Three Things To Do To Overcome Exam Stress

Every person experiences stress, it doesn’t matter how fit, strong, or courageous you think you are you will at some time in your life experience a stressful situation.

There are optimal levels of stress that actually help people to achieve their desired outcome and get the best results they are looking for.

However, there are times when the optimal level of stress goes beyond what is optimal and no longer assists us in achieving our goals. In order to live a healthy balanced life, it is very important to learn how to manage stress and control anxiety before it overwhelms you and controls you.

The few tips I will be sharing with you, will help you take a more positive and proactive stand in getting your stress and anxiety under control.

It doesn’t matter what type of exam you are taking, whether a written exam, an oral exam or a practical exam, all of them will present you with symptoms of exam stress. If you are a student, you will know exactly what I mean by exam stress. Sleepless nights, negative thoughts, and loss of appetite, rapid heart rate, trembling hands, and cold sweats – these are typical manifestations of exam fear. Research has shown that it affects the whole person, their nervous system, cardiovascular, immune, etc.

Unfortunately, the negative influence of these manifestations on the student’s body as well as their psychology is grossly underestimated today. Most students in a recent poll see exams as “severe torture” or as “intellectual and emotional overload” many students see exam time as a time that pushes them to the point of complete “sensory overload”.

But it is a well known fact that exams stimulate brain activity and increase cognitive and mental activity. It has been determined that students that are afraid of exams can improve their achievements and even outperform those that are not afraid of them.

All that is needed is calm mental attitude that is encouraged, full of self-confidence and trust, and a belief that what you are about to undertake will be a great success. Learning to relax is crucial in achieving a clear and focused mind for exams.

If you are a student that worry and become anxious about taking exams, have no fear – here are three simple tips that will help you overcome your exam stress and put you into a positive and powerful mind state.

Three Steps To Overcome Stress

1. Use meditation to still the mind
2. Use powerful visualization techniques
3. Use empowering affirmations

STEP ONE: Use Meditation to Clear the Mind and Relax

Your mind likes to be in control, so when you try and meditate, it will bring all sorts of thoughts, images and ideas to distract you. But if you can learn to just sit in stillness, and not allow your mind to lead you around, you will find that your mind can become a very powerful tool.

Learning how to control your mind will be the biggest challenge in your life, but, once you’ve learned how to take control of it, it will be the greatest victory you could ever experience.

Your mind is very powerful. Your thinking process attracts all of the conditions that happen in your life, so learning to control it, is key to success in this area of your life. Your beliefs about yourself, your capabilities and confidence are all determined in your mind.

Meditation stills the mind and dampens all the busyness going on there. Once you’ve quietened the mind, you are able to relax and allow yourself to subconscious mind to flow free.

During this time of relaxation you are able to introduce some really great techniques that will help reprogram and focus your mind for achieving a specific goal or outcome in your life.

The first technique is called visualization.

STEP TWO: Use Visualization to Reprogram The Mind

Visual Motor Rehearsal (VMr) is a program that is used by Olympic athletes; they would visualize practicing the event that they are competing in within their minds. Whether it’s competing in the Olympics, achieving good grades in school or taking an exam, it is 10% physical preparation and 90% mental preparedness.

Whatever you introduce to the subconscious will be accepted as real, whether it is real or just practice.

Dr. Waitley says, “if you’ve been there in the mind you’ll go there in the body.”

Everything you do begins in your mind, so it’s very important that you see your life as you want it to be.

Now that you are relaxed and calm, begin to see yourself in the examination room, sitting at your desk, exam papers in front of you. Now, feel the confidence, the excitement and the joy of knowing that you are well prepared, focused and confident in completing the exam.

See yourself completing the exam with ease as you say to yourself, wow! This was so easy; I completed it without even thinking about the answers. I am so proud of myself, I am not even stressed or anxious, I am calm, relaxed and focused.

See yourself being congratulated by your tutors, friends and family, feel the handshake of the people, the pat on the back, hear them congratulating you and telling you how proud they are of you.

Consistency is the key here. When you spend time every day seeing your life the way you want it to be, your subconscious mind becomes wired to work with you in accomplishing your goals. You will begin to see miracles happen in your life.

“Losers let it happen. Winners make it happen” Denis Waitley.

STEP THREE: Use Affirmations to Create Your Reality

Positive affirmations are made in order for you to achieve something. It may be a better job, more money, a bigger house, a newer car, more success, health and happiness.

We all have these desires, but the outcomes can sometimes seem to be far beyond our reach, so we believe they are not meant for us, now we begin to focus on how far they are from what we really desire, and so, negative affirmations become the thoughts that flood our minds.

• We desire to be wealthy, but we think: “I’m never going to be rich”.
• We desire to be liked, but we think: “No one’s going to like me”.
• We desire to succeed, but we think: “I am not good enough”.
• We desire to pass the exam, but we think: “I’ll never pass, I’m terrible at exams”.

So, we begin to think about the things we want from a negative perspective. If you think like this, and speak negatively to yourself, then you need to flip it over, and begin with by speaking positive affirmations to yourself.

You can say your affirmations out loud to yourself, or you can have them recorded and played back to you during your meditation time. Affirmations should be said repeatedly and with feeling and conviction. Say them as if you have already achieved them, allow yourself to experience the emotions that you would experience if it were already true. By doing this, your subconscious is accepting this as your reality, and will work with you in achieving your goals.

Here are some examples of affirmations you can us, it’s always a good practice to write out your own affirmations, as they reflect your own personal goals and desires.

1. I Really Enjoy Taking Exams
2. I Love  Understanding The Overall Exam, By Previewing All Of The Exam Material
3. I Enjoy Studying For Exams And Committing My Knowledge To Memory
4. I Know That What I Have Learned Will Come To Me Easily During The Exam
5. I Choose To Block Out All Mental Distraction
6. I’m Very Focused And Trust In Myself To Achieve The Best Results
7. I Am Relaxed, Calm and Confident In Writing My Exam
8. I’m Excited About The Day Of The Exam Because I’m Prepared And Focused
   
9. I Know And Believe I’m Going To Do Well In My Examinations, Because I Have Worked Hard
10. I’m An Excellent Student & I’m Very Good At Taking Exams

It normally takes around 21 days for anything in your life to become programmed into the subconscious area of your brain forming a habit, so start now!

You should start to feel a difference in the way you feel and the way you think within a week or so.

DON’T GIVE-UP; just keep doing your affirmations every morning and evening if possible, and don’t forget to add lots of emotion and feeling to them.

I know that you are going to enjoy your exams, because you are prepared, focused and confident in your own learning abilities.

All the best in your Exams, now go and enjoy them!