When you over-generalise, you exaggerate the frequency of negative things in your life, like mistakes, disapproval and failures. You might think to yourself: I always make mistakes, or everyone thinks I’m stupid. Instead, be specific: What are the facts? What are my interpretations?
When things go wrong, you might have a tendency to exaggerate the consequences and imagine that the results will be disastrous. What’s the worst/best/most likely that can happen? Will this matter in five years? Is there anything good about the situation, or a way to fix it?
You shouldn’t handle food for others if you are ill with stomach problems, such as diarrhoea or vomiting or you have any uncovered sores or cuts, as you could spread harmful bacteria and viruses.
It’s important that you’re clean when handling food. Wash your hands with soap and warm water, particularly after going to the toilet or changing a baby’s nappy, before preparing food, after handling raw food and after touching bins or pets.
Time is likely to be scarce in an open-book exam. Make sure you know the basic answers and, if necessary, look up an exact formula, a numerical value, or supporting evidence for your answers.
In an open-book exam, the books are just memory aids so you don’t have to remember pages of information. Trust what you know from your revision; only look up key information such as quotes and formulas; if you’re allowed, place flags in key sections to save time.
Mindfulness is a form of meditation, a tool you can use in daily life to lower stress, improve focus, or treat anxiety or depression. You can use it when you are stressed about an exam, anxious in social situations, and many other difficult times.
“Mindfulness” is a mental state achieved by focusing your awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.
Place one hand on your upper chest and one on your stomach. Take a breath, let your stomach swell forward as you breathe in, and fall back gently as you breathe out. Get a steady rhythm, taking the same depth of breath each time. The hand on your chest should have little or no movement.
You always have a choice: do you drown in regret over what never came to be, or use your energy to create what can be?