Exam Anxiety

“Fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.” ~Steven Press field in his book The War of Art

Exams are substantive battles, and they oftentimes come with sensations of dread and strain. These reflexes are normal, and you’ll never absolutely evict them. If you’re performing something crucial, you’ll always feel some anxiety and fear. And that can be a genuine concern because anxiety is an indicator that what you’re doing is important. Contrarily, you’d be impassive about it. Nevertheless, too much test anxiety can damage your ability to function proficiently. Research has revealed that high-pressure situations can deplete your working memory. Additionally, stress produces a hormone called cortisol and too much cortisol can inhibit the ability of the hippocampus to revive concepts

When we talk about exam anxiety mainly there are three fears 01) Fear of the unknown 02) Fear of repeating past failures 03) Fear of stakes Here are some of the solutions to combat these 01) Solve past questions check them review them. Don’t just concede your errors; for each inaccurate question, make sure you get why your answer was mistaken. If it was a complex problem — like a math equation — identify the distinct point where you made an error. Additionally, be assured that you know what the right answer was, and why it was right. 02) You also need to figure out why you made those mistakes in the first place. Ask yourself: Was I unrehearsed? And if so, why was I? Did I simply not put enough time into practicing? Did I neglect the study guide? Whatever the reason was, don’t let it get you depressed or demoralized. Remember that failure is a great teacher — and sometimes it’s a better one than success. But you need to make sure that you use that opportunity by mapping out how you’ll steer clear of the mistake in the future.

“Just saying “I’ll do better next time” isn’t enough — you need to know exactly how you’re going to do better” ~Thomas Frank

03) Try to gain as much exposure with the imminent exam as you can. So you don’t have the fear of the unknown. Think of it as yet another learning opportunity rather than as a judgment.