Test anxiety techniques

Many students and adults experience test anxiety.  It’s helpful to know what test anxiety is and how to work through it in order to be successful.  Test anxiety is actually a type of performance anxiety.  Performance anxiety is when a person feels worried about how they will do on a task.  Some symptoms of anxiety are to feel butterflies, a stomach ache, or a headache.  Some people might feel shaky, sweaty or feel their heart beating quickly as they wait for the test or the event to occur.  A student with really strong test anxiety may even feel like they might throw up or pass out.  When you are under stress, your body releases the hormone adrenaline, which prepares it for danger.  The adrenaline causes the physical symptoms – sweating, pounding heart, and rapid breathing.

Many people feel anxiety prior to a event.  In fact, a manageable amount of anxiety can be helpful, it keeps us focused and drives us to do our best.  But when your symptoms take over so that you can’t function, you might not be able to perform the task.  Many people focus on the bad things that could happen and it makes them feel more worried.  These thoughts make people even more upset which makes the anxiety even stronger and they are then unable to concentrate. 

What do you do when you have these anxious feelings and how can you manage them?  Ask for help! Just talking to someone can make you feel better.  Together you can come up with solutions to use when faced with anxiety.  Be prepared and learn to forgive/accept mistakes –this helps ease the unknown and makes you feel more confident.  Expect the best and accept mistakes and you will be ready to do your best.  Don’t forget to breathe!  Inhale through your nose slowly and exhale out your mouth.  Repeat your breathing until your body feels calm.  Use positive self-talk (I can do this, I’m prepared, I know this) to replace the negative self-thought.  Visualization (picturing a safe/calm place or picturing yourself completing the task with confidence) can be used as a tool to calm down and relax.  You might have noticed that all of these techniques having to do with changing what we say, see and feel.  The mind and body are tightly woven together and when anxious feelings occur often the body is not working as one cohesive unit.  Students and adults alike need to practice these techniques in order to use them efficiently.

 Resource:

http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/school/test_anxiety.html#