Exams anxiety is referred to as performance anxiety involving fear from failure which may interfere with the ability of the individuals and act a barrier to perform well. It can range from moments of intense panic or fear before or in the exams times. The cause of exam anxiety includes a combination of factors including genetic, cultural or behavioral. Students generally experience either low anxiety in which they face little nervousness regarding exams they will be facing. This nervousness is however not intense leading to being stuck to intrusive thinking or a feeling of debilitation. In case of high anxiety, students experience anxiety reactions endeavoring extreme fear for examination and leading to situations where students don’t turn up for exams because of extreme fear.
It is important to recognize the level of anxiety and understand when the anxiety level has increased beyond the optimal level which has an impact on the student’s ability to sit for his exams. According to survey reports by the Canadian Medical Association, 18% of University and college students in Canada have faced anxiety or depression before or during the examination. In other research study brings forward statics that 12% of the Canadian student is affected by exam-related anxiety. It becomes imperative that students are counseled well before the exams to be able to handle their anxiety level and overcome stress (Eustis et al., 2017). Following are the steps for dealing with anxiety:
Symptoms Of Anxiety
The exam anxiety can lead to a number of problems in the students which includes physical emotional behavioral and cognitive symptoms. The physical symptoms include headache nausea, changes in the temperature of the body, excessive sweating or shortness of breath. The emotional symptoms include feelings of fear, depression, and an uncontrollable urge for crying, helplessness, and disappointment. The behavior symptoms include substance abuse fidgeting avoidance or facing. The cognitive symptoms include feeling of going blank, problems in concentration, having negative self-talk, and comparison with others and problems in thought organization.
Manage Exams Anxiety
It is important to manage stressful emotions as it can hinder the ability of the student in retaining and recording of information during the time of need. Anxiety during exams creates a situation of mental static in the brain leading to blocking the ability of the brain to retrieve information. It also impairs the ability of the student to comprehending and reasoning and interferes with the performance of cognitive and intellectual tasks.
The research studies have suggested that a high level of anxiety reduces the level of performance of the student by 10%. It is important that the students are provided with strategies and tools. That helps in building emotional skills and physical habits which are healthy during the preparation of the examinations which can help them to overcome the anxiety of examinations and associated symptoms. The students must engage themselves with strategies of self-care to help them cope with exams anxiety. (Othman et al., 2019). To know how significantly exams stress affects students’ grades, you can also ask for. To know how significantly anxiety affects students’ grades, you can also ask for essay writing help.
Having The Positive Thinking
It is very essential that the students Bring in the positive thinking and focus on reprogramming the thinking in the ability to succeed.
- According to the Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie University, 49% of adults having anxiety were accounted dropping school in early years whereas, 24% of students stated, anxiety being the key motive to leave school (IBCCES, 2020).
- The behavioral interventions with the help of psychologist or wellbeing counselors in school can help in providing techniques which will help the students to manage exams and anxieties. The relaxation training like mindfulness helps the students to focus on the present moment and acknowledge feelings and thoughts of anxiety with physical reactions.
- The process of systematic desensitization helps in relaxing the students by visualizing seems and evoking mental images of the feelings of real scenes. Building positive feeling is good start for students to effectively deal with anxiety and help prepare them to manage their stress and anxiety levels.
Self-Restraint
One of the effective ways through which students can improve their concentration of learning and evade feeling of anxiety is by indulging in self-sustained disciplines. The students can develop goals and attention in following the set time table rigorously in order to accomplish the goals. Sometimes, students face high levels of anxiety. They can always seek for additional support provided by the schools. Schools provide techniques of self-restraining, which can be effectively used by students to set goals. IBCCES along with their board of specialists, together with global leaders in the edifying field, researchers of Tier 1 University, master and clinical experts altogether have premeditated a Student Mental Health Specialist (SMHS) exercise and Student Mental Health Certificate (SMHC) certification. 81% of teenagers having anxiety replied with a positive note to teacher intervention whereas 71% of surveyors retorted with depression had elevated test outcomes subsequent to the teacher engagement. Therefore, self-restraining technique empowers students’ to take control of their thinking process and channelize their energy into achieving their goals.
Goal Setting And Preparing Well
It is important that the students divide the task into several small bones and motivate themselves to achieve their goals vigorously. This will help in ensuring the students that they are well prepared for the test and help in easing traffic conditions and avoid high levels of anxiety. The students can take advice from their friends and classmates to help in developing the goals and join study groups. They can also take help from books based on enhancing study skills to study efficiently. It is also advised that organizing the requisite study materials and notes beforehand will help in saving time and will students can evade situations that trigger anxiety among students because of lack of adequate study material or study notes.
Applying Strategies Of Relaxation And Staying Healthy
It is important to imbibe healthy physical habits like regular exercise, nutritional and balanced diet along with adequate sleep in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle which will help in minimizing stress and levels of anxiety. The students must also avoid intake of excess caffeine, junk food and ensure having breakfast which will prove to be beneficial for curbing anxiety. It is also important to stay well hydrated and avoid sugary drinks in order to increase the level of concentration while studying. For relaxation strategies, students may undertake activities such as deep breathing guided imagery for progressive muscle relaxation during their exam preparation.
Employing Focus Techniques
The students can also employ techniques like empty chair technique to enhance their concentration and focus for predation of exams. The process of self-awareness will help students to improve their concentration and focus. Self-talk and sitting quietly in an empty corner of the room with eyes closed, answering questions to the problems imaging someone in another chair is asking helps in building self-confidence and improving exam preparations. One other technique is to help in activating tunnel vision. This method employs focusing on individuals’ work irrespective of what others are doing. This helps in focusing your time and energy in finishing the work instead of focusing on what others are doing which triggers a panic-like situation. As per online essay writer, the focus techniques will help to develop their cognitive skills and prove to be beneficial for them in the future when they will be faced with challenging situations in their workplace.
Change In Perspective
It is simple to bring changes in your perception in considering the matters related to studies and accepting the capabilities and performances. This understanding is an effective tactic for minimizing anxiety related to examinations. This will help to bring a feeling of self-acceptance and also prepare the student to adjust to any setbacks. The changing of perspective brings the focus on oneself and will help students to tide over the feeling of anxiety related to exams. The stressful situations during exams can easily lead to catastrophizing setting up a chain reaction. The change in perception regarding exams and building self-confidence can effectively help in dealing with the situation of anxiety. It is also advised to avoid the company of people generating anxiety while studying (Mathew, 2017). It is advised to promote positive thinking for self and take space from people who are vocal about their fears constantly. According to assignment help provided experts, it is important to make efforts in curbing anxiety and not allowing the negative thoughts of others to have an impact on the mindset of the student and help them to become confident individuals.
It is important to understand that anxiety is the outcome of thinking traps. Thinking traps need to be avoided by the student so that they see both overpowered with negative thoughts and increase the level of anxiety. It so advisories regularly check for the symptoms of anxiety and taking help from the professionals or psychologist in order to effectively deal with stressful conditions. The students have to face examinations throughout their academic life and it is required to undertake the measures for reducing anxiety for performing efficiently and comprehending effectively in their examinations. The students need well prepared for the examinations which is one of the most effective ways of reducing is it before the examination. A positive attitude and undertaking healthy physical and eating habits can improve in bringing focus and concentration. The students must also employ techniques of anxiety management to build confidence and cope with anxiety.
To be able to succeed with exceptional marks and stay stress-free, Canadian students can seek the assistance of online essay writing services. With the best of the assignment writer and having consistent top-notch delivery quality, online essay help websites can be a great option for students to help with getting attractive marks for assignments at the same time they can give more time on managing anxiety.