Overcoming Exam Anxiety?

Most students are probably familiar with exam anxiety – a feeling of unease or butterflies before exams.  For some however, fear can overwhelm leading to lack of concentration which can affect not only academic performance but also self esteem and health.

If you are one of those suffering from exam anxiety, you are not alone. More than 26% of University students are handicapped by exam anxiety often or most of the time.

The anxiety can be rooted in a variety of fears including: fear of failure, lack of self-confidence, fear of blanking out during exams and many more. The resulting emotions can lead to the student feeling overwhelmed, which uses up the mental energy and makes it difficult to perform optimally.

Identifying Exam Anxiety

Take a few minutes with this simple Asset/Deficit Balance Sheet (from HeartMath.com) to track your emotions and thoughts to see where you’re spending your energy.

1. Do you have a hard time getting started studying for a test?
2. When studying for a test, do you find you get easily distracted or feel like the class or materials are boring?
3. Do you expect to do poorly on a test no matter how much you study?
4. During tests, do you often experience physical discomfort such as sweaty palms, upset stomach, headache, difficulty breathing or tension in your muscles?
5. Is it often difficult for you to understand test directions and questions?
6. Do you frequently have mental blocks during tests on material you’re sure you’ve studied and learned?
7. After taking tests, do you often discover you completely overlooked one or more test questions?

If you experience any of the above, it may be useful to spend a few minutes getting the brain into a coherent state before studying and before and during exams.

A very simple technique from HeartMath can often help: Go to Neutral: The next time you feel anxiousness or dread before a exam, or if you’re "totally stressed out" about it, do this simple exercise adapted from the HeartMath Go to Neutral Tool.

• Timeout: Take a timeout to disengage from your stressful thoughts and feelings. Actually say to yourself, "timeout," then step back.
• Heart-Focus: Shift your focus to the area around your heart in the center of your chest and feel your breath coming in through your heart and going out through your solar plexus, right below your heart.
• Heart Breathing: Breathe slowly and gently, in and out – four or five seconds in, four or five seconds out. Remain in this neutral zone until your emotions ease and your perceptions relax.

If exam stress is causing excessive anxiety, find a Heartmath Coherence practitioner that can teach you techniques that will help improve performance.

By Charmaine Shepherd  B.Sc. Biomed., N.dip. Ac, MBAcC
Charmaine Shepherd is an Acupuncturist, Director of the Centre for Holistic Health and Author of Is it all in your mind? 10 Steps to Resolving the Underlying Causes of Anxiety and Depression. Available on Kindle!

Charmaine has a sensitive and holistic approach to health-care. She is dedicated to helping individuals take control of their own health. "I believe in supporting the innate healing ability of the body through the use of natural remedies, nutrition and lifestyle,” Charmaine Shepherd.