It’s the time of the year when I, as a psychiatrist, find myself writing letters motivating for extensions, deferments and more time. Nobody likes exams; it’s hard work and the feeling of being evaluated can be unpleasant. But for some people exam time becomes a psychic hell. A patient came to me having continuous panic attacks. She was incapable of sleeping or studying. She had been procrastinating with exam preparations; once she started, she was overwhelmed by the sheer volume. She started working non-stop, breaking only to refill her coffee or buy some cigarettes. Initially, she made good headway. The problem began when she was…
