In these days when university entrance exams are approaching, students' anxiety levels have begun to increase. In fact, some anxiety is always good; It motivates the person. It is the student's anxiety that enables him to prepare for the exam. However, when the anxiety level increases, the situation is reversed. The student has difficulty concentrating.
Situations that cause exam anxiety may be caused by previous negative experiences, unrealistic expectations regarding the exam, and the person's self-perception. In particular, family expectations have a significant impact. Students; “If I fail the examI will disappoint my family.” They may have thoughts like this. In other words, the exam begins to be seen as an evaluation of knowledge.
Exam anxiety manifests itself; It manifests itself with emotions, thoughts and physical symptoms. The student emotionally; He/she begins to experience feelings of restlessness, anxiety, quick anger, fear and panic. He may also have difficulty concentrating mentally, and negative thoughts such as "I will not succeed" or "I will never be successful" begin to constantly appear in his mind. Physically, symptoms such as intense headaches, sleep problems, loss of appetite, heart palpitations, excessive sweating, nail biting, hair and hair pulling (trichotillomania) may be observed.
HOW TO DEAL WITH EXAM ANXIETY?
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Instead of imagining negative scenarios about an exam that has not happened yet, we should focus on studying.
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We should set realistic goals.
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We must not forget that exams measure knowledge, not the value of a person.
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We must create a study plan that is appropriate and that we can implement.
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Relaxation. We can do exercises and breathing exercises.
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As the whole family, we should review the expectations regarding the exam.
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Stop the thoughts, focus your attention on other points. we can use the technique.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE BEFORE THE EXAM?
To create a new mental structure by reviewing our study habits and attitudes towards the exam. We must work. use your time wisely We must believe. We must pay attention to nutrition and sleep. We should not leave our exam studies to the last day or night.
WHAT CAN BE DONE DURING THE EXAM?
We can come up with alternative explanations against our negative automatic thoughts, let's remember that the control is in our own hands. Let's start with the questions we can answer. Techniques to reduce anxiety (quick relaxation, attention-enhancing techniques, controlled breathing exercises) are some of the exercises we can do during the exam.
There may be situations where anxiety does not decrease even when we try ways to cope with our anxiety on our own. In this case, you can consult a specialist who deals with exam anxiety without wasting time.
No exam result can make a person; worthless does not make it good or bad. A person's value is different, the exam result is different. Let's try not to confuse the two.
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