Handle Test Anxiety

The proverbial panic before a test. This is very serious. Many very intelligent people cannot take tests. As the stakes go up so does the anxiety level. The biological sciences has taught us that as we become scared or threatened, our sympathetic nervous system is activated. This is done through a series of hormonal secretions from the adrenal glands that turn on various receptors and cause a cascade of biological changes in our system.

The term, "fight or flight" has been used to describe the effects of fear or the sensing of danger in the human as well as mammalian species. Unfortunately for students, it is at work with each test. For some reason, there are those people that are calm during tests. You don't even see their eyebrow raise. Then there are the ones who become so panicked that they could pass out. Some actually do.

To begin to help those people who have test anxiety, it is first necessary for those people to find some quiet time and think about what it is that makes their vital signs go haywire, such as their blood pressure, heart rate and respiration. The answer will not be the same for everyone, but in solace it is easier to think. For those who have such dibilitating test anxiety the first question that they should ask themselves is when do they remember first having their test anxiety attack. It would not be surprising if many find that they must go way back in their memory to some point in grade school or kindergarten.

Childhood memories of being humiliated in the classroom or at home, by overbearning teachers over expecting parents can cause a lot of mental damage to children. If this damage is never therapeutically processed, then as these children grow up, they find that those same feelings keep recurring during stressful or similar circumstances. Therefore, anxious test takers must confront and identify why they feel the way that they do. Once they have done that, then the next step is to identify how to not feel that way. Finding stress and anxiety release valves in ourselfs is about the most powerful endorphine we have.

Once you can unlock your own stress relief abilities, then you are on the way to successful test taking. It is a misnomer to think that just becasue someone gets a bad grade on a test they didn't study. It is quite the contrary with those whom have test anxiety. These people study for hours. They know the material backwards and forwards. However, when it comes to performing in a environment that is not comfortable, unfamiliar, or threatening, these people are unable to recapture all of the information that they have learned. So, it would be a good idea for test takers to get to know the area where they are going to take their tests. Go down to the testing room, ask if you can look around and get a feel for where you are going to be spending three hours or more.

Let the supervisor or teacher know that you are one of those people with test anxiety and that familiarizing yourself with your surroundings will help you to perform better on the test. The next thing that anxious test takers should do is to make mock tests and take them to public places and practice taking them. Confidence is built in small steps, but little by little even the most anxious test takers can overcome their fear.