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Managing Anxiety During Tests

To being, let's look at the difference between anxiety and stress.

Stress is a physical response that prepares the body for action by energizing it. It is a good thing to experience a moderate level of stress when it comes to tests and exams because stress increases alertness, concentration, and memorization.


Anxiety is a reaction to stress. If there is too much stress, we do not perform well or feel good about ourselves.

Ask yourself if you’ve ever experienced any of the following when it comes to taking tests:

1. Queasiness, sweating, and/or rapid pulse
2. Trouble concentrating and maintaining focus
3. Negative thoughts and harsh criticism of one’s self (“I will fail this exam.” “I’m stupid.” “I’m not smart enough.”)
4. Rushing through just to get them over with
5. Despite studying and knowing the material, you can’t recall any information. Once you turn in the test however, you are able to answer
the majority of questions

Anxiety is not limited to testing performance situations. Please consult Student Accessibility Services (accessibility@stu.ca) to learn more about the accommodations and help available to you at university.

Below are a number of techniques you might employ to better manage the mental and physical components of test anxiety.


Take Care of Yourself

  • Make sure you’re getting the sleep you need so you don’t go into a test or exam tired
  • Your brain needs REM sleep to store the information you spent time studying
  • Try to avoid caffeine, it can make you more anxious
  • Drink water and eat well


Study and Study Well

  • Studies show that being prepared reduces the anxiety experienced during a test or exam
  • There is also a strong link between procrastination and anxiety
  • You know you should be studying, and this fuels anxiety
  • Plus, that last-minute cram session is just causing more stress
  • You’re not learning the material well, which means you will struggle to recall and recognize answers
  • Check out all the approaches, tips, and tricks there are to studying under


Ignore Everyone Else

  • This is easier said than done, but if you can… you will remain calmer
  • If the person sitting to your right finishes writing before you, don’t assume they know more than you
  • You don’t know how hard they studied for the test
  • You don’t know if they answered every question or left half of them blank
  • We all have our own pace
  • And if you come into a test feeling prepared and still find it difficult, chances are your classmates will as well
  • Consider sitting at the front of the class where there will be fewer distractions and people around you
  • Wear earplugs. They aren’t expensive and dull a fair amount of noise. That irritating cough and sniffling… for example


Be Here and Be Now

  • Do your best to fully concentrate/ focus on the question you are answering instead of feeding thoughts about the mark you will get
  • You will be marked regardless, so do your best to spend the time and energy you have on answering the question to the best of your ability


You Will do Things Right, Focus on it!

  • Our thoughts influence our emotions
     If we think about ourselves failing… we feel bad
    If we think about ourselves winning… we feel good

  • Try to think on the questions you know you answered correctly. This fuels positive thinking, which fuels positive feeling, which helps keep anxiety at bay


Stop! Stop! Stop!

  • When you begin to feel the landslide of your anxious thoughts, mentally (or out loud if you are in a space where can talk) yell STOP!
  • Do it as many times as you need, but this will help pause the landslide, bringing you back to the present where you can redirect your thoughts and use any of the techniques discussed here


Daydream

  • Filling your mind with pleasant thoughts leaves no room for anxious thoughts
  • Make a list of things that make you happy
    Pick a couple of those things and get really detailed with preparing your daydream so when you need it, it’s ready to go


Visualize Success

  • If you spend a good deal of time thinking about failing a test, your chances of actual failure increase
  • Try thinking about what it will be like to do well
  • Be detailed in your thoughts. See yourself focused, writing answers, reading questions and understanding them, feel the excitement of knowing you answered a question well


Breathe

  • By focusing on your breathing, you can calm the physical and mental components of anxiety and bring yourself back to the present
  • Concentrate on the air travelling through your nose and into your lungs, feel your lungs expand, then deflate as the air leaves you
  • Try to take longer and deeper breaths, counting to five as you inhale and five again as you exhale


Scan Your Body

  • Look for tension
  • Breathe and close your eyes
  • Begin with your feet. Are they tense? If so, feel the tension in your muscles leave your body, then move up
  • Do this with your legs, torso, shoulders, arms, and jaw
  • If it is difficult to release the tension, try tensing on purpose… and then release
  • Do this as many times as you need
  • This will make you aware of how your body feels relaxed, and can help you to relax more


Grounding

  • Close your eyes and breathe
  • Focus on five sounds you can hear around you. Take this one step further and ask yourself how these sounds make you feel or think
  • This technique is bringing you back to the present, here and now
  • You can add in different senses too
  • What are five things you can smell?
  • Open your eyes. What are five things you can eat? Are blue? Have writing on them?
  • You can plan a list of things to look for beforehand, so when you need to ground yourself, you are better prepared


Perspective

  • Yes, tests are worth marks, but they are not a pillar of your worth or intelligence
  • A low test grade does not show what you are capable of as a human being

Cuseo, Joseph B, Aaron Thompson, Michele Campagna, Viki Sox Fecas. Thriving in College and Beyond: Research-Based Strategies for Academic Success and Personal Development. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2016.

Ellis, Dave. Becoming a Master Student. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.