How To Cope With Exam Anxiety

If you struggle with exam anxiety, you’re not alone. Test-taking can be one of the anxiety causes while in school, but it can be overcome.

There are a few ways to reduce your anxiety about your upcoming exams and get through them with flying colors.

Prepare

When you’re confident about the material that’s going to be on the exam, you already have half of the work done. Preparing several days in advance, studying and memorizing the information that will be covered will relieve your anxiety and keep surprises on the test to a minimum.

Have a Study Session

In addition to preparing on your own, studying with another student or even meeting with your professor can help you to better learn the material. Sometimes hearing information in a new way or from a different perspective can increase your understanding, and covering the material with your teacher one-on-one will give you a leg up and an insider’s eye.

Stay Healthy

Make sure to stay physically healthy the week of your exam. Get regular exercise each day, and balance it out with a good diet. Get enough sleep before the exam; go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Feeling physically well will help with controlling anxiety and feeling mentally well.

Focus

During the actual exam, remember to breathe and take your time. Also, many tests are not just pass or fail; you don’t have to be number one in your class to get through it (unless that’s your goal!). Just focus - you know this stuff!

Photo: Max Pixel