anti stress

Recognizing And Relieving Test Anxiety

By Cecelia C. Bridgeman


Many parents have come to me and expressed their frustration that their son or daughter is a straight A student but keeps bombing on major tests like the ACT. Their concern is that their student needs a good ACT test score to get into the college of their choice, but while they are a straight A student in every other aspect of school, it just sees that tests make them freeze up.

In worse cases, nonetheless, people with anxiety disorder become withdrawn to their surroundings. When left untreated, anxiety disorder may get in the way of living a normal life. Some may even feel that they are on the verge of a nervous breakdown.But the condition won't go this far if the symptoms are easily detected and promptly treated.It is of course daunting for most people to draw the line between normal fear and anxiety disorder, especially when there is lack of information on what the condition really is. This is why an anxiety test is performed by doctors among individuals who are suspected to have anxiety disorders.Doctors would often furnish their patients a questionnaire. The queries solicit how the patients would react to certain situations. For example, some of the questions may be about feelings of guilt in doing certain activities. Other items may ask whether or not the patient feels scared of things that are reminiscent of the past.

As expected, the written tests are not too reliable, especially when the patient starts holding back some information. Some fall short in providing honest answers as they try to convince doctors and peers that they are mentally and psychologically healthy. This often occurs when a patient worries about getting judged or mistreated because of anxiety disorder.Doctors would then perform another round of oral tests. The questions are practically the same as those written in the questionnaires, but asking them face to face allows the experts to read non-verbal expressions of the patient. The "interview" also allows the doctors to further assess the intensity of the patient's anxiety as they can do follow up questions to elaborate the response to the queries.

Physiological reasons behind test anxiety are very powerful and yet very simple and easy to overcome. The biggest culprit in this area is shallow breathing which makes the brain slower and creates headaches and neck aches. By learning some very powerful breathing techniques, you can ensure that your brain gets all the oxygen it needs.

Finally, the last step to overcoming test performance anxiety is to take one's time during the exam. This includes reading all of the directions, answering the easier questions first (it's good to start out on a roll, and the easy answers might help you to remember harder questions later), and mapping out your short answer/essay questions before writing.Remember, you cannot control all of the variables surrounding an important test. However, by addressing and maintaining the variables which you can control, test anxiety might not be eliminated, but can be fairly well managed.Test anxiety is a type of performance anxiety that affects students of all ages and occurs immediately before, during and after a quiz, test or exam. Like other types of anxiety, the frequency and severity of ranges from moderate to debilitating; in the most serious cases, students become physically ill, unable to attend school as a result of their anxiety and fear.

There are different ways to reduce test anxiety but in this article I list the most effective ways to reduce stress before, during and after a test.Optimize your physical needs - the physical improvement directly effects mental anxiety.Rest- this is the most crucial of all ways to reduce test anxiety! Get two full nights sleep (8 hours or more each night) before an exam.

Exercise (or anaerobic movement) One of the great ways to to do this is to walk outside in nature. Walking outside oxygenates the blood and reduces sugars and adrenaline which normally increase test taking anxiety.Nutrition (tailored for study needs) Eliminate caffeine and heavy sugars during the time of test taking. This way you're not overloaded with chemicals. Make sure you have a solid piece of protein, a piece of fruit and a tall glass of water.

Posture- Sit up right and focus your eyes and body in confident ways. Posture is one of the important ways to reduce test anxiety because it helps align the neuron-pathways. The mind follows the way the body is positioned.Enhance your mental awareness.Put your priorities into perspective. Remind yourself that one single test will not determine everything you represent as a student.Remember past successes! Review those times in life where you initially struggled with anxiety and eventually found success. If you did well then, you can do well now!

Symptoms of this kind of anxiety include insomnia, nausea, a racing heart and sweaty palms. Some students report feeling dizzy and weak. Obviously, it is difficult to concentrate and perform well when you have these kinds of bodily sensations.When I counsel somebody with test anxiety, there are several things which must be explored. First, it is important to determine the person is anxious about other issues in their life. Some patients who report test anxiety are quite anxious in other situations as well. Some have multiple fears and phobias. This person requires a different kind of treatment than does someone who reports anxiety that is restricted to exams.

Tips During the test.Read the directions slowly.Circle important/significant words.Put notes in the margins.If needed, do a memory dump on the back of the test page.Don't dwell on an unexpected question too long. just skip it and come back to it.If you ever start to feel overwhelmed during the test, utilize a calming technique. Turn your test over, breath deep and focus on something in the room while visualizing something calming like a campfire or beach. Doing this for 30 seconds is one of the best ways to briefly vacation from that exam.Utilize friends, family, therapists and supports that will help you with ways to be calm and peaceful while encouraging you to use proper study habits.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment