Take an exam! If you expect that you will be very tense during the exam or exam, the following advice may help you as a student on how to deal with exam tensions and exam fear. Does every student suffer from tension or are you the only one? How can you deal with exam fear? How can you deal with exam anxiety? An overview:
Dealing with tensions
Exam fear: how do you deal with exam tensions as a student? It is quite normal for the student to feel some tension, fear and even fear about an exam or exam. The student has studied long and hard and worked towards the exam, with the hope and expectation of a good result. But, what if you collapse from tensions? And … why does everyone suffer from tension during exams?
What is the function of stresses?
The tension that every student feels around an exam period is necessary to optimally:
- To be able to perform,
- Be motivated and
- Stay optimally concentrated so that they achieve good results.
Tension drives every student to better results. Tension ensures that the student gives the best of himself during an exam.
Physical phenomena
Physical symptoms of stress include:
- Fast heartbeat,
- Moist hands,
- Dry mouth,
- Raised blood pressure,
- More sweating than usual,
- Cramps in the abdomen.
However, it has been found that students with exam stress perform just as well during the exam or exam as students who say they are not bothered by anything.
Therefore: accept these physical phenomena. Don’t pay any attention to it! By just trying to accept the exam tension and exam fear, the anxious feelings diminish!
Stress
The physical symptoms before an exam or before an exam are typical stress symptoms. During the exam you should indeed pay as little attention as possible to the physical stress complaints. Stress means that your body is getting ready to run or fight. In either flight or fight, your body must take action: run or fight. Your body requires physical action during stress. The tension in your body must be released.
You mainly study sitting down. To get the stress out of your body as much as possible, it is important that you rid your body of the stress. How? Through physical activities! Move! Sport! Don’t let the stress build up in your body. Especially around an exam period, it is very important that you give the stress an outlet: by moving. Don’t let the stress build up.
The best weapon against exam fear and exam anxiety is: exercise a lot!
Correct negative worrying thoughts
If you, as a student, are convinced that the tension and fear will have a negative effect on your study results, there is a good chance that it will also happen.
Thoughts such as: “I can’t do it anyway,” or: “I’ll fail anyway,” have a negative effect on the exam results!
These kinds of negative worry thoughts need to be corrected! What can help you well is taking practice exams. If you take the practice exams with good results, it will give you more self-confidence.
Positive
By consciously saying positive thoughts and positive things to yourself, you develop greater confidence as a student. This confidence gives a positive result to your exam results! Before you take the exam, think of some uplifting and positive thoughts for yourself! A good way to speak to yourself positively is: every morning you wake up, take 3 deep breaths (preferably in the fresh air: stick your head out of the bedroom window or stand on the balcony for a while). Three times you take a very strong and deep breath through your nose. While breathing, say positive things to yourself: “I pass my exam,” or, “I pass my exam!” Then slowly release the breath from your mouth.
Study and take an exam in a targeted manner
Every student who has used the targeted study with the 4 specific study activities and the checklist for preparing for the exam while studying has every reason to take the exam or exam with full confidence and confidence. These are:
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Purposeful study, study activity 1: preparing for the subject matter,
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Purposeful study, study activity 2: studying the subject matter,
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Targeted study, study activity 3: testing the subject matter,
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Goal-oriented study, study activity 4: repeating the subject matter,
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Studying: preparing for the exam.
Expert help, enlist the help of others
Talk to others (students, friends, family, counselor, tutor, and so on) if you are unsure how to handle the tension. You’re really not alone! Sharing experiences about stress and anxiety can yield helpful and useful tips!
Too tense for the exam?
There are students who suffer greatly from the tension and the fear. The tension is building! In that case, the following list of advice is highly recommended to release all that tension:
- Do not use caffeine, cola and / or coffee. Caffeine enhances the tense feeling,
- Do not use white sugar. White sugar strengthens the tense feeling, strengthens anxiety and strengthens stress,
- Go to bed on time. A good night’s sleep has a calming effect and makes you more resistant to anxiety and stress,
- Healthy food. Whole foods provide you with enough vitamins and minerals that are excellent for dealing with anxiety and stress,
- Physical activities. Exercise, jog, swim, dance (etc!). By moving you reduce the tension enormously!
- Laugh. By laughing a lot, you laugh out the tensions. After a good laugh you feel much better and you are more resistant to fear, stress and tension.
- Breathing exercises are calming and soothing. Through these exercises you get better control of the rushed feeling,
- General practitioner, make an appointment with your general practitioner if you think you do not know how to handle the tensions!
We wish you lots of success with the exam or exam! You can do it!!