Managing+Test+Anxiety

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A little nervousness prior to a test is normal and perhaps, even good, as it motivates us to prepare and do our best. The impact of a manageable degree of stress is illustrated in the image below.




 * However, it is important to be able to tell the difference between a positive degree of stress and __too much__. ** Too much stress is commonly referred to as test anxiety. It can interfere with your studying, and you may have difficulty learning and remembering what you need to know for the test. Further, too much anxiety may block your performance. You may have difficulty demonstrating what you know during the test.

Test anxiety can cause a host of problems in students. Although each person will experience a different collection of symptoms with differing degrees of intensity, the symptoms fall into a few categories.


 * If this is a problem for you, ****implementing specific strategies may alleviate some of the pressure. **


 * **Physical **- headaches, nausea or diarrhea, extreme body temperature changes, excessive sweating, shortness or breath, light-headedness or fainting, rapid heart beat, and/or dry mouth.


 * **Emotional ****- ** excessive feelings of fear, disappointment, anger, depression, uncontrollable crying or laughing, feelings of helplessness


 * **Behavioral **- fidgeting, pacing, substance abuse, avoidance


 * **Cognitive - **racing thoughts, 'going blank', difficulty concentrating, negative self-talk, feelings of dread, comparing yourself to others, difficulty organizing your thoughts.


 * <span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.5;">1. ****<span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.5;">Pay attention to your “self talk” and make sure it stays positive **

[|**http://www.anxietybc.com/sites/default/files/Test_Anxiety_Booklet.pdf**]
 * <span style="font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Some examples of positive self-talk, which can help you cope with symptoms of anxiety as well as coaching yourself towards having a more positive outlook on your level of preparedness. **


 * <span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.5;">2. Try stretching before a test. **
 * <span style="font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Stretching is a great way to prepare yourself mentally and physically for a test. You can find a great sequence of stretches here: **

[|Test Prep Yoga]

<span style="font-family: Candara,sans-serif;">From [|Elizabeth Scott, M.S.]
 * <span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: Candara,sans-serif;"> 3. Visualize yourself being successful on the test. **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">A great way to build your confidence as you fall asleep each night is to visualize yourself taking the tests and doing wonderfully. This is your 'movie'. Revisit it several times to before a test. Detailed visualizations can help you feel like you’re really experiencing something, and visualizing yourself doing well is a way to ‘practice’ success in a way that can actually help you perform better. (Being confident as you take your exams can keep you from choking because of the stress.) Visualizations can also help you to remember facts: you can create detailed scenarios that involve the information you’re trying to remember, and this can help cement the facts in your memory. **

<span style="font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Try using this video to guide you through a 2 minute visualization. [|Visualize colours to reduce stress]

From [|The Art and Science of Breathing], by Andrew Weil, M.D,
 * <span style="color: #4f6228; font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">4. Breathe. **
 * <span style="font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">When we are stressed, our heart rate changes which impacts our ability to concentrate and remember. Taking a few, slow deep breathes can regulate your heart rate and help you re-gain focus. ****<span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Does that sound goofy? ****<span style="font-family: Candara,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">It might feel strange the first time you try it, but people who do this kind of breathing several times a day have experiences noticeable health benefits. Here is a video to help you see what the breathing might look like: ** [|4-7-8- Breathing Exercise]