Understanding yourself
Exam pressure
“If I don’t get into medical, my life is over.”
SSC, HSC, O levels, admission tests: the pressure on Bangladeshi students is immense. Stress is normal; despair is not, and it needs help.
Nuzhat, seventeen, leaves home at seven for college, goes straight from college to admission coaching in Farmgate, and studies until two. Her parents, both doctors, have never said she must get into medical. They have never needed to. Lately she cannot remember what she has read, her hands shake in mock tests, and she has started saying that if she fails, her life is over.
An illustration drawn from common experience. The person is invented; the pattern is not.
Understanding exam pressure
Some stress before exams sharpens focus. Prolonged pressure, from high expectations, competition for limited places, long coaching days, comparison and fear of disappointing family, can tip into anxiety, depression, insomnia and burnout. Results day can be especially hard for students who feel their worth depends on a number.
How common it is
Half of all mental health conditions begin by the age of 18, WHO reports. In Bangladesh, a peer-reviewed study of online news reports counted 984 student suicides in 2022 and 2023, most of them aged 13 to 19. The study attributed 8.4% of the cases to academic pressure and 28% to emotional distress.
Signs worth noticing
- Constant anxiety, headaches or stomach aches around studies
- Sleeping very little, or not at all before exams
- Talk of failure as the end of everything
- Withdrawal, tearfulness or sudden drops in performance
How care helps
Assessment looks at anxiety, mood and sleep, and at the pressures around the student. Therapy helps with anxiety, perfectionism and study habits, and family sessions help parents and students talk about expectations and plans B, C and D. Depression or thoughts of self-harm are treated urgently.
What getting better can look like
Nuzhat might get seven hours of sleep before the test, a family conversation about more than one future, and a result, whatever it is, that does not decide who she is.
Common questions about exam pressure
When does exam stress become something more serious?
Some stress before exams sharpens focus. It becomes a concern when there is constant anxiety, very little sleep, withdrawal, sudden drops in performance, or talk of failure as the end of everything. Talk of life being over needs help now, not after results day.
How can parents help a child under HSC or admission test pressure?
Protecting sleep, noticing changes in mood, and talking openly about more than one future can ease the weight of a single result. Family sessions can help parents and students talk about expectations and plans B, C and D. If a child is low or talks of self-harm, seek help urgently.
When to see a psychiatrist
If exam pressure has turned into despair, sleeplessness or talk of life being over, please seek help now, before results day. If a student is in danger, call 999.
Care here is personal: built around your history, your health and what you want to change, and reviewed with you as it goes.
If some of this sounds familiar, a first conversation is a good place to start. You do not need the right words, or to be certain.
Dr. Tajreen is consulting in Uttar Badda now, until 8:00 pm. Call +880 1847-331010Every address and its hours
Sources
- World Health Organization, Child and adolescent mental and brain health
- Himel et al., Health Science Reports, 2024
You do not need to have everything figured out before you begin.
