Management of Examination Anxiety Inoculation : Inoculate yourself against stress. Exposure through rehearsals and role- playing prepares you physically and mentally to face the examination situation better and with confidence. Positive thinking : Have faith in yourself. Structure your thoughts with systematically listing the thoughts that worry you and then rationally dealing with them one by one.
Emphasise on your strengths. Suggest to yourself to be positive and enthusiastic. Seek support : Do not hesitate to ask for help from your friends, parents, teachers or seniors. Talking about a stressful situation to a close person makes one feel light and helps gain insight.
The situation may not be as bad as it seems. On the other hand, blunting strategies involve avoiding the stressful situation. True, avoidance is neither desirable nor possible in an examination situation, but the following techniques may prove useful: Relaxation : Learn to relax. Relaxation techniques help you calm your nerves and give you an opportunity to reframe your thoughts.
There are many different relaxation techniques. In general, this involves sitting or lying down in a comfortable posture in a quiet place, relaxing your muscles, reducing the external stimulation as well as minimising the flow of thoughts and focusing. Exercise : A stressful situation overactivates the sympathetic nervous system. Exercise helps in channelising the excess energy generated by this.
A brief period of light exercise or active sport will help you concentrate better on your studies. community service (for example, helping an intellectually challenged child learn an adaptive skill), you will gain important insights about your own difficulties. Think of an intense emotional experience you have gone through recently and explain the sequence of events. How did you deal with it?
Share it with your class.