all to be well and happy.
You might be sick of hearing adults say balance is important – time spent studying offset with playing sport or catching up with friends. Sometimes grown-ups say the words without even really listening to themselves, but for the sake of your mental health now and in the future, you, and the people who care about you, have to walk the talk.
There are warning signs that we are not always getting this balance right. Recent research found that 52 per cent of year 12 girls have clinical levels of anxiety, and the number of students receiving special consideration for their VCE exams is the highest it has ever been, many cases due to mental health concerns.
Mental health experts are warning of rising levels of anxiety and depression among year 11 and 12 students.
Many schools are struggling with growing levels of so-called unhelpful perfectionism in teens, with perfectionism found to be a risk factor for anxiety, depression and eating disorders.
Of course your parents, carers and teachers want to see you taking your studies seriously and trying your best, but no one wants to see you miserable. Being focused on achieving ought never come at the cost of mental health.
Being a perfectionist should not be confused with being achievement oriented. High achievers set tough goals and work hard to realise them, but they are not shattered when their results slightly miss the mark. Perfectionists see any mistake as a failure and come down on themselves like a tonne of bricks for anything that doesn't measure up.
There's good quality help and advice online and via schools. Sometimes it's as simple as letting Mum or Dad drag you away from the desk once in a while to walk the dog together.
To invent the ideas and products of the future, meet the challenges to come and develop the next generation of leaders and thinkers, we need creative thinkers and risk takers, not those frozen by stress and fear.
A good school, or a good teacher, is on your side, helping develop healthy study habits and being alert to warning signs that you may be struggling. One of the most important lessons they can teach is that there are many paths to get where you want to go.
Your marks might not get you there the first time round, but there are other courses, other places to study and more than one chance to get there.
Studying things later in life can actually be fun too, whether it's a university degree or short courses or taking up the learning of a language for a hobby. It would be a terrible waste to be so miserable in year 12 that the idea of studying again is a nightmare.
So for all of you doing year 12, good luck, go well but remember that life goes on after the exams finish. And don't forget to walk the dog.
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