Are you a student? Are final exams (sometimes called EOC's, or end of course exams) fast approaching? Do you struggle with nervousness over taking tests?
You might have test anxiety.
It's a thing.
It's not a mental disorder per se, but it is very real. And the fall-out is real too: individuals with test anxiety perform worse than their actual potential, and it can impact long-term quality of life.*
So, how do you "fix" it?
There are so many strategies to help you reduce text anxiety. Here are a few general tips.
1. It starts with good preparation the week or day before: being well-prepared for a test will help you to feel more in control, and feeling more in control of a situation reduces the anxiety you will feel. So, review your homework assignments, re-read or skim specific chapters, make flash cards (Quizlet.com allows you to make your own flash cards on your smart phone!) and complete the study guide given out by your instructor.
2. Get a good night's sleep the night before your exam. Here are some tips.
3. On the day of the exam, try to eat a healthy breakfast, make sure you arrive at the test site early, and take deep breaths to lower your anxiety. When anxious, humans take small, shallow breaths. You want to breathe deeply, as if you were inhaling the aroma of a beautiful rose.
4. Continue to breathe deeply during the test. This will help you to think more clearly, and thus, perform better.
Bonne chance!
Teresa
Teresa Heald, LCSW
* Zwettler, C., Reiss, N., Rohrmann, S., Warnecke, I., Luka-Krausgrill, U., & van Dick, R. (2018). The relation between social identity and test anxiety in university students. Health psychology open, 5(2), 2055102918785415. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102918785415 Retrieved on 04/20/2022 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6069033/
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