8 Tips To Deal With Exam Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal part of the human condition and just about everyone suffers from it at some point in their life. When students are under pressure it can, however, reach such levels that it becomes extremely uncomfortable. Exam anxiety has become a rising concern in schools in India when it gets in the way of exam performance, as well as your everyday life.
Exam anxiety can be caused by a number of factors — these include stress associated with high school and college examinations, separation from family and friends, absence from social activities, early examinations within a course and high workloads.
Exam anxiety is a type of performance anxiety in which a person experiences intense, rising feelings of nervousness, apprehension and uncontrollable worry that interfere with the ability to perform at their best on an exam or other achievement-related test. If not dealt in time with the right methods, there is a possibility that this problem may go out of hand.
Here are a few ways to cope with exam anxiety
1) Prepare Well:
One of the things that students keep thinking about is that they haven’t prepared well for their exams. You can think about how you have put much effort and how it has been beneficial for you till this point. Remember that it is okay to be skeptical and it can also help you get better but don’t let it discredit all the hard work that you have done.
2) Eat and Sleep Well:
Eating and sleeping, both lead to a boost in morale. If you are all fueled up you will be able to perform well and getting a good sleep leads to a clear head and helps you in problem solving. Staying up all night might work for a day but if you do it regularly it might lead to sleep disorders that might affect you during exams.
3) Focus on your breath:
If you feel like you are getting anxious during exams, concentrate on your breath and close your eyes. Then open your eyes while deeply breathing and temporarily skip the question which makes you anxious, as you shift your focus from your breath to solving questions you will get calmer.
4) Check for learning disability:
A lot of learning issues like ADHD or dyslexia go unnoticed and later cause troubles. Students end up blaming themselves for not being able to concentrate but when a child is struggling with ADHD, problems in paying attention are automatic. After a consultation you will be able to treat it properly and you won’t blame yourself for not being able to concentrate.
5) Try practice tests:
Timed tests will help you get acclimated with the exam environment and will help you recognize the problems you are facing. If you find out that your problems are getting out of control do seek a counsellor. It can be hard for parents to understand such problems so try talking to your teacher.
6) Be positive:
Thinking about negative things is what causes anxiety in the first place and so try to think about good and positive things. It can be hard but you can try out various breathing techniques to calm down your thoughts first and then move to the positive part .
7) Find a study partner:
Find someone you trust ,who is confident and also honest (children can be pretty nasty) with whom you can share your progress with. Sharing your thoughts and problems will ease out the tension before the exam and help you relax.
8) Avoid the perfectionist trap:
Stressing over a single mark will do you no good, don’t be unhealthily competitive and remember that it’s our mistakes that teach us, if you make one mistake you get to save yourself from another hundred. Be confident about what you have studied.