We feel anxiety in situations where we perceive a great danger and think that we cannot cope with it.
It is normal and necessary to have a certain level of anxiety. In this way, we can find motivation to prepare for the exam and desire to achieve success.
However, excessive anxiety causes some emotional, physiological, cognitive and behavioral symptoms. As a result, you may experience distraction, difficulty understanding, and difficulty remembering and organizing information. It should never be forgotten that what creates anxiety is not the exam itself, but our thoughts about the exam.
What causes exam anxiety?
- Focusing on the result of the exam rather than the study process and this Having negative thoughts about the exam
- Not trusting your knowledge about the exam or being able to use your knowledge in the exam
- Being afraid of being evaluated negatively
- Setting unrealistic goals
- Seeing negative thoughts as reality
What should we do?
- What we can do is not to determine the result of the exam, but to evaluate our study time. We can make appropriate arrangements (such as implementing a study plan, learning time and attention management, eating-sleeping routine, etc.).
- We should be aware that no anxiety lasts forever. Anxiety follows a curve that goes up and then goes down.
- What happens when I get anxious? We must recognize the symptoms of anxiety such as distress, uneasiness, nausea, dry mouth, and sweating. After noticing the physical symptoms, we can relax ourselves with relaxation and breathing exercises and remind ourselves that we are in control.
- In which situations, when what thoughts come to my mind, does my anxiety increase? We must be aware of the negative thoughts that automatically come to our minds before, during and after the exam. We must realize that these are not realistic thoughts and replace them with functional alternative thoughts.
Negative automatic thoughts and their realistic alternatives
-I won't be able to pass the exam. / I should not get stuck on any question.
+There may be questions that I will have difficulty with. If there is a question I can't answer, ask me later. I'll move on to question two, if I have time, I can go back and try again.
-If I get distracted/excited, my exam will be ruined.
+I can get distracted and excited. I will try to use my attention as efficiently as possible.
-If I fail the exam, I will be disgraced.
+What does being disgraced mean? I have many qualities that make me valuable, my life is not just about an exam result.
-If I fail the exam, I will be wasting my family's efforts.
+My family will lose it. He is doing his best, and I will do my best to study.
-No matter what I do, I will not get the result I want.
+What is in my hands is not to determine the result of my exam, studying for the exam. If I study appropriately instead of thinking about the exam result, my probability of getting the result I want in the exam increases.
Despite these, if you have intense anxiety that prevents you from using the information you learned before the exam and reduces your success, try studying. If you constantly postpone the exam and refuse to talk to those around you about the exam, it may be useful to get psychological help from an expert.
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