Overcoming test anxiety / fear of negative evaluation

[CarlosTL]

I am looking for people with test anxiety to share their experiences with treatment. I myself suffer from this since my late teens (now almost 30), and do not wish at this point to use medication to mitigate the anxiety, as I don't think I reached a hopeless point yet, and fear the possible drawbacks of medication (addiction etc).


So what is your experience with this? I've been proposed to take relaxation session and group therapy as options, and also advised to avoid reading self-help material because it would be ineffective

 

[joshposh]

Most of the time anxiety comes from the fact that you didn't prepare in advance, and the material has not set in yet. If you could add more time to studying and proper practice test, I think your confidence would go up, and anxiety wouldn't be an issue. Add two more weeks to your studying and practice test, and increase the study time by an hour daily, I think you should have a better grasp of anxiety as the lack of preparation is triggering it. I use to have mid terms in college and that use to kick my butt. I use to stay up all night studying at the last minute. So study in advance and don't procrastinate.


Chance favors the prepared mind.

 

[John Snort]

Anxiety issues if unaddressed could lead to panic and when you panic you'll screw up and risk failing. As Josh suggests it pays to be prepared but should you still feel anxious before the test, assure yourself that everything will be alright. Repeat the words like some kind of mantra. The affirmation that everything will be alright can help you repel anxiety.

 

[Alex]

Self-help books can sometimes cause more anxiety as they are often written by well meaning people who are psychiatrists but who have never experienced anxiety. What I would recommend is time to yourself each day, where you do nothing or something you enjoy because that keeps the mind on an even keel. The mind can bounce around and get paranoid and that's when anxiety kicks in.


Don't try to do too much and learn to say no to people if it feels like too much pressure, or say you will let them know. That's a way to try and control things as anxiety builds up when you lose that control.

 

[janemariesayed]

I am looking for people with test anxiety to share their experiences with treatment. I myself suffer from this since my late teens (now almost 30), and do not wish at this point to use medication to mitigate the anxiety, as I don't think I reached a hopeless point yet, and fear the possible drawbacks of medication (addiction etc).


So what is your experience with this? I've been proposed to take relaxation session and group therapy as options, and also advised to avoid reading self-help material because it would be ineffective

It may be best to do some relaxation techniques like breathing exercises before hand. Also, make sure you are ready. Don't leave your revision to the last minute. Then relax. If you fail, you fail. If you pass you pass. You can take the exam again, or you can learn something else. Failing the exam won't kill you so try not to worry about it too much. Good luck.