Roisin Ingle found Leaving Cert candidates all over in a state of general nervous anticipation.
Diarmaid Lawlor has a friend who was violently sick the day he got his Leaving Cert results and, despite achieving the required amount of points, had to spend the following six days in bed.
"I just hope that doesn't happen to me," said the 18-year-old Dubliner yesterday as he tried to ignore the butterflies performing delicate loop-the-loops in his stomach.
It was the build-up to the results that had proved most nerve-racking, he said.
"After I finished the exams I was reasonably confident that I had done OK, but as doomsday approached an element of doubt started to creep in," said the former Belvedere College student who is hoping for enough points to do Arts in UCD.
School-leavers all over were in a state of nervous anxiety yesterday. Symptoms ranged from nail-biting to sleepless nights and every stress related affliction in between.
By 4 p.m. yesterday Diarmaid's friend, Barry Hickey (19), from Sutton, Co Dublin, was on his third pint in a city-centre pub and feeling relaxed.
"I'm not the type of person who worries much anyway," he said. At times like these friends were important, he added.
"The solidarity is brilliant. A few of us are meeting up to get our results together, and it won't matter if people are going for 600 points or 200 points," he said.
Another friend, Kevin Rogers from Finglas in Dublin, said some people were far too stressed about the issue. "School is not just about getting points, it's about growing up," he said.
For some, it was hard to be philosophical. "I am feeling queasy and I can't sleep. It's as though your life depends on it," said school-leaver Ciara O'Kelly from Ballincollig, Co Cork.
The 18-year-old wants to study Arts in UCC. "If I got that I would be thrilled. If I didn't, the thought of repeating scares the life out of me.
"I don't know if I could do it. Last year was stressful enough," she said.
A total of four assistants at the Londis store in Monkstown, Co Dublin, are awaiting their results this morning.
One, a former president of the Union of Secondary Students, Peter O'Brien (17), described today as "the worst day of the summer".
"It's been a rollercoaster, and the next few weeks aren't going to be any better. We still have to wait for the college offers. The results tell you what you got but you still don't know if that will be enough," he said.
The CAO offers will not be published until Tuesday, which means another agonising wait for students.
According to a spokesman for the Samaritans, those who do experience stress over the next few weeks should not be afraid to talk about their feelings.
Inevitably, there are some lucky school-leavers with less reason to be anxious. Budding actress Ailish Symons from Rochestown in Cork has appeared in the RTÉ series Bachelor's Walk.
In September she will take a lead role in Romeo and Juliet at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, directed by Alan Stanford, and hopes to do drama in college.
"I am not one bit nervous. I feel very lucky," she said. "You don't need major points for what I want to do so all the pressure is off."
Paul Daly, also from Cork, said he was feeling a mix of nervousness and relief that "finally the whole thing is going to be over".
The Samaritans website can be found at www.samaritans.org
The national phoneline is 1850 609 090.