Do you typically get nervous when facing an audience or a final? For some people, the jitteriness, sweaty palms, trouble concentrating, racing thoughts and general overwhelm occur any time they’re about to perform.
Performance or test anxiety produces a variety of symptoms whenever you’re put on the spot, whether it’s giving a presentation, being on stage or taking a test. According to psychologist Lucy Jo Palladino, Ph.D, author of Find Your Focus Zone: An Effective New Plan to Defeat Distraction and Overload, these signs might include: procrastinating; being easily distracted or irritable; engaging in nervous habits like nail-biting; trouble sleeping, worrying about doing badly; and feeling paralyzed.
Here are six ideas on overcoming performance or test anxiety.
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I think this article has valuable information and opportunity to overcome this problem.
A helpful suggestion For Test Anxiety
Reframe- Tests allow me to understand how I’m doing. Tests allow me time to relax my muscles as I concentrate on using my intelligence. I look forward to examinations. I enjoy expanding my mind and all of its abilities.
Tests allow me to focus on valuable information and knowledge.
Someday I may need this knowledge in my life. I may someday use the information I’m learning to help someone I care about.
All of the information I study is recorded for easy access whenever and wherever I need or want it. I can quickly and easily retrieve this information. When I study, each and every word I read or hear has its own meaning and importance.
I imagine my mind is like a video camera.
This video camera is recording all of my experiences… Everything I see is recorded. Everything I hear is recorded. Everything I feel is recorded.
All of these events and all this information is being recorded in my brain…All of this information will be readily available whenever I want it.
Before I take each test I will review this information.
I will read over the information many, many times. As I do this, I will become very relaxed. It’s so easy to quickly learn and absorb knowledge as I feel relaxed, calm and alert continually.
When its test time I will take take three relaxing, deep breaths when I enter the test taking area.
As I exhale, I will concentrate on letting all of the tension out of my body.
As I first view the test, I will take three long, satisfying breaths, concentrating on relaxing my body.
As I more deeply relax, my mind becomes even more fully alert and aware, running at full efficiency. When I reach a question that seems not as easy, I will skip it, relax as I answer the easier questions, then go back to it later. I realize that the questions that are not as easy will help me to prove my improved level of knowledge. I am much smarter than I ever thought possible.
Be well and Have a successful experience.
Nick
I agree with all of this, with one disclaimer:
Anxiety and Stress are not necessarily bad things — I think that stress is a very good internal motivator for getting yourself to prepare for whatever event is causing you said stress.
When I was in College, I found that in most of my classes, it was the students who stressed out about Exams the most, who were then able to use that stress as motivation to overprepare and overstudy, were those who were most likely to be taking their Exams in a relaxed State. It’s almost like a Self Fulfilling Prophecy –
Imminent Stressful Situations breed stress which breeds a desire to prepare for the situation which will decrease said stress.
Helpful, and useful for the social work exam. Thanks.