The entire exam experience has many stressful scenarios that hit you at all times of the year, for me my biggest obstacles were organisation and concentration.
Throughout my education I had ADHD but did not find out until after Secondary school, because of this I got in to trouble a lot due to a lack of concentration and motivation. The main stress that hit me in school was keeping up with work and being able to remember the set subjects for the exams. School is a set learning environment for a large variety of people who learn differently, however I could not sit and remember in silence. The lack of being able to conform to standards of how to succeed meant that I struggled greatly which really left me with no motivation or focus.
Another stress which I think is something that gets placed on us is when you hear that common sentence of "if you fail your GCSE's then you won't be able to succeed in life". This left huge pressure on me. I felt I was not performing to a good enough level and I strongly believed that I would not go anywhere in life because of that. I would like to tell everyone experiencing their exams that you are not a failure if you did not get the level you wanted; there are still a lot of different paths you can take to reach that goal.
Due to the mental health issues I had been dealing with throughout school, I felt very pessimistic and cynical towards myself and the world around me, which is never a good mind set to have through your exams. Alongside this was the anxiety which trapped me in a world of feeling too worried to speak out on these issues and get help.
If I could pass on any advice it would be, firstly; if you are experiencing anything that you feel is overwhelming speak to someone as help is always there, do not bottle up your emotions and experience. Secondly, always push yourself out of your comfort zone and try new things as it will make you not only grow as a person, but have experience to encounter new situations. Finally, never feel as if you have failed in your exams, it is never the end because of a mark on a piece of paper.