Almost every student is familiar with exam stress. It is difficult to find a person who did not sweat his palms, lose concentration, and lose breath at least once before an important exam. All these are signs of stress before the exam, which you can learn to control and prevent.
Fear of Exams
There are many reasons people feel anxious; they might not be well-prepared for exams, tests, or need help on dissertations. The most common is the fear of the future. For example, passing the exam or defending a dissertation, a student will be more afraid of failure in the exam. Since life and further educational activities directly depend on the results.
Another is the fear of condemnation. Surely you have come across this more than once. For example, you prepare for the final test simply because your parents would have scolded you otherwise.
Also, the exam’s fear and excitement are exacerbated by long waiting times, tough deadlines, and sleepless nights. There is fear to learn all the material in a semester or even a year on a tight schedule.
Exam Stress Symptoms
Dizziness, sweaty palms, trouble sleeping, heart palpitations, and anxious thoughts are common exam stress symptoms.
These symptoms can be both short-term and “long-lasting.” The former is easy to recognize – especially right before the exam. The long-term ones can be either a consequence of prolonged stress or the onset of any disorders.
When a defense mechanism is triggered, the body tries to protect itself from the environment’s negative effects and give an alarm signal.
How to Overcome Stress before the Exam: Tips
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Get Enough Sleep
Getting the right sleep is not only extremely important for your health, but also partly helps to cope with stress. On the other hand, lack of sleep can only make a person more irritable and less focused.
Many students try to learn as much as possible the night before the exam, depriving themselves of the opportunity to rest properly. In this case, the student will be unable to remember new information. And will not remember what has already been learned due to absent-mindedness and low concentration caused by lack of sleep.
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Start Preparing In Advance
Most often, students try to learn as much material as possible in a short time. Preparing for an exam in higher mathematics or art history in a couple of days no longer seems like an overwhelming task for anyone.
However, with this approach, students increase their stress levels and do not fit into their heads. If you have any due written assignments, don’t stress about it and seek support from the best essay writing services in UK. But if you have an intention to do this job yourself, start preparing in advance.
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Visualization
Many students admit that this method really helps to feel more confident and relaxed on the exam. To reduce the level of stress, you need to imagine yourself entering the audience, choosing a ticket, and responding confidently.
It would help if you visualized as clearly as possible to recreate the feeling of the exam’s reality. You will understand that there is absolutely nothing to worry about in this situation and prepare yourself mentally for it in advance.
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Write Down Your Fears
Researchers found that writing down fears can help reduce anxiety and calm down just before an exam. Ten to fifteen minutes before the test, you need to write down all the negative thoughts that come to mind—the worst scenarios for the development of events, experiences, and so on.
Scientists experimented as a result of which it turned out that students using this method perform better on tests and feel calmer during tests.
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Use Breathing Techniques
Breathing techniques can help to deal with increasing panic attacks. Measured breathing calms the nervous system and helps to focus on the environment. Although this method is often underestimated, even people with panic attacks use it to bring themselves to their senses faster.
Final Words
These tips will help you cope with the stress of the exam. However, if anxiety grips you during almost every small test and its symptoms interfere with life. Then it would help if you saw a specialist doctor.
