Do You Suffer from Test Anxiety?

This is more common than you might believe so if you suffer from test anxiety don’t feel alone.  Although most people who experience this don’t have it in as severe as others, and are therefore able to overcome their nerves in order to take the test, there are others who find that they are nauseous in the days leading up to the test, and may even find that they are either unable to go into the test room, or if they actually get behind desk, are unable to recall any of the information that they have learned. 

If you are approaching your first real test taking stage in life, there are some warning signs that you can look out for to see if this is something that you need to be aware:

•  You find that revision is difficult to start.  You find that you procrastinate and put it off because you simply don’t feel able to deal with it – even though your coursework has been fine throughout the year or semester. 
  
• You are expecting not to do well in the test.  You feel that no matter how hard you study, there’s nothing you can do that will help you do better than you are anticipating.

When it comes to the test day itself there are more warning signs that you can look out for:

• You have physical discomfort such as sweaty palms, breathing irregularities, headache and so on.
  
• You can’t get your thoughts straight when you’re faced with the test paper.  You know the answers but you can’t seem to recall them in the right order to write them down.   The information that you learned, and you know you know, seems to be on the tip of your pencil but it won’t come out.  Immediately you walk out of the room, there’s a release of information and you’re able to recall all of the things you should have wrote and didn’t!
  
• You’re distracted by anything and everything that’s going on around you.

In order to combat these feelings of hopelessness and loss, there are a few techniques that you can try which even if you suffer from test anxiety might help you to feel more at ease with a test situation and allow you to relax enough to take the test:

• Create a good study program for your revision.  Show up for each scheduled session and go through the work that you’ve set yourself.  Even if you don’t feel at first that you’re taking it in, just keep at it.  Stubbornness can sometimes prevail over nerves!
  
• Practice positive self-affirmation.  As silly as you may think that it sounds, even to yourself, face yourself in a mirror daily and tell yourself repeatedly that you do know the material, you can do the test, and you will pass the test. 
  
• Look after yourself the night before a test, and during the day of the test.  Make sure you get a good night’s sleep – your revision should be completed before bedtime so don’t spend sleep time trying to cram extra last minute facts into your brain.  Let your brain relax and wind down so it will be refreshed the next day.  On the day of the exam make sure that you eat a light meal just before the test begins.  This should be something that will help you sustain energy.  Some people find that taking a brief jog before a test helps them free up their mind so you could try this.
  
• Before starting the test take a few deep breaths and tell yourself that you can do this.  Then read your test paper carefully right through without making any notes.  When you’ve finished, take another few deep breaths and then start with what you feel is the question you know the most about.  This will help loosen up your brain and give you confidence to continue on.
  
• Pay no attention to students who complete the test early.  You don’t know if they are finished, or if they’ve just given up, so just keep to your own test paper and aim on getting it finished in the time allocated.
  
• After the test, don’t spend un-necessary time and stress worrying about the results.  Accept that you did your best, and now you need to see if it was good enough.  If it wasn’t then speak to your teachers about the test anxiety you experienced and see if they can devise some way of helping you for future tests.