It is almost a ritual for students to experience this heart-wrenching feeling as the exam window narrows. The fear of the unknown dawns and engulfs you, and it is safe to say that this is an everyday occurrence among students. However, how long will this feeling fluster you throughout your academic life? Now’s the time to take appropriate measures.
Exam phobia can be described as the fear of exams experienced as they prepare for their examinations and sit for them. Students thus become profoundly worried about how they’ll revise and perform in their papers. The following are several roots of exam phobia.
Causes of Exam Phobia
1. External pressure
This is one of the foremost origins of taking the crown. Students have been victims of much pressure. Parents and guardians may create anxiety for students due to the imposition of high expectations on their children. Constant comparison of children to other students may be frustrating, thus causing fear of exam disappointment. Students may also need to prove teachers who have had minimal faith in them wrong. Fear of punishment or revocation of privileges are examples of external pressure causing exam phobia.
2. Poor preparation
Nothing leaves a more prominent scar than that on a self-pricked thorn. Most students overestimate their time to prepare for their exams, thus leading to poor preparation and effective anxiety on exam D-day. However, other factors may lead to poor exam groundwork. They include an effective revision system, a lack of apposite material, and a vague understanding of the syllabus.
3. Self-imposed pressure
In some cases, most exam phobia results from the students themselves. This may result from low self-esteem, self-criticism, and negative thoughts toward yourself or the exams. Ideas such as thinking how you may disappoint people around you parade the student’s minds, thus resulting in examination phobia. Self-imposed pressures include insanely high standards set for yourself, and failure to achieve them renders you worthless.
The above are examples of causes of exam phobia. However, all is not lost. With every problem is a suitable antidote. The following are ways to conquer examination phobia.
Ways to Overcome Exam Phobia
1. Start revising early
Roller Collier says that success is the sum of small exertions repeated every day. Once you identify the reason for your exam phobia is inadequate preparation, it’s time to work on that. Start your revision as early as possible. This allows you to organize your mind and get a precise array of all materials required through your study process and the scope of work to be covered. Conduct a comprehensive study of all topics, ensuring you grasp the syllabus. Attend all classes to get first-hand information from the lecturer. Finalizing assignments on time also reduces the pressure on the exam week since you’ll have reduced the baggage to deal with.
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2. Create a study timetable
A notion uncoupled with action does not get more extensive than the brain cell coining it. A timetable acts like a blueprint to clocking the superficial student within you. Pairing a schedule with early exam revision allows impeccable results.
Allocate time for each activity throughout your study period. The timetable should also be evenly spaced out to ensure that there are enough breaks, thus making it flexible and easy to navigate. A program also allows proper planning, reducing pressure being pushed to the last week to salvage the semester.
3. Getting a support system
It’s tough to disdain the pressure brought about by exams. However, family and friends are often as supportive as they can be towards candidates since they effectively understand how inundating it gets. Expressing what you require during this period can make them a more effective support system. Unwrapping the challenges you face during this period allows you to proceed successfully, easing the process. Spending time with them is also a recommended system for rupturing anxiety.
4. Stop comparing yourself to others
This may appear like an easy switch-off button, but its effects are like a deeply rooted cactus. Comparison with other students is a toxic trait that may be done unconsciously due to people constantly comparing you to others. In other cases, it may start as healthy competition but grows into an undesirable consequence. To desist from this comparison, students may stop comparing themselves by repeatedly reassuring themselves that they are the best in the game. Daily affirmations are a quick start to conjure out this behavior.
5. Have mindful practices
High anxiety levels are recorded for students on the morning of the exam. It is normal to have butterflies in your stomach. However, finding a way around these feelings allows the concentration of students during the exam. There are various ranges of practices students can engage in to ensure they curb exam phobia.
One way is through creating mock exams. Working with your family or teachers can make this a reality. Mock exams allow students to imagine they’re sitting for the actual exam. You can work on exam phobias slowly, reducing anxiety through repeated mock exams. Sitting for final exams will now feel like routine, thus reducing nervousness. Other mindful practices include breathing exercises and meditation, reduce anxiety and improve concentration and understanding power.
6. Take care of yourself
It is only possible to take all the above steps if the paramount action of self-care is addressed. Not once have issues of students being too frail to sit for exams been reported. Some students drown themselves in their studies and forget principal functions such as having an apposite meal and adequate sleep. Ensure you have a balanced diet to allow yourself to have enough strength. Enough sleep hours also reduce the chances of mental breakdown and improve concentration. Other self-care methods include regular exercising and having break times through your study sessions.
7. Consult a professional therapist
As hard as you may try, some circumstances are beyond your control. A psychologist best tackles psychological factors resulting in exam phobia. Allow yourself to grip the extended arm willing to drag you out of your challenges. Therapy may be very effective in tackling anxiety issues. It allows you to unlearn all negative traits and thoughts resulting in anxiety.
Exam phobia is common among students and is equally possible to eradicate. However, following the above steps, this phobia can become a bygone that ceases to prick your back.
