Dealing with exam phobia?

Photo : Pinterest 

Doesn't matter if you're a topper or not, anxiety, stress, worry and fear are some common things with which everybody deals at a particular stage of life. Doesn't matter if it is about school/college exams or any other competitive exam, you would definitely have to face certain challenges, confusions, ups & downs during the journey. BUT, anxiety, fear, stress, worries, overthinking, etc.. these things should never cross their boundaries, i.e. up to a certain extent they are also important to keep you on track, but if they're crossing their limits, then it becomes a serious issue.

This blog will be very beneficial to the aspirants especially. So here are some points which will really help you when going to face any kind of competitive exam. 

I know, everybody is aware about these issues, but we often fail to remind ourselves during our peak times. 

1. Keep yourself anxiety-free. Anxiety isn't at all good for health. Along with mental health, it could affect physical health too, i.e., too much anxiety could lead to shortness of breath and panic attacks. So just keep one thing in mind, your health and life are much more important. If you're studying or going to the exam hall, keep reminding yourself - "If I'll study/give exam without anxiety, it will fetch me more marks, because I'll be able to think more then".

2. Other's judgement shouldn't bother you. Quite interesting it is :) 

Fearing the judgement of others is natural and no one escapes it entirely, but this fear could be holding you back in life. So here it becomes necessary to boost your own self-esteem and sense of self-worth with time. Along with other's judgement , to stop your own self-judgement is also important. Now you can do one thing, take a paper and write down 10 things you'd do if you had zero fear of judgement. 

3. Stop being overthinker. So thinking about something is okay, but overthinking keeps a person feeling like fatigue all the time. If a person keeps on thinking about something whole day, then as a result they would never be able to sleep peacefully at night. The topic will go on in his/her mind whole night and in the morning he/she will feel like exhausted again and it could lead to another mental disorder. So avoid overthinking by practising meditation, listening melodious songs and walking because these things are extremely important when exam is near.

4. Stress has a relation with your hormones. The long term activation of stress and the overexposure to cortisol (primary stress hormone) and other stress hormones can disrupt all your body processes, like severe headache, anxiety, depression, digestive disorders, sleeping issues, and even attacks and strokes. So keep in mind, exam is just "a part of life" and not "life", don't take it as a burden. Now you should only understand how important it is to keep yourself stress-free! 

5. Don't try to eat each and every book. It is not the time to do so. Whatever you've studied till now, just focus on its revision. I've seen people continuously studying before few minutes of the exam. For competitive exam, it could not be so effective except for few percentage of cases. So your daily hard-work is needed to attain a certain level of the exam.

6. Stay confident. Confidence is that beautiful jewellery which you can wear always, even in the exam hall :) It will give you a feeling of surety of yourself and your abilities, but wear it always in realistic and secured way. It will definitely gonna help you while attending paper.

7. Relax your mind and body . It will reduce the problems associated with mental and physical health. Try some relaxation techniques like meditation, which can help you cope with everyday stress. Physical fitness is also as important as mental during the journey. I suggest, Yoga and some breathing exercise to be a part of your daily routine. It will keep you much more away from any kind of illness, and will boost your immune system too.

8. Sit with family and talk. Talking with parents will give you a feeling of happiness and supportive environment. You'll feel like you've some people in your life who'll remain 'as it is' always, whether you pass or fail, they're the one who will never leave your side and stay for you despite of any circumstances. 

Photo : Pinterest

9. Have faith in God. Almighty will definitely bless you with that particular thing which is good for you. He always has plans better than you think. So have faith in him and in your hard work too.

10. Practice spiritual practices. Sit in meditative posture for some 10-15 minutes daily, close your eyes, and forget about every fear, and feel in your heart the existence of almighty, feel him as your protector, thank him for blessing you with this beautiful life, caring parents, a good health, and an opportunity to prepare for this exam, think how fortunate you're and while doing so, you'll forget about all your problems. Think that your problem (stress, anxiety,etc) is not even 1% in front of all the privilege that you have. Feel the calmness within you for few more minutes, rub your hands and gently open your eyes, you'll find this world more beautiful than you think and will make your day. Do this everyday to boost yourself with positivity.

I advice you to perform this last point in the morning on the day of examination as well.

Best wishes.

- Anshika Chaturvedi