Accept and validate your emotions, say psychologists

Often from the ages of 15 to 18, summers for students seem packed full of revision and the existential dread that they won’t get into the university they want to.

Shagufta Patel, people development specialist & founder of Renaé, said: “If you have scored marks less than what you had expected or wanted, you might not get into a university of choice that sets score limits as its intake criteria. Worse come, you might initially not even be able to pursue your particular field of interest for the same reason; but know that there are 100 different ways of getting to your desired destination. Be like Google maps — take a detour, choose a different way. That might take a bit longer but you will get there eventually.”

It’s commonly believed that to be successful, a child needs to be a star student and then go onto a snazzy university. But psychologists feel what makes someone successful is far more complicated yet also far simpler.

Dr Reena Thomas, clinical psychologist, Medeor Hospital, Dubai opined: “The world is going through a pandemic and for children their exam results add an additional blow on their life. They internalise psychological pressure that they put on themselves and are manifold as they hold unrealistic expectations for academic and professional achievement, how they should look, and what they should own.

Apparently gulping a leading irrational belief or myth that things, including themselves, should be perfect — is an illusory concept.

So, stop becoming obsessed with winning the validation of others and demonstrating your worth through flawless performance. Don’t let your performance define ‘you’; try to see ‘yourself’ as a whole including all other dimensions – other abilities, strengths, hopes and values.”