What Self-Compassion Really Looks Like During Midterm Season
Written by: Eiman Rizwan, 4th Year Political Science
Photo by: Western Communication
Midterm season has a way of convincing us that our worth is tied to a grade. Suddenly, sleep feels optional, rest feels lazy, and productivity becomes the only acceptable emotion. When we constantly tell ourselves that we’ll finally relax after exams, and to keep pushing despite our eyes being heavy with sleep, we set ourselves up to burn out. Self-compassion during midterms isn’t about lowering your standards or distancing yourself from your academic goals. It’s about sustaining yourself long enough to actually meet them.
As a fourth-year student living in the anxiety of grad school application decisions, second semester midterm season feels like your last (but most important) battle. It’s not just about doing well anymore; it feels like everything is cumulative. Every grade feels like it’s being weighed by an omniscient admissions committee, as if one percentage point could tip the scale. And because it’s second semester, there’s added pressure. This narrative that you’re in the final stretch, the closing chapter of your undergraduate journey. It feels like there’s no room for error, no room to slow down, and no room to breathe.
Whether you’re like me, treating second semester midterms like the final battle before grad school decisions roll in, or you’re a first-year stepping into your second set of midterms after last semester’s reality check, midterm season has a way of making everything feel high stakes. And when everything feels high stakes, it’s easy to forget how to be kind to yourself. That’s exactly why practicing self-compassion isn’t optional during this season. It’s protective and necessary. It keeps ambition from turning into burnout. It keeps discipline from turning into a never-ending pit of self-doubt and criticism.
Self-Compassion Is Not “Letting Yourself Off the Hook”
Since the start of my academic career, I’ve always convinced myself that self-compassion meant that I wasn’t practicing discipline. If I didn’t feel stressed, wouldn’t I fall behind? If I wasn’t pushing myself to the edge, was I even trying? If I didn’t pull all-nighters for a week straight, I felt like I wasn’t working hard enough. But after years of sleepless nights, constant anxiety, and stress-induced migraines, I’ve learned that being cruel to yourself is not the same thing as being driven.
The first step of succeeding this midterm season while taking care of yourself is to create a realistic study plan that organizes your assignments and exams in order of due date and/or importance. If you’re anything like me, your first instinct during midterm season is to create a schedule that assumes you’re ready to be a productivity machine. You block off 8-hour study days or you plan to finish four weeks of content in two nights. Then real life happens: you wake up tired, one specific concept won’t stick, you need to commute, and you forget to eat. Suddenly, you’re behind on a plan that was never realistic to begin with.
To create and implement a realistic study schedule: plan 3-4 hours of focused studying, schedule intentional breaks, and prioritize your most important exams and assignments. This also means being honest about your own personal energy levels and studying patterns. Are you actually productive at midnight? Have you read the same paragraph 5 times without grasping the main idea? Do you need movement in between breaks to study better? A realistic study plan isn’t about doing less, it’s about doing what works for you. When your plan is structured and sustainable, small adjustments and unexpected disturbances don’t feel catastrophic. They feel normal and manageable.
Self-Care = Better Grades
Midterms have a way of making basic needs feel optional. We skip meals, live off caffeine, sleep 3 hours every night, and treat using the bathroom as a “study break”. But if our brain is our weapon, why are we running it on empty? To practice self-compassion, it’s vital to eat real meals regularly, drink enough water, take 10-20 minute walks to reset your brain, and notice when your brain is overloaded with information. You can’t optimize performance while neglecting your basic needs.
Another form of self-care is community and social interaction. Midterm season makes isolation feel productive. You convince yourself that locking yourself in your room is the most disciplined thing you can do. But sometimes, that isolation doesn’t make you more focused, it just makes you more anxious. Instead of completely disappearing, try studying at Weldon with your friends or even just sitting near peers from your classes. You don’t have to talk the whole time, you don’t even have to be studying for the same thing. Being around other people who are annotating readings, reviewing slides, or stress-eating their study snacks somehow makes the pressure feel lighter.
When you surround yourself with people who are going through the same thing, you realize you are not uniquely struggling. Community doesn’t eliminate stress, but it does normalize it. It reminds you that midterms are a shared experience that you don’t have to carry alone.
Asking For Help
One of the biggest myths of university life is that struggling quietly is somehow more impressive. If you’re “moving in silence” you’re somehow working harder than others. However, this mindset often just means struggling in silence and being afraid to ask for help. If you’re overwhelmed, confused, anxious, or just not coping well, there are multiple support sources at Western that are designed to help.
Thrive Online: Western’s Virtual Community: Read stories, tips, and experiences from Western students involving academics, career advice, community, and wellness.
Academic Support and Engagement: Provides academic support through helping students optimize their study skills, identify strengths, and supports students with disabilities.
Health and Wellness Services: Provides mental health support through group care, one-on-one counselling, or peer support. If stress, anxiety, or burnout feels heavier than “normal midterm stress”, it’s important to talk to a professional.
USC Peer Support Centre: A confidential, non-judgmental space to talk things through with trained peers.
Midterms will always feel intense. There will always be another exam, another deadline, another moment where you question if you’ve done enough. However, the way you treat yourself during these moments is something that you can control, and something that will drastically impact your performance this midterm season. Self-compassion isn’t lazy, it’s a strategy. It’s the decision to protect your energy so you can keep showing up. It’s choosing sustainability over self-sabotage.
Whether you’re in your final year waiting for life-changing emails, or you’re in your first year still learning how to manage university pressure, this midterm season does not define your worth. So, push yourself, study hard, but always remember to take care of yourself along the way. Because long after midterm season ends, the relationship you have with yourself is the one you’ll carry into every classroom, every job, every graduate program, and every chapter of your life. And that relationship deserves compassion.
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