Completing the HSC can be an incredibly stressful ordeal at the best of times, and it’s hard to know if you’re looking after yourself properly. The impact of anxiety can also make it even harder.
我们与山青年服务团队（MYST）的高级青年工作专家Maddy Forwood聊天，以了解焦虑可能影响您的HSC研究的一些关键迹象。
继续阅读以了解这些标志以及您如何通过它们进行工作。
Silent Overachieving
Changes in Sleep
Procrastination
Increase in Mood Swings
Changes in Diet
玛蒂告诉我们，重要的是the way you handle the impact of anxiety depends on the type of person you are.重要的是，您必须在制定照顾心理健康的策略时认识到自己的优势和触发因素。
Sign #1: Silent Overachieving
How do we recognise this?
Maddy explained that许多一直以学术并以成就为荣的学生将继续获得好成绩despite anxiety.
“It’s these young people that I worry most about,” she said. “They’ll hide that they are feeling stressed but things aren’t going well under the surface.”
For these students, their HSC may not be academically affected。他们可能仍然做得很好，并获得所需的标记。然而，他们的社会和精神能力可能会严重遭受严重损失。
在高压情况下感到焦虑可能是正常的，例如到期或在考试周之前。然而没有任何表达方式的不断焦虑会带来长期损害。
根据headspace，，，，students suffering with high-functioning anxiety may work themselves in a “worse-case scenario”，他们对未来和大学的计划变得相当黯淡。
如果您觉得自己像个沉默的超凡脱俗，该怎么办？
The best thing you can do isfind someone to speak to about your anxiety!
“We identify support networks… who [young people] might be able to go to and say they are feeling really overwhelmed,” Maddy said.
这似乎真的很困难。Vicing在我们的脑海中可能令人生畏。然而，与某人谈论您的焦虑及其影响can help you to sort through issues, see a situation more clearly, gather a new perspective and identify new solutions.
This may help to make your HSC marks even higher than they currently are, but more importantly, it will帮助您过上更健康的生活。
标志2：睡眠变化
How do we recognise this?
Changed sleep patterns can be a key symptom of anxiety，尤其是在学校环境中，已经很难获得建议的八个小时。
“睡眠和学校时间表已经对年轻人不起作用，”马迪说。“It is normal for adolescents to go to bed at 12 or 1 am [and wake up later], but the school system doesn’t allow for that.”
如果您有焦虑，您更有可能更高的睡眠反应性。这意味着您的身体知道压力很大，并且整夜都很难睡得很好。
Not only will you be sleeping less, but your circadian rhythm will likely be disrupted. This means you will not enter as many phases ofREM (or deep sleep)a night and your body will continually feel tired.
What can you do about changes in sleep?
您可以采取一些实际步骤，例如在你的手机上,试图不让自己变得睡觉前一个小时,or eating stress-busting foods like nuts and berries，”马迪说。
但是，她相信重要的是学生认识他们的处境并与之合作，rather than trying to fight it.
如果您从日程安排中受益，那么睡觉前创建一致的例行程序，包括做自己喜欢的事情，真的很有益。
激烈的学习和焦虑是获得足够睡眠的一种可怕的混合。It’s important to focus on the quality of your rest as much as the quantity, and tobe gentle with yourself，，，，even if you don’t always get it right.
Sign #3: Procrastination
How do we recognise this?
马迪告诉我们many anxious students recognise the amount of work they have to do and simply shut down,留下东西直到最后一刻。
“[我们知道学生]工作不足和脱离，因为它变得太多了，”她解释说。
对于许多学生来说，拖延是symptom of fear。如果学生认为他们的表现不会像他们希望的那样，或者任务太难了，putting it off can create a sense of relief.It then makes sense that students suffering from the impact of anxiety are more likely to procrastinate as they seek toavoid negative experiences。
This is particularly true of HSC study and is something many anxious students are affected by.
