Dealing with Examination Stress

Stress | October 6, 2010 | Share

If you are the kind of person that gets the jitters before every exam, your hands sweat and your heart beats in overdrive, then you need to learn to deal with the anxiety attacks that envelop you before exams. Feeling pressurized and stressing out during exams is extremely common. However your pangs of anxiety could affect your performance and therefore you should learn how to work around it.

Dealing with examination stress at the last moment is not really the answer. The process starts much before the exams even arrive. You have to make some changes to your lifestyle so you do not encounter stress at the times that are most pressurizing. There are numerous ways in which you can achieve a peaceful state of mind. A few important tips are highlighted below:

Prepare in advance: A lot of students experience bouts of stress the night or morning before the exam because they are not well prepared. You need time for revision and you are not going to get that if you burn the mid night oil. To be in a position to write the exam in a focussed manner you have to be alert and that will not happen if you have up all night panicking and constantly wondering if you will finish your portion. So start your studies well in advance to ensure that you just have to flip through your books and familiarize yourself with important points at the last minute.

Sleep: Being well rested in important if you want to fair well in your exams. If you are not well rested you will not perform well and score marks that will not make you or your parents proud. Therefore get into a pattern of resting your mind and body for at least eight hours every night. Develop a pattern and do not just do it on the night of the exam because your body is not going to be able to make that adjustment. If you are not well rested, you will be tired and cranky and stress over underperforming.

Focus: If you do want to perform well you have to learn how to say no. Try and stay away from people who will waste your time. Neighbours who have finished their exams will force you to play a game in the park or just enjoy one video game. Time management is essential. Make sure you finish what you have planned for the day and then reward yourself by giving into a game of Need for Speed.

Exams when taken with a calm and composed mind can be easy. So work on your mind and you will see that your mind will respond by staying alert and listening to you. Stress during examinations can be dealt with, however you may have to work towards it, give your books some time well in advance if you want to score marks that will put you on the achiever’s page. School or college, do not let exams get the better of you. How you deal with these little hurdles says a lot about what you will grow up to be. Life’s lessons start early, so you better start taking notes.

Sakshi Vohra