Coping With Test Anxiety
Your heart is pounding, palms clammy, sweat is dripping down your back.
Stomach gurgles, your legs tremble, and you find yourself feeling tense.
Forget concentration - she’s already out the window, and what’s that? Oh, it’s that sinking feeling that accompanies dread as you look down in front of you and see the test that you’re about to write.
If that painted an all too familiar picture in your mind you’re probably coping with something like test nervousness or anxiety.
What is it, and why does it happen:
Test anxiety is when features associated with anxiety show up in your mind or body either before, during, or after taking a test. As the school year starts to ramp up, students often start noticing this phenomenon more since - well - that’s usually where we’re taking tests.
There are many reasons why test anxiety might show up. It could be that you’ve had a negative experience with testing before, perhaps you have a pre-existing Anxiety or other Mental Disorder, or maybe this test is particularly important.
What’s relevant to know is that whatever reason test anxiety is showing up is typically unique to the individual and their life circumstances. What is essential to know is that if you’re experiencing test anxiety it is legitimate, and it doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with it.
What is happening in your body:
When the right conditions are met your brain starts sending signals out to your body that something isn’t right. It’s like your brain is the leader of a team, and is telling the rest of the team (your whole body) that they are unsafe, and protective measures must be deployed.
All of those aforementioned features associated with anxiety are ultimately your stress response, and a protective measure to keep you safe from perceived or actual threat. Your heart starts beating faster, and your breathing becomes more shallow to move blood through your body to your core to protect your vital organs, and away from your extremities. Your muscles become flooded with oxygen and glucose, and more tense - preparing to spring into action. Your mind darts around taking in a whole lot of information - ready to react to any additional threat that might show up.
Now, is this super helpful when you’re sitting in a classroom about to write a test? Probably not. But, if you were in a forest and needed to be wary of the hungry animal lumbering towards you ready to eat your arm it would be pretty helpful! For many of you though, that’s not the case.
So, let’s talk about what to do about it.
Overcoming anxiety:
Your mind and body recognizing that something doesn’t feel right is actually a great first step. It tells you that you need more intentional care and attention given to the experience that you are having.
Don’t be afraid to acknowledge how you are feeling.
If you’re feeling an emotion like anxiousness, it’s already there - pretending that it’s not isn’t going to do anything. If you can acknowledge “I’m feeling ________”, it’s easier to intervene.
Pace your breathing.
You know how everyone always talks about breathing exercises? There’s actually something to that. When you’re experiencing anxiety you might notice that your breathing becomes shallow - you’re panting. Slowing and pacing your breathing can help to lower that heart rate and pounding you might be feeling in your chest.
4-7-8 Breathing Technique: inhale for up to 4 seconds; hold for up to 7 seconds; exhale for up to 8 seconds; repeat.
Be mindful.
Mindfulness strategies can help to calm your brain down, and bring focus so your mind is darting everywhere.
Sensory grounding (5–4–3–2–1): Name five things you see, four you can touch, three you hear, two you smell, and one you taste.
Connecting to the Earth: Plant your feet flat on the ground. Imagine you are drawing a line from the top of your head to the soles of your feet, and it is connecting you to the earth. Start to imagine the line splitting out from the bottom of your feet like roots from a tree, connecting you firmly and solidly to the earth below you.
Proactivity > Reactivity
Pre-test, set yourself up for success by leaving time between when you finish studying and start the test to do some of the tips mentioned above, or to do something relaxing completely unrelated to the upcoming test.
During the test, continue to be mindful of how you are feeling, acknowledge it, take breaks, and move forward knowing that the test will end.
Post-test, recognize that rumination is not your friend. It can be beneficial to remind yourself that once the test is over, you’ve already done all that you can and the best that you can! Congratulate yourself for making it through something that at one point not too long ago you didn’t think you could, no matter the outcome.
Ultimately, it can be helpful in the long term to learn more about yourself and the roots of test anxiety. This is what working with a therapist can help with! Through identifying the thoughts, behaviours, and beliefs that are contributing to the experience for you, we can work together to challenge and rewrite limiting beliefs, and develop new protective factors that are more consistent with where you are in life now.
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