Aptitude Questions
Dealing with exam
anxiety and pressure
What are exams?
Exams, both formal and informal, are a way of assessing the learning of
the students. The exams test the ability of the students in performing
specific tasks and form part of the experience of being a student. These
are usually a constant feature in the life of a student. These, along
with other forms of assessments are designed in a way that will tell the
examiner the student’s ability to perform under pressure within a fixed
time frame.
What is anxiety?
According to the dictionary anxiety means a feeling of worry,
nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something
with an uncertain outcome. It is the displeasing feeling of fear and
concern. It is also described as our natural response to threat or sense
of an emergency.
When exams are round the corner, it is natural and quite common to feel
anxious. In fact it is an expected feeling. While a moderate level of
anxiety may be a blessing in disguise, too much of it may be detrimental
to your health. A little anxiety may help you in concentrating more on
your studies, sharpen your skills and give you an extra energy to do
better in exams. But if you go overboard with anxiety, then it can get
overwhelming and can prevent you from studying well and performing well
in your exams.
Some common symptoms of anxiety widely observed can be mind wandering,
lack of sleep, sweaty palms, dry mouth, fast beating of the heart, eat
either less or more than what is required, lack of concentration in
anything, a feeling of being sick, etc.
So how do you cope with this anxiety? How can you make yourself
comfortable and confident about the forthcoming exam?
Listed below are some ways in which you can reduce your anxiety and
thereby feel less pressured.
Make sure you sleep adequately – Getting enough sleep is a must. At
your age you require a minimum of 6 hours of sleep. Anything less than
that comes under sleep deficit. Sleep deficiency can lead to health
problems including lack of concentration which in turn can result in
poor performance in the exam. So if you are thinking that you will score
better by staying awake and studying, think again. It would be more
productive if you get a good night of sleep before your exams.
Work on better study habits – Don’t leave your studies for the last
minute. Practice your lessons regularly so you don’t have to do all of
it right before your exams. Last minute studies can lead to sleep
deficiency. (Refer point 1.) Make a list of all the topics to be studied
in the order of importance and priority. Then start studying from the
top most topic in the list. This will ensure that should you run out of
time, you would still have covered the important points. Also follow
proper time management. Make sure you calculate how much time you have
to study after making provisions for all the works you need to do. This
will help you decide how much you can cover, whether you can study in
depth or just skim through or just give it one reading. It would also
help if you can stay away from TV until your exams are over so that you
don’t get distracted.
Keep telling yourself that you will succeed – Every night when you
are going to sleep, tell yourself that you will do just fine in the
exams. Visual yourself successfully completing the exam and doing well.
This will help in building your confidence thereby reducing your
anxiety.
Most important is to stay calm no matter what – if you are too
stressed, you will not be able to remember things accurately. If you
want to perform well in the exams then it is very important that you
stay calm at all times. If you feel stressed or anxious, try to do some
breathing exercises. This will help in calming the mind and reversing
any stress that you may be feeling. Practice meditation techniques.
Last but not the least, always remember that if you believe that you are
being judged by your friends and family only on the basis of your
performance in the exams, then you are adding to your stress and further
pressurising yourself unnecessarily regarding exams. Also it is
important to remember that not doing well in an exam is not necessarily
the end of your studies or your dreams. It also does not mean that you
are a failure. So have confidence and belief in yourself and believe
that you can do well.
All the best..!!
Read more at: http://careerbreeder.com/dealing-with-exam-anxiety-and-pressure/ | Career Breeder
Read more at: http://careerbreeder.com/dealing-with-exam-anxiety-and-pressure/ | Career Breeder
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