I'm 20 years old, and collage student. I am someone who suffer greatly from exam anxiety, to the point that I lose sleep; lose apetite; sweat profusely and have an upset stomach a few days before the exam. I am always dredding exams, as I always feel as though I am not prepared for exams.

With this coming exam on Friday, that particularly is the case. I had a large essay to write before this week, with the deadline on this monday. I had worked on it for a solid week and I needed a day to just rest as I was mentally exhausted. I started studying properly yeasturday, and finished my revision today. I still have four lectures to watch online along with, if time allows, revision of articles that we have for the exam.

I have always been naturally anxious and prone to overthinking things to a very large extent. I am always ahead of others in what I plan, which allows me to do well in school but also ruins my quality of life in many ways.

My girlfriend has been instrumental in making me feel happy and relaxed, as her presence soothes me and calms me down. But when she is not available to do so, I panic and overthink like crazy. I know I do this, but I am seemingly powerless to stop this, which saddens me greatly. I just hate anxiety. It makes me mad at myself and others. 

I just want to be patted on the back and told everything will be OK in moments like these. I think I am on my way to being prepared for the exam this week, but I still feel like I am not and that I am on the verge of failing (I am not even close to that in terms of averages from my courses) even when that is not the case. 

I am just looking for general mental support and kind words to help me through. Those always soothe me and make me feel better and grounded again.

Thank you for reading, have a great week.