As exam anxiety rises, Tiss helpline addresses it on larger scale

With the school and college exam season on, calls from anxious parents and students to various helplines have almost doubled in recent times. Identifying that most of the callers have similar concerns, the iCall helpline at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Tiss) has created a newsletter to address them.
"In the last month, request for help has been up by almost 50% of which a large number of calls are related to studies. Several parents are calling to ask what they should do because their child keeps complaining about being ill and doesn't study, and other similar problems," said Paras Sharma of iCall.
Since the nature of calls was similar and not very case-specific, iCall decided to reach out to more parents through a newsletter. "We have seen an increase in the number of calls and e-mails requesting help with exam or study-related issues. With more exams around the corner, we are anticipating that these (the calls) will increase, so we decided to address the common problems through a newsletter," said Sharma.
The newsletter, which is being circulated online using social media, has tips for parents on topics such as identifying exam anxiety through physical and emotional symptoms, helping the child prepare, and dealing with results and one's own expectations from children.
"Take care to ensure that your worrying and expectation do not become an extra burden on your child. At times, it is better if you step out of the way. You being stressed is, of course, bad for you, but it's also disturbing for your children, which will prevent you from providing the love and understanding s/he needs at this time," recommends iCall.
vinamrata.b@dnaindia.net