Coping with Exam Anxiety
We have all had moments when our performance was undermined by too much stress as we found ourselves in one of the following modes: Fight, Flight or Freeze.
When stress is the driver’s seat of your life, you may experience racing thoughts, dry mouth, stomach full of ‘butterflies’, quick and shallow breathing, tense muscles and sweaty palms.
These responses are useful in a life-threatening situation but not for exams. When you put exams in such drastic category with your thinking, your body doesn’t know the difference and you will physically react as if you are actually in danger.
It’s time for you to P.I.C.K and choose what thoughts you believe.
P – Pay attention to your self-talk
“I’m going to fail” quickly leads to an anxious mind and body that will shut down both during an exam.
“I’ve studied and I’ll pass” leads to a calm mind and body that will work more efficiently during an exam to achieve a more positive result.
I – Identify your thoughts that lead to anxious feelings
Before an exam, when you feel anxious, examine what you are thinking. For example, which specific thoughts are making you feel most anxious and what worries you the most about writing the exam.
C – Challenge your distorted thoughts
Are those thoughts distorted by habit and emotion? Do you fall into the thinking traps like Fortune Telling, Black and White Thinking, Overestimating Danger or Catastrophizing? If you do (like we all do occasionally) then it’s time to take back the steering wheel and challenge those distorted thoughts.
Ask yourself – Where’s the evidence? Is the thought based on facts or feeling? Even if I do fail or not do well on this exam, what’s the worst that will happen? What could I do to cope with that result? When have I done well on tests and exams? When have I failed and still been able to cope?
K – Know key coping strategies
Coping statements. “If I get anxious, I’ll try deep breathing.” I just need to do my best.” “No one can tell when I’m anxious, I will focus on the exam.” “The anxiety won’t last because it never does.”
Positive self-statements. “I know I can do this.” “If the result is less than I wanted, I will cope.” “Everyone experiences anxiety, I can handle this.” “I’m not a loser if I struggle on this exam, everyone struggles sometimes.”
Balanced statements. “There is a small chance that I may not do well or I may even fail this exam. This doesn’t mean I will fail the course. I have passed assignments and tests before and I will eventually graduate high school. The success of rest of my life does NOT hang on this exam.”
If you need help applying these strategies, make an appointment with your Guidance Counsellor today, and learn how to remove negative thinking and test anxiety from the driver’s seat of your life. Study smarter, not harder and grab the steering wheel as we head into exam week!
Written by Danette Adams with some information modified from www.highschoolblues.com and Dr. Lynn Miller from UBC
