The run up to the Leaving and Junior Cert exams is an extremely stressful period for teenagers, it has been stated.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, consultant psychiatrist Pat Devitt said youngsters can literally find themselves paralysed by anxiety, "like a rabbit caught in the headlights".

Meanwhile, Professor Fiona McNicholas, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Lucena Clinic in Dublin, said that although a little stress is good, too much can cause physical side effects.

"What we want is our kids to experience many stresses mastered and coped with. That builds resilience. The stress will become less if a student has plenty of experience of exams," she explained.

Writing for the Irish Times last year, clinical psychologist Marie Murray said those repeating their Leaving Cert for a second time are often under the most pressure and feel as though they must do better than before.

Written by Donal Walsh

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