Recently, we received a question from a parent of a high school senior:

Her daughter is about to take the college entrance exam. She's been taking

Chienomoto

continuously since last summer, and it's worked pretty well. But now, with a little over 20 days left before the exam, she suddenly says she can't remember things anymore — problems she used to be able to solve, she can't solve now. She's so anxious she can't sleep at night; during evening self-study, while her classmates are all focused on reviewing, she can't take in a single word, and she's so anxious she keeps picking at her fingers. Should we adjust her plan?

Actually, this kind of thing isn't uncommon in the final stretch before the college entrance exam.

Editor's note: We wrote about this case before, in "

A Family With Two Kids: One in Their Final Year of High School, One Just Starting Elementary School

"

.

A lot of kids aren't really "unable to do it" anymore —

their brains have just been strained for too long, and gotten a bit stuck.

In the months before the exam, sometimes the whole year before, many kids are running purely on willpower.

Class every day, endless practice problems, review, tests, rankings, comparisons — round and round it goes, nerves staying tense the whole time.

By this final stage, when the brain and emotions are both nearing their limit together, a certain state can easily set in:

"I clearly studied this, but

no matter what, I just can't

remember it.

"

Some kids fall into a kind of panic because of this. The harder they force themselves to study, the more stuck their brain feels.

The more conscientious a child is, and the more they want to do well, the more prone they actually are to this

This mom said her daughter has always been diligent. On weekends when she comes home, and her mom wants to take her out for a walk, she's unwilling.

She always feels like:

"Everyone else is studying, I can't stop."

But often, after prolonged tension and high pressure, all sorts of emotional and physical reactions start showing up — like the ones mentioned above: insomnia, heart racing, picking at fingers, being unable to focus on reading. These are all typical symptoms.

At this stage, what's most dangerous is "continuing to grind through it no matter what"

Some kids clearly can't take anything in anymore, and yet they still force themselves to sit in the classroom for hours. Even though they're physically there, their brain has basically stopped turning. At times like this, it can actually help more to go outside, get some fresh air, and let the brain rest for a bit, rather than continuing to push through and burn out.

Allow yourself to set everything down for a while,

,

even if it's only for a few minutes

People who have been under tension for too long really do need to let go a little. In this final stretch before the exam, more important than "studying a few more hours" is:

not letting yourself burn out completely

.

One mistake parents often make

is that the moment they see their child's state fluctuate, they start piling on more and more — switching plans, adding supplements, cheering wildly, analyzing frantically.

But doing this can sometimes actually make the child more panicked inside:

"Do even the adults think I can't do this?"

So the advice we ended up giving this parent was: stay steady first, don't rush to make changes, and try to bring down the child's sense of panic — that "am I just not good enough" feeling — first. At this point, the real help a parent can give their child is:

►

Catch your child's emotions, and don't panic in front of them

►

Allow your child to briefly "let the tension out"

►

Don't create extra pressure

►

Don't keep repeatedly asking about their state

Of course, if these things persist or keep getting worse, it's time to seek a professional medical evaluation.

For parents currently supporting a child through exams:

With less than 20 days left before the college entrance exam, a lot of kids will experience ups and downs in this final stretch. What matters most right now isn't continuing to hunt for weak points — it's staying steady, and not pushing yourself to the point of complete burnout.

This stretch is also extremely hard on parents. If your child's state is swinging a lot and you're feeling the pressure yourself, don't try to tough it out alone — you're welcome to come talk to us anytime, just like this parent did.