Exam anxiety

Test anxiety (introduction)

 Test anxiety is a condition of physiological over-arousal, tension , apprehensiveness, and somatic
symptoms that interfere with your ability to perform well in tests.

 It is most common and often experienced before, during and after the examination

 The challenge is when our level of anxiety increases past an optimal level such that it interferes
with our studying or performance.

 When anxiety is too intense, we may have difficulty learning and remembering what we need to
know for the exam, find it hard to focus on questions, or demonstrate our knowledge or skills
during the exam.
Relevance and importance of discussion
 Attended exams multiple times, but cannot avoid being trapped into exam anxiety. Most common
and dangerous and yet underrated and unnoticed issue

 According to the American Test Anxieties Association, about 16 to 20 percent of students have
high test anxiety, with another 18 percent troubled by moderately high test anxiety.
Causes of exam anxiety
 Lack of preparation

 Past experience of blanking out of badly performing

 Focusing too much on outcome

 Focusing too much on how other classmates and friends are doing

 Issues outside the topic distracting you from concentrating

 Excessive pressure to perfectionism

 Avoidance of proper self-care (insufficient sleep, lack of relaxation)

Unhelpful thinking habits

 Prediction:- Assuming your result beforehand,

 Catastrophizing: unnecessarily exaggerating the severity of the effects, believing

that worst possible thing will happen

 Critical self: negative talking about self, negative self-talking

Effects of exam anxiety
Physiological Effects
 Increased heartbeat
 Tensed muscle
 Perspiration
 Nausea
 Dry mouth
 Headaches
Behavioral Effects
 Inability to make decisions

 Inability to act or express

 Difficulty in reading questions and understanding it during exams

 Difficulty in organizing your thoughts

 Difficulty in recalling and retrieving terms and concepts

Psychological effects

 Feeling apprehensive or uneasy

 Anger and irritation

 Feeling upset

 Self-doubt

 Negative self-talk
Solutions

 Test Yourself/ Self-assessment: use flash cards, use of flowcharts/algorithms, mnemonics

 Follow a schedule

 Take short breaks

 Quick relaxation techniques: yoga, meditation, breathing techniques, power naps

 Prioritize: give more time to chapters or contents that are most important, make a

prioritization
 Worksheet

 Check your attitude

 Reflect upon what you have studied

 Check your diet: try not to consume food with high caffeine and sugar content