There’s no way
to prevent panic before exams. We all suffer from anxiety and it’s commonly
known that certain levels of anxiety create the perfect exam conditions. This
is known as your ‘peak arousal.’ However, there are times in which too much
anxiety can be devastating to your performance and mental health.
There are two
times when anxiety can impact you. The first is the most commonly, which is
immediately before the exam. This is generally a useless type of anxiety that
only serves to make you uncomfortable and cause your grades to suffer. I have
three ways to combat this type of stress.
1.
Chewing and drinking
There is a
clear link between eating
and the temporary reduction of anxiety. Using comfort foods can be an
effective way to reduce anxiety prior to an exam. While your go to comfort
foods may be a packet of hot chips or a chocolate milk shake, it is easy to
stuff some dark chocolate and sultanas into a clear zip lock bag. I recommend
putting in a mix of high sugar, sweetened foods along with maybe some salt
pretzels because they are foods that are high energy and dopamine encouraging. Lesser
amounts shouldn’t cause a sugar rush later and can make you feel good, reducing
anxiety.
Similarly, don’t
forget to pack your water bottle. There is a link between dehydration and the
onset of panic attacks – while this is
not the trigger for every anxiety attack there is evidence to suggest it is
a factor. So, pack in a clear water bottle and slurp away!
2.
Music and lectures
If you’re a
music fan you’re probably
familiar with the psychological impact of music. Music is a way to impose
structure and order in an environment where none may immediately appear. It can
manipulate your emotions and draw you to a new mental state. Creating a
playlist that makes you feel powerful, focused or calm (depending on what you
feel works for you best) can help you to control your mental state at the time.
A good place to get some playlist inspiration is through 8tracks.
However, if you’re
like me and music doesn’t really help you focus you may find that listening to
lecturers from tedtalks or other speech platforms helps you to calm down. I
find that listening to other people talk either giving motivational speeches,
or talking on a topic that I am interested in distracts me before the exam and
gives me the opportunity to rest my mind before I launch into an exam. As a
teacher once told me, there’s nothing you can do in the last five minutes that
will destroy your exam. Any information you forget isn’t useful. Allow your
mind to breath and process information without the added anxiety.
3.
Talking to others/social media
Talking to
people around you before an exam can form a strange kind of kinship. It’s the kind
where you’re all reasonably frightened of what might happen, but the shared
experience makes you feel more positive. This kind of event can be good to make
you feel like you’re working towards something that is bigger and better than
just this one little exam. Although some people find it makes them more worried
if you’re a bit extroverted this may just be the tip that helps you reach that
little bit of calm you need before an exam.
If you’re
worried that you might psyche yourself out another good thing to do is to
scroll through social media. Pick a tag that you like (my personal favorites
are cake decorating and summer clothes) and scroll through the pictures. They’re
upbeat, well-lit and pretty – just the kind of thing you need to look at to get
yourself in a better mental state.
While you’re doing
these tasks relax yourself slowly. There are smaller physical things you can do
to control the psychological tricks of anxiety.
a)
Pace and move your body
Movement is a
great distraction technique and when it comes to beating anxiety distraction is
exactly what you’re looking for. Walk around the room or building. If you need
more of a distraction try looking for things in the room; for example, while
you’re walking around you must name;
-
5 things that are making a noise
-
2 different things that you can smell
-
1 thing you’re going to do after the exam
-
3 people that you know (either in the room or
out)
-
1 person wearing blue
-
1 person listening to music
Etc. this is
part of
a process called ‘grounding’. You can read the hand out to find more of
these techniques. This is a very good tactic to use because it encourages you
to interact with your environment and can adapt to whatever environment you’re
in.
b)
Tell yourself that you can do it.
Visualization
is a critical component to any de-stress routine, whether it’s days before the
exam or in the moments just before it. Try repeating in your head ‘I can do
this, I’m going to do well.’ This simple action can
reduce your anxiety and bring you to the right mental state.
If, however,
you’re suffering the stress a few weeks before the exam begins, there are some
other methods you can add to your plans to help conquer these fears. They are a
little more proactive because you have more time.
1.
Set up a plan so you can visualize how much time
you have and what you’re going to do with it
Some people may
consider this to be like setting up a timer until the end of the world. However,
if you’re a fan of routines and planning this can be a wonderful way to remind
yourself you have plenty of time to act. My biggest weakness is that I always panic
and underestimate the amount of time I have left. Just last semester I finished
my exam review four weeks early because I messed up the timing and panicked
that I was going to run out of time. The result was that I burned out way
faster than normal and way exhausted by the end of the exam season – so learn
from me and use a planner!
2.
Assess the amount that you have on and see if
you can trim anything from this
Sometimes we
add a lot of ‘little things’ into our schedule that add up. Try to write a list
of all your extracurricular and see if there are some things you can drop to
give yourself some more time to split between relaxation and studying. It is
critical in the final weeks of your study to maintain a healthy balance between
your personal life and your study life.
3.
Speak with an academic advisor
 |
| Exam planning pack |
Sometimes early
onset test anxiety can be an indicator that there is something wrong. Try
speaking with an academic advisor to get their opinion on whether you need some
extra helping the class or if there is a way you can offload some of the
academic burden. I know there are a lot of advisors who are experts at helping
students create flexible study plans that leaves a student working productively
and not overloading themselves. While it may be a little frightening to admit
to someone that you’re struggling with your academic commitments, remember that
it is the peak of maturity to know your limits and to get help to move past
them.
Overall your
anxiety over exams is purely a mental block. Prepare to deal with it, but don’t
let it prevent you from showing off all your hard work over the semester. Use
your time well to prevent over reacting and do your best on the exam!
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