my mom told me if I fail my o levels I will be forced to go back to my home country, alone, since I’m holding a student pass and yet I’m not a PR so that’s that.
I have this constant feeling that I’m going to fail, and given that my home country is in a civil war (for privacy I won’t mention my country’s name nor my nationality), the chances of survival are low.
Is this true? Also, how can I better study when I’m always so burnt out from studying and looking at devices and not having the motivation at all to study?
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Hey @heart_of_the_sun. Thank you for sharing this courageously. I can feel how heavy all this must be on your shoulders, not just school stress, but this fear that one exam might change everything for you. Especially when going back isn’t just “going back”, it’s going back to a place you don’t feel particularly safe in.
First, I just want to say that you are so much more than your grades. And no one should ever have to study with that kind of fear weighing on them. No wonder you’re burnt out.
I don’t know the legal specifics of your situation, but I do know this: you deserve support, not threats. And you’re not weak for feeling scared.
For now, maybe the goal isn’t to “ace everything”. Maybe it’s just to do what you can, one small step at a time.
If you’re open to it, try studying in shorter bursts like (25 minutes of studying and then 5 minutes of break), and rotate between reading, writing, and speaking so it doesn’t all blur together. You could also try to split your studying into bite-sized topics like chapters or concepts.
And if you’re too tired? Please rest. Your brain can’t absorb anything if it’s running on fumes.
You’re not alone in this, okay?
You matter more than you know even if nobody has said that lately 
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Hey @heart_of_the_sun firstly you are not alone. The pressure to perform well in academics might get very stressful. In this day and age of social media and constant availability of information, we are all guilty of too much device time and sometime they tend to take away the motivation to do other things.
And it can also be too heavy to just keep focusing on studies as fatigue tend to set it and it would become very hard to digest whatever you might be studying.
May be this is something you could give it a try if it helps. Try setting 25 mins of focused study sessions and give yourself a break of 5/10 mins as a reward and continue to repeat the same a couple of more times and gradually considering increasing the time. You could also try some self care activities as might help focus better and see if that helps.
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Dear @heart_of_the_sun
Thank you for sharing this. I can hear how heavy and overwhelming all of this feels. It takes a lot of courage to hold these different pieces together. I can sense the pressure you are under. But you are facing it and that is already a great win in your favour. Keep it up!
I fully agree devices are distracting and I encourage you to consider the pomodoro method that both @ScribblingSunflower and @Lotus2222 shared as a way to start a systematic way to study. Enlist help from schoolmates and teachers, please know you are not alone in this and with steady effort you will get the results you need. However even as you work hard, taking regular rest is important as a form of recharge.
I also encourage you to speak to your school ECG counsellors on your options after ‘O’ levels. These trained counsellors can guide you on educational pathways ahead of you so that you are more aware of your choices.
Please stay on course and focus on what you can control. You can do this one step at a time. 
Hi @heart_of_the_sun,
It sounds like you’re carrying an overwhelming amount of fear and pressure, both emotionally and physically. The weight of the expectations you’re facing - not just about academic performance, but about your safety and future - feels immense. The fact that your continued presence in Singapore hinges on your results, and that failure could mean being sent to a place where your wellbeing might be at risk, creates a deeply personal and distressing kind of urgency. That fear isn’t just academic - it’s existential. And being told that this decision rests entirely on your shoulders must feel incredibly isolating.
On top of that, it seems like you’re running on fumes, trying to push through burnout while also managing the mental exhaustion that comes from constant studying and device use. Motivation probably feels elusive when your energy and spirit are depleted. It’s not that you’re unmotivated - it’s that you’re exhausted and afraid. If spurvival and success are tangled together in your mind, it’s no wonder that studying feels like a burden instead of a pathway. You deserve to feel safe, rather than feel threatened.
If you are open to talk to someone about this, you may reach out to the Youth Integrated Team (SupportGoWhere), which offers free mental health support to anyone aged 12 to 25.
Best regards,
HanSolo2000
Befriender | let’s talk by mindline
Hello, I understand that it has been quite stressful for you to worry about your studies and your feelings are completely valid. Giving yourself some screentime is okay, as everyone needs a breather from academics from a while. Whenever I feel the stress from school, I will take walks around the park near my house. This helps me to recollect my thoughts. Take care OP and I am rooting for you 