Test Anxiety

            For many of our students, exam week is happening or is just around the corner.  It is a culmination of a hectic school year or semester, for both students and teachers alike.  One often overlooked phenomenon, however, is the anxiety that a few students experience during the time of examinations.  It is a particular kind of anxiety that has been given a specific name, which is test anxiety. 

            The following are common signs of test anxiety: 

·         Feeling nervous before, during, and after a test, which often have physical manifestations (e.g., clammy hands, “butterflies” in the stomach, tense and aching muscles, headaches, rapid heart rate, etc.);

·         Worrying about the test for days on end, often causing the person to lose sleep and concentration;

·         Having too many thoughts about how bad one will perform, making one become overwhelmed and confused;

·         Being vulnerable to one’s reactions and feelings, such that one is easily upset and disturbed (e.g, crying spells, irritability, uneasiness); and 

·         Test performance is severely affected, despite good efforts at preparation. 

Of course, some anxiety and worrying is actually a very typical reaction to a stressor, such as an exam.  Many people experience this most natural of reactions and can be helped with simple techniques, such as the following: 

·         Simple relaxation and breathing exercises (see my post on this blog dated 13 March 2010) can help immediately lower one’s anxiety;

·         Changing the way one thinks about the situation, and shifting to a more realistic way of thinking (see my posts on this blog dated 10 August 2010 & 24 September 2010) can help with the worries;

·         Knowing more about the test conditions (e.g., the testing room, the proctor, etc.) can help ease added worries related to the test situation;

·         Minding the basics of eating right, sleeping enough, and exercising can help lower stress reactions (see my post on this blog dated 01 October 2010); and

·         Preparing the best that one can, given one’s time and resources, for the test is also a good reassurance that one will at least do good enough. 

If you find yourself suffering severe and unrelenting worries and anxieties despite the tips discussed here, you may need to consider seeking professional help.  The professionals who are trained to deal with such issues are clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.  Having a professional help you with these difficulties can prove to be most rewarding.