Exams are stressful, even for people who have worked hard consistently throughout the year. Psychiatrist Dr Michael Simpson gives advice
and tips on coping with examination stress.
A modest amount of stress and anxiety can provide valuable stimulus that gets us to study and prepare, otherwise we might not bother to put in our best effort, according to Simpson.
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Exams are one of the most stressful of experiences we
routinely endure and inflict on others.
The issues we explore should also be useful to our
regulars if you, or members of your family, are facing exams, job assessments,
job interviews, and similar ordeals.
We'll be looking at some key aspects of
coping with the stress of the exams already upon us.
1. Firstly, not all stress is bad for us - the trick is
to get the dose right. If you find exams to be relaxing, or pure pleasure, then
you must be missing something here! A modest amount of stress and anxiety
can provide valuable stimulus that gets us to study and prepare, otherwise we
might not bother to put in our best effort. Anxiety is normal. The exam results
are important to you, and not entirely predictable - anyone can be anxious about
that. But you don't need to become so anxious that you're crippled by fear. You
need to control the anxiety, and not let it control you. You're the boss, even
if it doesn't feel like it.
2. We don't like being in situations where we can't
entirely control what happens, especially when the result really matters to us.
One important response is to decide to control what you can control, and not
waste time getting worked up over the elements that you can't control.
3. Above all, try to avoid getting anxious about
getting anxious. Otherwise, you can set up a feedback loop. What's that? If a
microphone accidentally points at a loudspeaker, small sounds get whipped back
and forth, amplified each time, ending in an ear-splitting screech. In other
words, don't make your own natural anxiety such a big deal that it frightens
you.
Sometimes anxiety needs to be placed in quarantine. When
seriously anxious people get together, they can act as an amplifier and get
jointly more frightened. If you have friends who get very anxious, wish them
well, but don't spend time with them as anxiety can be infectious. If you are
blessed with friends who take things calmly, time spent with them may help you
cool off, too.
4. It's well known that many people think that the use of
drugs - both legal and illegal, prescription or street - can help when coping
with stress. They are actually highly likely to damage your chances of success even in the short term. You shouldn't actually use anything, unless you have very specific kinds of stress problems.
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