Running head: CASE STUDY - KATYA'S TEST ANXIETY
Case Study - Katya's Test Anxiety
Sarka Matrasova-Weitz
Health 44
August 2, 2014
Tamara Knott-Silva
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CASE STUDY - KATYA'S TEST ANXIETY
Case Study - Katya's Test Anxiety
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Katya is a freshman with a 3.0-grade point average. She is experiencing extreme anxiety before tests because she does not believe that her efforts of studying hard will make a difference.
Katya has to do well on her next chemistry exam, or she will lose her scholarship, which is making her anxiety even worse. When she tried to study, she experienced severe panic attack, and she is horrified that she will not be able to do well on her test. She has only two days to prepare for the exam, and she needs help. It seems that Katya’s anxiety is rooted in the perception of her self-efficacy and self-esteem because Katya does not believe that she will do well on the test, even if she studies and is well prepared.
Personal Experience
I can relate to Katya’s situation very easily because I have experienced it many times in the past. I have maintained a 3.97 GPA over the course of my entire undergraduate program, yet
I have gone through Katya’s feelings so many times. I tend to focus always on the worst-case scenario, believing that by focusing on that, I have the best chance to "beat it." I only recently realized that this kind of mindset is sabotaging my efforts and making things much harder than they have to be.
Personally, I believe that this kind of behavior and feelings are caused by low self-esteem and lack of faith (spirituality). Considering this in greater detail, I also believe that low selfesteem and similar “emotional difficulties” are caused by an individual’s brain chemistry, which is not functioning properly. In other words, his or her brain does not “fire” properly and as a result, his or her perception of the reality is "off." I believe that this "off balance" is caused by the environment in infancy and early childhood which affects the brain development in a significant way. I may be going too deep into this subject, but it is my belief (and conclusions of

CASE STUDY - KATYA'S TEST ANXIETY some of the latest studies on the correlation between the environment and proper brain development) that the environment in which child experiences some physical or emotional
2 3 trauma contributes to an "incorrect" brain function development, which usually results in low self-esteem, perfectionism, pessimism, anxiety, and depression in later years. There are exceptions to the rule, but this theory supports the common belief that trauma in childhood causes emotional difficulties in adolescence and adulthood. The theory also supports my experience because I have gone through several traumatic experiences as a child and teenager, and as a result I have experienced many of the mentioned difficulties, including low self-esteem and anxiety.
Recommendations
I believe that Katya should seek immediate professional help as well as reach for other self-help resources to get rid of the anxiety and fear. Because she has such a limited time to "get better," her best option is to reach out to someone she trusts who can offer support, look at the reality and offer a second opinion and advice on how to handle the situation. Because Katya’s emotional state seems to be a result of her perception, having someone else look at the situation from the outside and offer a reality-check and encouragement could help Katya see that some of her fears are unsubstantiated.
Another helpful tool would be sitting down and carefully review possible options should she not do well on her exam to make sure that there are really no other options to keep her scholarship. Sometimes, with a medical issue, the school may offer an extension or a way to improve the GPA within a specified time. Calling a school counselor and finding out all possible options would help Katya calm down, knowing that there are ways she could fix the situation even if she did not do as well on the test. I have personally had this happen to me (I fell ill and

CASE STUDY - KATYA'S TEST ANXIETY could not complete a final exam) and my university worked with me on getting back on track
2 4 when I returned. Katya would need to see a physician, however, to obtain documentation supporting her medical condition.
An excellent source for information on how to reduce stress is http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_TCS.htm. I would suggest that Katya looks over the perception-based strategies to reduce stress. It offers the following techniques that could be very useful for her:
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Cognitive restructuring – reducing stress by changing your thinking. Cognitive restructuring is a useful technique for understanding unhappy feelings and moods, and for challenging the sometimes-wrong "automatic beliefs" that can lie behind them. As such, one can use it to reframe the unnecessary negative thinking that we all experience from time to time (Mind Tools, 2014, para. 2).
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Mental imagery – mental stress management. Guided imagery is a stress management technique, where one uses his or her imagination to picture a person, place, or time that makes him or her feel relaxed, peaceful and happy. Meditation with mental imagery of doing well on the exam could help Katya, especially if she experiences another panic attack (Mind Tools, 2014, para. 2).
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An ABC technique – the ABC stands for adversity, beliefs, and consequences. I have personally used this method several times over the last two years. It works wonders because it changes one's perception. In short, when one encounters a dversity, how he or she thinks about this creates b eliefs. These beliefs then influence what one does next, so they become c onsequences. Acknowledging this

CASE STUDY - KATYA'S TEST ANXIETY 2 5 process and writing it down enables one to replace the beliefs and consequences with a positive outcome (Mind Tools, 2014, para. 2).
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Overcoming the fear or failure – this section has a lot of valuable information, but the following steps seem to offer the necessary steps to overcome this fear: a.
Analyze all potential outcomes b.
Learn to think more positively c.
Look at the worst-case scenario d.
Have a contingency plan (Mind Tools, 2014, para. 5).
Katya could also benefit from writing down all the things she has accomplished up to this point. It is important that she recognizes her value in other aspects of her life and even other accomplishments at the school other than this class. It could give her confidence that she is capable of doing well and that even if she does not do well on this exam, it does not make her any less capable student or person. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone does not always get
A's on all exams. She should also try to reach out to people whose opinion she values to get affirmation that they will not think any less of her if she does not do well on the test or loses her scholarship.
Conclusion
Although Katya is experiencing anxiety and fear of losing her scholarship, the experience could prove to be an eye-opening event that may offer some revelations about Katya’s underlying cause of these difficulties. It could prompt her to reach out for help, whether professional, self-help, or help of those close to her. If she has in fact some medical condition that needs treatment, at least she would address it and work with her physician on getting better.

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If her anxiety is caused solely by her perceptions of value, the self-help tools and people close to her should offer some relief and support for her future studies.

CASE STUDY - KATYA'S TEST ANXIETY
Reference
Mind Tools. (2014). Stress management techniques. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_TCS.htm#perception
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