Exam season has almost come to an end for us all, but for many of us, stress and nerves aren't leaving as quickly as anticipated. For those of you who have just sat your finals, the stress of sitting the exams may have disappeared, but that voice in the back of your head reminding you of results day... well, it can be a little more persistent. Here are a few tips on how you can fully relax and push those negative thoughts away...

Pamper yourself

Make yourself feel loved! If you've worked hard for your exams and put the effort in then you've already won. No letter or number will ever be able to truly reflect the work you've put in, so treat yourself. Sometimes exams can go horribly wrong despite working so hard for them... anxiety, panic attacks and nerves all get in the way and so many of us under-perform in exams compared to work throughout the year. That's why I think it's important to try and focus on the effort and hard work you've put in before exams rather than building up even more anxiety over the thought of results day.

You might not have had time to pamper yourself during exam season, but now you can try all those new face masks, lip balms and body creams that have been sitting there waiting for you in the bottom of a drawer. Personally, I really love my lip balm. I don't know if it's just me, but applying lip balm morning and night has become a little self-care ritual that I honestly look forward to (please tell me I'm not the only person excited by lip balm haha). One of my favourites at the moment is the alpine rose & lysine lip balm from Balmkind; a super rich, non-sticky lip balm full of antioxidants to keep your lips hydrated and unwanted lip nasties at bay! Of course, all with the added bonus of super cute packaging!

Let your thoughts out

Sometimes the best way to get rid of those negative thoughts is just to accept them. Let yourself cry and have a little rant with your friends. It's better to let it all out than to bottle up all the emotions which always leads to an unpleasant breakdown sooner or later. If you find it hard to talk to other people about your worries, then write them down in a journal or message someone who you know will cheer you up.

Take care of yourself

It's so easy to neglect all the small yet important things in life when all you can think about it is results day. In reality, focusing on taking care of yourself can make you feel so much better! Keep yourself hydrated and stay active. You don't want to be stuck indoors all day overthinking things so if you have a 'not so busy' day, get outside and go for a walk!

Don't let your nerves control you. Make sure you're not neglecting self-care and your health whether that's by making sure you're not skipping breakfast, sticking to being a vegan, or not neglecting your skincare. Nerves aren't an excuse to skip the sunscreen! Which by the way, if you're running out of, you should definitely check out the Altruist dermatologist sunscreen; a non-sticky formula that doesn't leave a horrible white cast. Altruist supports an incredible charity called 'Under the same sun' which helps those with albinism in many parts of Africa get access to sun protection. We all deserve to be protected from the sun and Altruist wants to make sure of that!

Keep yourself distracted

This kind of contradicts my point from before about letting your thoughts out, but it's all about finding the right balance. The majority of the time you want to be distracting yourself. That can be through hanging out with your friends or family, reading a book or binge-watching your favourite show on Netflix. You finally have an excuse to binge-watch a TV show... USE IT! Save the 'let your thoughts out' tip for the times when all those negative thoughts won't budge, despite trying every possible way to distract yourself.

Pack away all your revision

Really, this should have been the first tip in this post, but I couldn't bring myself to stick a photo of Biology mind-maps as the first photo... As simple as this tip seems, just make sure you've packed away all your revision. Don't leave it all out on your desk where you can see it every day... it's just unnecessary stress and a not so pretty sight. After GCSE's, lots of my friends actually burnt their books and revision notes. I don't think I would EVER be able to do that, but I did shove everything into a box (or 3 haha) which are now in the garage, hidden from sight.

Thank you to Balmkind and Altruist Sun for letting us try out your products! We love the work you do.

How do you try to stay calm before results day?