Overcoming Stress Related Issues Arising from Exam-phobia

Ways to Decode Stress

Dharnhi Sharma, a prospective Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) student in 2019, is nervous whether after dropping a year she would be able to get admission in National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. “While preparing for CLAT, I am going through inconsistent emotions of stress, pessimism in one hand, and confidence and pursuit on the other. I am mostly worried about achieving single digit rank in the exam, as I am aware of my parent’s dreams and the investment that they have made in my CLAT coaching. Nevertheless, despite all these apprehensions I believe that consistency and hard work in studies will lead to a fruitful future for myself, as well as, everybody,” conveyed Dharnhi.

Stress related to academia can be described as a pupil’s interaction between the individual’s environment and the academic stress, along with their psychological response to these stressors. Each aspiring examinee wishes to achieve success in educational field for respect, pride of the family, or societal recognition. The outcome of this mindset often demands excellence in rank, which often results in anxiety and pressure. Consequently, the examinees aren’t able to perform well in exams, and their academic life becomes dreary and arduous. The sign of stress before and during examination are usually insomnia, weariness, loneliness, depression, stomach upset, restlessness leading to a condition where the student cannot remember even the learnt chapters.

How to Prevent from Exam Anxiety?

Initiatives of Student’s

Planned and systematized preparation for any assessment is very crucial, besides, time management skills. “Exams should be treated as one of the facet of the journey called life. Student should not spend time worrying about results, rather organize a better focused plan for the exam,” said Pravir Arora, CMO, Aptech Ltd. Learning how to balance between studies and other activities. Another key step in governing strain and worry is keeping a healthy lifestyle. It is wise to avoid late night reading and dinner, junk food, worrying over previous papers, and even, studying any new topic at the last moment. Practice the weak subject areas more and more. Narcotics or tonics cannot do magic in the last moment unless the examinee is prepared. It is more strenuous for students who are preparing for both board and competitive exams. Finally, the most important thing is to leave home in time with positive thoughts and a relaxed mind and reach exam hall early. “Taking power naps help, as it clears one’s mind and would help in giving a sense of achievement. The student should not be judgemental about himself or herself, instead, try to identify the reasons for stress and share them with parents,” added Pravir Arora.

Action and Conduct of Parents

Parents should never emphasize on rank or grades unreasonably. They need to be positive, supportive and reassuring of their child’s success. Appreciation of small efforts will encourage their children diversely. They should not forget that the child is already under the pressure of the exam, adding the burden of their expectations will result in building up of an atmosphere where the examinee won’t be able to focus. “Parents should talk to their children and motivate them, without mentioning results during the discussion. An encouraging ecosystem is needed for the child, so that he/she is able to confide the fears with them. Guardians should build confidence in the child by letting him/her believe in their trust. And most importantly, they should not get affected by what others would say or talk about their child,” stated Pravir Arora.

Know How to De-Stress

“The word examination is synonymous with words like success, failure, stress and future. Working towards taking a competitive exam can be both daunting and overwhelming.

However, the exam and its result do not define you as a person. There are many paths to your destination, the exam you are preparing for maybe the most conventional and clear way to reach your destination but it is definitely not the only way to get there. Finally, remember to take breaks and keep in touch with the things that make you happy and relieve stress. It is okay to relax and in fact in many cases this can assist the learning process. Watch your favorite movie, go for a drive, and even go for that dance class you love!” said Tanya Vasunia, Mumbai based psychologist and Outreach Associate at Mpower.

Ways to de-stress explored and adopted by examinees in their busy everyday routine by themselves, are the most undemanding and effective ones, such as:

• Take Breaks: Many individuals have high guilt consciousness, and therefore consider break from studies as a waste of time. On the other hand, this has been proven as ineffective. The best method of studying more competently is taking 10-15 minutes break after every 1-2 hours of study.
• Do Exercise: Any kind of physical activity boosts health, thus in turn improves attentiveness and focus.
• Time for Hobbies: No matter how tight the schedule is, everyone should take out time to do things which provide relaxation, such as gardening, reading, dancing, playing play station, pottery, sports, painting etc.
• Group Studies: Choose a companion for co-study or even to create a study circle. Through this students can clear their doubts, mutually support each other and maintain a clarity of self-progress.
• Meditation Everyday: If someone has palpitation, doing Yoga or any kind of meditation helps in reducing nervous tension and constant worry.
• Regular Sleep: Often before and during tests, students become more prone to sleeplessness or irregular sleeping pattern. The body needs proper rest for the mind to function efficiently. Maintaining a fixed time to go to bed and waking up early is always advised by experts.