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In the life of every student, exams are
usually one of the stressful events to go through. Most often than not, we
feel anxious every time examination periods are about to come. It is normal
for most students to experience some levels of anxiety during exams. It
common to all the students and I am sure that we had our own share of
anxiety during exams, hadn’t we? Anxiety is a human’s natural response to a
stressful situation. The test anxiety can become a powerful motivator; it
can make you study harder to be able to excel. But, if this test anxiety
starts to affect exam performance it has become a problem.
The symptoms of test anxiety are but not
limited to:
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Physical – headaches, nausea, or
diarrhea, extreme body temperature changes, excessive sweating,
shortness of breath, light-headedness or fainting, rapid heart beat,
and/dry mouth, tense muscle
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Emotional – excessive feelings of
disappointment, anger, depression, uncomfortable crying or laughing
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Behavioral – fidgeting, pacing,
substance abuse, avoidance
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Cognitive – racing thoughts, going
blank, difficulty concentrating, negative self-talk, feelings of dread,
comparing yourself to others, difficulty organizing your thoughts.
The probable causes of test anxiety can be
lack of preparation indicated by cramming the night before the exam, poor
time management, failure to organize text information, poor study habits;
or, worrying about previous performance on exams, how other students are
doing, the negative consequences of failure.
For the better part, there are several
techniques that can be done to control your test anxiety, and these are:
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Preparation – study and know the
material well enough so that you can still recall even if you are under
stress, develop good study habits, get enough rest, exercise, attend
classes regularly and complete all assignments, participate in all
practical tests
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Keep a positive attitude – develop
logical expectations, do not allow your grades affect the outcome of
your exams, avoid negative and devastating results, set up a system of
reward to yourself for good results, encourage yourself.
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Relaxation techniques – proper
breathing exercises, imagery and visualization, muscle relaxation
techniques can help increase your concentration, don’t come too early
for you might get distracted, and make sure you have everything you need
I n times when you start feeling
overwhelmed or when the fear comes, just pause and do the proper breathing
techniques as they can help you calm down, and then keep focus on the
present. Don’t try to eliminate your fear totally, just keep it manageable.
Convince yourself that you can shake away your fear. Divert your attention
or thoughts from fear, or find something to keep fear out of your mind.
There are several factors that can affect
the efficiency of you study time. Make sure that your place of study is
quiet, no interruptions, comfortable, clean, well facilitated, and with
comfortable temperature. A study without distractions can make you
concentrate more; therefore, test anxiety can be lessen if not eliminated.
Test anxiety can be successfully managed
depending on the level of your willingness. If your mindset is having
control over your anxiety, your chances to success is great!
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