Effective Strategies for Overcoming Test Anxiety

If you are prone to overshadowing test anxiety during your exams, there are things you can do to help prevent it and/or keep it under control.

The underlying cause of most test anxiety is low confidence. So that means in order to curb severe test anxiety, you need to boost your confidence about the exam. Simply enough, most test anxiety can be decreased just by preparing better for the exam!

Here are a few tips for putting test anxiety behind you:

• Learn the material that will be covered in the exam as best you can. This means you will need to start preparing early and studying. In most cases one to three months is plenty of time to prepare for one of the big college entrance or professional exams.

   

• Prepare yourself by locating the test center location the day or two before. Lay out everything you need for the test beforehand. This means you should gather your ID, your admission ticket, No. 2 pencils with a good eraser, your calculator (if one is allowed), and back-up batteries just in case the day before the exam.

   

• Wake up early the day of the exam so you don't need to rush.

   

• Eat a good breakfast (fresh fruit and vegetables can help reduce stress).

   

• Do not eat or drink anything with caffeine (if it can be helped). If you're hooked on your morning coffee than maybe you don't want to change that routine today. Try to avoid sugar and greasy foods as best you can.

   

• Think about something else to try to take your mind off your anxiety.

   

• Take a short walk just to get your blood flowing.

   

• Visualize your success on the exam.

   

• Stay away from other test takers at the exam who are negative and anxious.

Negative Thoughts Lead to Anxiety

Something else you really need to be aware of is that your confidence level often dictates how well you'll do. This holds true for more than just exams. If you don't think the job interview you're going to have later on this week is going to go so well, then it probably won't. If you don't think you're going to score well on an exam, then guess what ... you probably won't.

In order to curb these negative thoughts from creeping in and leading to test anxiety, you need to recognize them. As soon as you start thinking negatively, you need to immediately stop yourself from carrying out the thought and focusing on it. Here are a few phrases individuals prone to test anxiety find themselves thinking:

• I should have studied more.
• I'll never get through this.
• What's wrong with me?
• I must be stupid.
• There's no way I'll do good on this test.
• I can't remember anything.
• I might as well give up.
• Why do I bother to try?
• My mind is a blank.
• This is terrible.
• I'm just no good at this.
• I'm not smart enough.
• I must be the dumbest person here.
• Everyone else is doing better than me.

Even if you don't get a full blown round of test anxiety, thoughts like these really aren't going to do you any good. So blast them out of your mind. Any time any of these thoughts pop into your mind, you really need to do your best to push them out.

Your negative thoughts need to be wiped away. Do your best to think of something else, anything. Your dog, what you're wearing, what you'll have to eat later on. What you need to get from the store today.

It takes practice, but soon you'll be replacing these negative thoughts with positive ones of you passing your next exam!

Reducing Test Anxiety

Remember to relax, you are in full control. Take slow, deep breaths as soon as you notice any feelings of anxiety. Focus on what you need to do, which is just sit calmly and answer questions. Realize that you will likely always have some fear, just be in control of it. Manage it.

Focus on your progress. You are already learning to cope with it better than before.