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Suffer from Test Anxiety?

You’ve studied hard, done all the work and know all the answers. When someone asks, you can discuss the material with confidence. Suddenly, on the day of the test you forget everything you know. Your mind is blank. Or so it seems.

Does this sound familiar?

It’s very common for this to happen and not just for school age children, it happens to adults as well. When you are about to take a test you suddenly get the nervous feeling of butterflies in your stomach. You are hardly alone; many people get a bit nervous before a test.

A little bit of nervousness may even help you perform better. It can be seen as excitement. If this feeling of nervousness is so strong that it hinders your performance then we need to take a closer look. Your heart may pound, you may begin to sweat or breathe heavier.

Test anxiety is the worry about what might happen. You worry about all the things that could go wrong instead of thinking about what might go well.

What causes test anxiety?

Students who are not prepared, who haven’t taken the time to study and don’t know the material will suffer from performance anxiety without a doubt.

What if you have studied and know the material inside out? Why do you go from a confident, knowledgeable person to a nervous test taker?

It’s because you are focused on all the bad things that could happen. You may be thinking “What if I fail?”

It can be a self fulfilling prophecy because our actions tend to take us in the direction of our most dominant thought. Meaning if we focus on failure, that’s what tends to happen.

How can you overcome test anxiety?

Good study habits are a must. Attending class and paying attention to the teacher is another must. The more you know the material, the more confident you will be.

The difference is in the expectations. When you expect to do well, you’ll be able to relax and show them what you know. That’s all a test is really. It’s time to show them what you know.

Successful athletes visualize the victorious outcome and they can see themselves making all the right moves to make it happen. They mentally prepare themselves for the results they want.

This is what you need to do to overcome test anxiety: Visualize positive test results.

Instead of saying “I am no good at taking tests”, say “I know the material and all I have to do is show them.”

Prepare for the test by deciding on the outcome that you want. Then create autosuggestion statements using the 5 rules of autosuggestion.

You can practice self hypnosis by doing some simple deep breathing and allow yourself to go into a light trance. Or, if you prefer, you can follow a hypnosis script and go into a deeper trance. When you are fully relaxed, read your autosuggestion statements. The relaxed, trancelike state allows the autosuggestion to enter you unconscious mind without being critiqued by the conscious mind. They are more likely to be accepted as true.

Relax and allow it to happen.

Like with anything else, the more you practice, the easier it becomes.

Here are a few more tips to be well prepared for success:

1. Allow yourself plenty of time so you won’t have to rush
2. Take a few deep breaths to relax yourself
3. Do the simple questions first to build your confidence
4. Take your time and read each question carefully
5. Don’t let your mind wander, focus on the task at hand
6. Think about the positive results you expect
7. Remember that you are doing your best

I explain an anchoring technique which is a very useful anxiety management tool used to overcome test anxiety. You'll definitely want to try this too.

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