您该怎么办拖延？
If you are a chronic procrastinator, it may not be the end of the world, especially when it comes to your HSC marks.“这是关于承认自己的优势并合作。如果您是拖延者，那么您就是拖延者！”马迪说。
Some students perform best, both academically and mentally, when they finish school tasks last minute.因此，更重要的是deal with the anxiety behind procrastination, rather than the act of procrastinating itself.
That said, creating a timetable and trying your best to stick to it will really benefit your HSC results and general mental health.安排学习时间意味着您的作业将有效完成，给您更多的时间进行社交和照顾自己。
标志4：情绪波动的增加
How do we recognise this?
“HSC周围的焦虑来自外部压力，但也是内部压力- 它极大地推动了大脑的压力水平。” Maddy解释说。
如果您非常着急，您激素平衡和神经递质产生often changes, altering the way messages are sent to your brain.This change in chemical makeup can cause your mood to ‘swing’ drastically，，，，as the amount of serotonin and norepinephrine in your body is affected.
On top of this,焦虑很累，当我们感到疲惫时，我们都发现很难调节我们的情绪。
All of this can affect our study drastically. You may feel demotivated and unable to complete work.
What can you do about mood swings?
首先，重要的是recognise that your mood is changing, for whatever reason.Being aware of this will help you to keep track of how your brain is changing.
Exercise is agreat mood regulator，，，，as it increases the blood flow to your brain, helping you to think more clearly. It also促进内啡肽和5-羟色胺的释放 - “感觉良好”的化学物质可以帮助减轻焦虑。
平衡心情的另一种好方法是与某人交谈。当我们与不直接参与焦虑症的人聊天时，我们可以gain a second perspective and therefore develop a healthier outlook.
符号# 5:饮食的改变
How do we recognise this?
当我们焦虑时，很容易到达即时舒适，包括您最喜欢的小吃。“Sometimes people start fuelling themselves far less than they need… or in a way that isn’t helpful,马迪说。
There are two main ways that anxiety may impact your diet during HSC study.
您可能会比平时吃得少。This may be because you don’t feel like you can stomach a lot of food, or because your ‘飞行或战斗的反应已经开始，，，，causing you to run away from tasks like consuming balanced meals. On a biological level, this means your nervous system is telling your肾上腺抽出多余的肾上腺素，，，，therefore your desire to eat may be put on hold.
更常见的是，那些焦虑的人会eat more food than normal as a way to feel comfortable and satisfied.When you have高皮质醇水平，您可能更有可能以更高的速度消耗大量的脂肪和含糖食品和零食。
What can you do about changes in diet?
有evidence to suggestthat eating well can actually ease anxiety.Consuming foods with high levels of vitamins like folate, B12 and choline, or minerals like magnesium, zinc and omega-3 fatty acids may help relieve high levels of anxiety.
但是，当您非常焦虑时，可能很难做到这一点。为自己制定基本的食物计划，并在吃饭的时间内可能有用。如果您吸引您，您甚至可以尝试像Hellofresh这样的餐饮服务。
Getting social support, including talking to friends about your eating habits,is also really beneficial.
在开始时，轻松自在，尝试每天瞄准一顿营养餐。You don’t have to cut out snacking all together, but it can be very beneficial for your HSC and overall anxiety to be conscious of your diet.
Other Advice and Getting Help
HSC最终是压力很大的时期。然而，clinical anxiety is a real problem, and something we really encourage you to get help with.
Your HSC study may suffer a little, butit is far more important that you are feeling mentally healthy.
If you believe you may be suffering from the impact of anxiety,找到您信任的人聊天。这可能是家里，学校或俱乐部中的人。
您还可以找到一些专业的地方，包括：
-
- Stress Less (a program run byMYST）
- Reachout
- headspace(which also offers acounselling service）
- Your school counsellor
Lucinda Garbutt-Younghopes to one day be writing for a big-shot newspaper… or maybe just for a friendly magazine in the arts sector. Right now, she is enjoying studying a Bachelor of Public Communication (Public Relations and Journalism) at UTS while she writes on the side. She also loves making coffees for people in her job as a barista, and loves nothing more than a sun shower.
