7 Ways To Relieve Exam Anxiety
Written by: Javeria Khan Date: 16 February 2024
What it is good for?
The exams are stressful, to some extent the stress is useful for preparing our body for upcoming challenges. The brain activates flight and fight system of our body. We become hyperactive, the energy production increases which let us to work for longer time. Without this mechanism, we would procrastinate and lose ambition for studying.
In my observation, the anxiety( which is pathological) doesn't depend on the preparation of the exams, It an attitude or behaviour that we choose to acquire to cope up with stress. Clinical anxiety showing symptoms such as loss of appetite, sleeplessness, sweating, shivering, headache etc. It not only creates hindrance in your path but also decreases your performance. This in turn generates more anxiety and this cycle goes on and on.
Here I will talk about the steps that you can take to avoid this uncomfortable feeling. Preparing for exams is a skill. Unfortunately, we aren't taught about it.
1# long Term Planning.
Start early if you are in study field which demands passion, hard work such as medical sciences, you need to get on track fast. The process of studying is like a marathon, persistency is the key. Slow and steady learning is one of the best technique.
It prevents you from getting burnt out and also keep you in pace. The benefits of starting early is unlimited. You will have plenty of time for studying, this can help in relieving anxiety.
In competitive and saturated environment, if you can't become a rabbit then become a turtle.
2# Slow Breathing.
Try yoga and exercise. Slow breathing is also a type of exercise.
The procedure is: inhale and exhale slowly through your nostrils, keeping the mouth close. While doing so close your eyes and relax your muscles. Try it for few times like 3 to 4.
It helps in slowing down heart beat relieving palpitation, increase the blood flow to brain. Do this exercise daily, It is also recommendable to perform it while having a anxiety attack
3# Take Care Of Your Sleep.
Don't disrupt your circadian rhythm. Even in exams, 8 hours sleep is must for every adult. A good sleep not only reduce the anxiety but also increase your productivity of the day.
I don't think burning mid night oil is a useful studying strategy. It may gives you benefits for short term but if you adapt it as a part of your lifestyle, only your anxiety deteriorate but you will also become prone to other illnesses.
4# Healthy Diet.
Everyone knows the advantages of the healthy diet in daily life. It greatly reduces the stress level of our body. Here are some vital nutrients that you should incorporated in our life.
1- Complex Carbohydrate.
It is proven to increase happy hormone in our body also know as serotonin. The examples of complex carbohydrate are whole grain breads, pasta, cereals, foods rich in fibre etc.
2- Omega-3 Fat.
Our brain is composed of 8% Omega-3 fats. Eating nuts, seafood, lean food etc keeps the brain healthy.
It is polyunsaturated fatty acid, proven to increase memory, blood flow to brain and improve cognitive functioning.
Omega- 3 supplements sucha as fish oil are usef in treatment of ADHD because they increase focus.
3- Eat a balance diet according to your environment.
If your exams fall in summer season drink plenty of water use yoghurt and curd. The above chart will show the foods you should eating according to season.
These foods will also help you prevent common seasonal disease. Prevention is better than cure. During stress, the cortisol is released which weakens your immune system. Provide a suitable environment for microbes to attack our body. So don't neglect your health.
5# Study Smart.
When facing a short time for exam preparation or when you are done procrastinating and you have awakened from your day dream. Study smartly, skip the unimportant topics and focus on high weightage topics.
Take help from your friend, learn from their notes. In short time reading dense text book will further increase your anxiety. In my experience study notes are very helpful, they are easy to understand and provide short summary.
6# Plan Your Day.
Create strict schedule of each hour and follow it religiously. Take a tion to improve your situation. Your schedule doesn't exclude the time for exercise, breakfast, dinner and some leisure time
It activates the reward system in our brain, which on completing the task releases dopamine in our body which increases the motivation and focus.
7# Important Lesson.
" As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they see" - Julius Caesar.
" We suffer more in imagination, than in reality" - Albert Einstein.
I have mentioned earlier, anxiety is an attitude, a response to extreme fear. In this case, the fear is of failure or getting low grades.
Not everything in our life is in our control, our life is driven by many uncertain and variable factors. Despite, all our preparation we will never know what would come out of blue.
God removes the things in our life, which in future can cause harm to us. A person who becomes materialistic, thinks that their exams are everything. This can destroy their future completely or they will remain behind in their lives. I am not trying to say that some exams are extremely important, but there is also a second chances. If we think about other people and what they will say, we will never going to achieve anything. The core treatment of anxiety is change of perception.
Every school of thought promote this idea( except some). It is also seen that exam anxiety that exam anxiety is outcome of some other psychological disorder loss of self esteem, personality disorder etc. It is recommendable to visit your nearby health care service
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