Sleepless
nights before the exam?
Unable
to recall things during the exam and then recalled everything afterwards?
Mind-freeze
during the exam?
Exam
anxiety is that unbearable feeling of intense fear or panic before an exam. No
matter how much hard work you have put in, the D Day exam anxiety leaves you
all numb and blank.
Impact of high anxiety
Although,
certain amount of anxiety is important for good performance but when it
increases to higher levels, it starts hampering the performance rather.
It
becomes difficult to focus on the task at hand. There is difficulty in
comprehending relatively simple instructions and trouble in recalling relevant information.
There
are many students who put in their hard work for the most difficult exams like JEE, BITSAT, PMT etc but do not get
desired results due to exam anxiety.
Ways to cure exam anxiety
When
there is a problem, there is a solution too. There are various ways to help you
with the exam anxiety. Go, try them yourself and see:
1) Breathe calmly and relax
yourself
Relax and take deep breaths to release the anxiety. Use some of the Stress Buster exercises such as
deep breathing and muscle relaxation.
2) Engage yourself in positive self-talk
Confidence plays the key role. If you have enough confidence, you will
stop fearing of the unseen and unknown. Have a positive self-talk session to
boost your confidence. Learn and practice over time, how to challenge
your negative thoughts
3) Maintain a healthy
lifestyle
Do aerobic exercises on a regular basis. Don’t
forget to stretch your body when you are putting in long study hours. Take 7-8
hours of sleep and don’t change your sleeping pattern days before your exam. Avoid
junk food. Follow a balanced and nutritious eating routine. Avoid substances
that increase anxiety: Coffee, Sugar, Tea
4) Study
effectively
Planning your day and organizing your academic
schedule is important to reduce anxiety at last moment. Study in 50-minute
slots with 10-minute relaxation breaks for better concentration and high
retention power. Learn memory enhancement techniques. Practice for your exam in
the real test environment so that your body clock gets adjusted to the actual
exam day
Anxiety Reduction
techniques
•
Relaxation is more important than entertainment. So,
whenever you get time, try relaxing your mind and body
•
Train your mind to stay in present moment. This can be
done by focusing over your breaths
•
Motivate yourself and own your goal
•
Increase your self-esteem
•
While preparing for the exam, visualize a
positive exam-writing experience
What to do during the exam
•
Do a positive self-talk when you enter the exam hall
•
Read through the exam at the beginning and figure out
how much time to spend on each question
•
To build confidence, start with the subject you know
rather than focusing on the ones you don’t
• Wear a watch to
monitor your time
•
Don’t distract your mind by thinking about the
consequences
•
Mentally yell “STOP and FOCUS” to break the cycle
•
Don’t focus on getting rid of the anxiety because that
will only feed it
•
Take a 30-second “mini-break”
•
Concentrate on the way you read your question
•
Take deep breaths at constant intervals
Now that you know how to fight your exam anxiety, make
sure you practice these in your daily routine to get the desired results in
your exam.
All the best!
Author
Bio:
Isha
is a content writer and have a keen interest in the domain of education. She
strongly feels that education is the basic and most important parameter in any
human's life and feel like its a responsibility to spread awareness about it.
