Exam Stress and Career Development
Meet Your Academic and Career Goals
In a world where so much depends on achievements at school and work, it’s easy to build up anxiety around academic performance and career decisions. When this happens, other feelings—like frustration, fear, and sadness—can build up, and ultimately keep us from achieving our goals. Whether you’re a parent with a student struggling from test anxiety or you’re thinking of changing careers but aren’t sure what to do next, I can help.
Exam Stress
When someone experiences exam stress, what they’re really feeling is performance anxiety. Performance anxiety can stem from issues with self-esteem, under-developed study skills and test-taking strategies, or high levels of pressure—whether that’s internal pressure, or pressure from parents, professors, or peers. If the student is a parent or a partner, maybe they’re anxious about missing time with loved ones while they study. Perhaps their anxiety has manifested as misdirected anger, leading to guilt and damaged relationships.
These are common responses to exam stress—and we can alleviate many of them by working together to develop confidence, self-esteem, and study skills.
“Don’t be pushed around by fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” —- Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Career Development
Are you struggling to figure out what you want from your career? Whether you’re just setting out on your career path but aren’t sure where you’re headed, or you feel like you’ve taken a wrong turn and need to get back on track, I can help.
Career decisions can be incredibly stressful, especially when you aren’t sure what your goals are. Your available options might feel overwhelming, leading you to freeze or lose motivation. Or maybe you don’t feel fulfilled at work, but you’re facing limitations due to finances or family responsibilities. Both of these scenarios can lead to sadness, frustration, or low self-esteem, especially if you’re spending a lot of time comparing your career trajectory to those of your peers.
Some of these challenges can stem from a lack of trust in our own ability to make strong decisions. We begin to worry about embarrassing ourselves, wasting time and effort, or moving to another job—but still not finding fulfillment. I can help you sort through these fears and blocks and come up with a plan for growth.
"Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up."- Brené Brown, professor and writer
How I can help
I offer 60 to 90-minute sessions that, depending on your needs, can include cognitive hypnotherapy and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) treatments. Whether you need help managing exam stress for yourself or your child, or you need support as you set career goals and navigate your career path, I can help with confidence-building, skills development, goal-setting, anxiety management, and much more.
“Michelle is so kind and amazing ! I can't be grateful enough for the positive impact she's created on my personal development and life goals.” —- Facebook Review