Dr. Hyatt
Clinical Health Psychologist & traumatologist
Focus on the present, not consequences
Focus on the activities of studying for and responding to questions on the exam rather than on potential negative consequences.
Catastrophizing —focusing on grim forecasts of future jobs, lifestyle and so on – are more likely to raise anxiety than to help you control it.
Do not be afraid
Know that you know what you know. Much of exam anxiety comes from a fear of poor performance. If you can test yourself adequately prior to an exam and go in with the knowledge that you do know your stuff, you might find your anxiety diminished.
Sleep well, eat healthy
Symptoms of stress or anxiety can be worsened by drastic changes in sleep and eating routines, but they can be diminished with some physical activity like walking or swimming.
Time running out? Stay cool
If you are very short on time, try focusing the bulk of your time on areas that need work rather than on those that you already know and can remember well. This way you can cover more of the course material. Though some people experience a little anxiety from working through the hard stuff, many feel this strategy offers a chance for greater effectiveness and course material coverage.
Beware the frantic student!
It is hard sometimes to establish a controlled outlook for an exam, but it is easy to lose this outlook when you come into contact with somebody who is very highly anxious. The natural habitat of this kind of highly stressed individual is the main entrance to the exam room, just before an exam begins, trying to learn those last bits of information before the exam. If you review minutes before the exam and this helps you, then you might want to do so just out of range of the exam room.
Banish negative thoughts
Try to eliminate negative self statements such as “I’m going to fail this exam for sure because I’m such a big dummy.” Whether negative statements are accurate or not, they work to convince us that they are accurate, and this has an impact on our behavior and self-concept. This negative thinking may limit our ability to perform to standard on an exam. Replacing negative statements with genuine positive statements.
Other Tips
- Start your exam revision before you normally do, so that you are over-confident about the course.
- Undertake practice tests before the final exam, and take steps to improve the speed etc.
- Practice deep abdominal breathing, meditation and other relaxation exercises as part of your daily routine.
- Sleep early the night before the exam so that you wake up fresh.
- Eat a light and nutritious meal before you leave.
- Tell yourself that you are very confident this time and will not get nervous. Use positive thinking and self-talk to help yourself. Review your strengths and list your positive points, e.g. your hard-working nature, intelligence level, your commitment and try not to think about your anxiety.
Anxiety in the exam room:
- Skim the whole exam to find which questions you are able to do with relative ease. Plan to do these first. The result is likely to be a little more confidence and the comfort of knowing that there are no easy marks that you missed.
- Examine the marking scheme and plan to divide your time evenly among the available marks. For example, spend 10 per cent of your time on 10 per cent of the marks. While you may not stay strictly with this limit, it is worthwhile to know how many minutes you should spend per percentage point in the exam. Following this guideline gives you a sense of progress and feedback about how you are doing.
- Some students find it helpful to set mini-breaks at specified points during the exam during which they close their eyes, relax their hands and do deep breathing exercises. Even 30 seconds can help bring down your symptoms of stress.
- At all times, try to focus on the process of answering the question rather than on the end result.
- Most of all, remember that exams measure what you can demonstrate about your learning thus far in a course of study, not your worth as a person.
