Tame test anxiety
While taking the IB we are all aware of those “exams”. They get more and more real and in May
the last term they are due. Everything you have learned in two years is getting tested. It might
feel scary, nervous and unfamiliar, but remember, you are not alone in feeling like this. It is
quite normal to feel anxious when facing exams, but it can affect your performance. This
chapter will explain what exam anxiety is, how you can deal with it, and how it can be turned
into something positive.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety can be described as a term for several disorders that cause
nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worrying. These disorders affect
how we feel and behave, and they can manifest real physical symptoms.1
There are two different kinds: one is anticipatory, felt when talking about
or studying for a test. The second is described as situational, felt when actually sitting a test.
The symptoms of anxiety vary from an excessive unrealistic worrying to muscle tensions, sleep
problems and headache. At RCN it is easy to feel anxiety because of the hard pressure and the
stress everyday life. When we feel anxiety related to exams, our studies can be affected.
However, there are ways to change this!
How can it be prevented?
There is actually a lot you can do yourself to prevent minimize this stealthy anxiety. To reduce
your everyday stress is the first step. More stress will lead to more anxiety. How to reduce
stress is covered in the “stress” chapter. By eating healthy and regular meals you can balance
your energy. To make your brain relax, exercise is essential and sleep is a foundation for
optimal learning. It is recommended that you sleep between 7 and 8 hours per night, so if you
sleep only 5 hours per night you hopefully realize that this will not work in the long run. How
often do you actually sleep during the afternoons? Be honest with yourself. If you have a
proper night of sleep, powernaps or longer naps (you certainly know what I am talking about)
are not necessary.
Another factor that helps with test anxiety is structure, so structure your day and plan when
you are doing what. When it is study time, it is okay to sign out from Facebook and gmail; you
will not lose anything, and hopefully you will gain some concentration and your work will be
done faster. Then if you need to, you can return. Try to get into regular sleeping patterns,
going to bed at the same time every evening and waking up at the same time. It will give you a
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/anxiety/
http://www.how-to-study.com
http://www.how-to-study.com/study-skills/en/studying/39/the-ten-study-habits-ofsuccessful-students/
http://www.backtobasicslearning.com/parent-resources1.php
1
daily rhythm, a routine. Sometimes doctors actually prescribe “routine” as a treatment for
problems!
Something that is common among students around the world is perfectionism and negative
thinking. If you think that you will never pass this test or that you will fail your subject, you
need to change your attitude! It might sounds like a cliché, but it does help to think positively.
Try to visualize your own success. All of the students here have the potential to do very well,
and it is easy to forget that. It is good to remind yourself of past successes; you can dothis
again. I will repeat it once again: you need a positive approach. Repeat it to yourself: “I will
succeed in this; I know I can do this.” It is about boosting yourself, believing that you can
achieve something.
The consequences of anxiety can be severe; it can lead to depression so it is important to deal
with it at once. The circle of anxiety is presented here:
Some general tips before an exam that will help you to prevent anxiety from rising:
 Get two nights of good sleep before a test and be careful with sugar and caffeine.
 Arrive prepared and positive.
 Drink plenty of water, which will help you to focus.
 Practise test-taking strategies.
 Read the directions slowly.
 Use colour pens to make up a plan and structure
on scratch paper.
 Start with the simplest question, to build confidence.
 If a question is too hard, just skip it at that point and
return to it later.
 Learn as much as possible about your test before you
take it.
 Study, study, study. Practise makes success.
 Breathe!
Finally as a reminder:
More rest, less stress
In today’s society the use of the word “stress” is becoming more and more common. It is called
“the problem of wealth”. Here at RCN there is no exception. In fact it is even more severe
considering we are all from different countries with different habits, cultures and customs.
How we respond to the pressure and the workload is individual and can affect our daily life.
We could blame the environment here at RCN and we could say that we cannot do anything to
change this, but if you think so, you are definitely wrong! There is a lot you can do to reduce
your individual stress level. This will be discussed in this chapter. And what’s written above is
true: with more rest, you are less vulnerable to stress.
What is stress?
Stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from the
outside world. Common stress reactions include tension, irritability, inability to concentrate,
and a variety of physical symptoms that include headache and a fast heartbeat.2 It would be
nearly impossible to live without any kind of stress, but it becomes dangerous if it affects your
physical and mental health. There are four different kinds of stress:
 survival stress that comes from a response to danger,
 internal stress that arises when people make themselves stressed,
 environmental stress that is hard to control because it is caused by the environment
and finally,
 fatigue and overwork that is built up over a long period of time and can takes a hard
toll on your body.
During stress, the stress hormones are released to an abnormal level and they makes your
heart beat faster, slowing down metabolic processes, mobilizing energy from muscles and
increasing the likelihood of getting infectious diseases. It is easier to catch a bad flu if you are
under stress. In addition to this, these hormones can damage the hippocampus. A damaged
hippocampus causes hormones levels to get out of control, which compromises memory and
cognitive function, creating a vicious cycle3. Oh! And a person exposed to stress for a long time
is more prone to depression.
Are you stressed? If you recognize any of these symptoms, then you might be prone to stress.
The mental symptoms of stress include:
 Tension
 Irritability
 Inability to concentrate
2
3
http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/stress/str_whatis.html
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f02/web1/kellis.html
 Feeling excessively tired
 Trouble sleeping
The physical symptoms of stress include:
 A pounding heart
 Difficulty breathing
 Dry mouth
 Stomach upset
 Frequent urination
 Sweating palms
 Tight muscles that may cause pain and trembling
Managing Stress
As said before, stress can be prevented and it is pretty easy! To be able to manage stress there
are some basics we need: healthy food, exercise, enough sleep, positive thinking and time
efficiency. It is important to eat what your body and brain want, because what you put inside
actually affects both your learning abilities and the way you deal with stress.
The “food”
Eat more vegetables, less processed food, more fruit and less sugar. If you think that sugar will
make you less tired and more relaxed, you are wrong. It is just playing a game with your brain
and it will soon become worse then it was before you ate the sugar. Instead, you need to create
a stable level of sugar in your blood. That will give you energy and you will feel less stressed
and have more energy to cope with everything. The most important meal of the day is
breakfast. Are you eating breakfast every day? It makes you stable and gives you energy to
concentrate in your classes.
It is important to add that it is (even though it might sound impossible) possible to eat
healthily in the Kantina. By choosing the right products and eating a balanced diet, the Kantina
food can provide you with what you need. You can change what you put in your mouth but you
cannot change what the kantina is serving!
Exercise
Another way of reducing stress is to exercise regularly. Try to exercise 3 times a week. It might
be going to the TSK, swimming, take a walk or play a ballgame. While you exercise, your brain
relaxes and you become calm and more energetic afterwards. It is easy to say that it takes too
long and “I do not have time to go to TSK today”, but it is actually scientifically proven that
regular exercise makes it easier to get better grades!
Sleep
Human beings need sleep. Without sleep stress becomes worse. You might develop a sleeping
disorder, when you are so stressed that you cannot sleep, which will jeopardize your life
quality. We all know how it is to feel a deadline coming closer and then we feel that we “need”
to pull an all-nighter and stay awake the whole night. Our bodies are not built for that and in
the end we will collapse from lack of sleep. This is reality. Have you ever stayed up the whole
night to finish some work and the next morning you are so exhausted that you cannot go to
classes? I certainly have. However, this is not sustainable. Life at RCN is about priorities, and
sleep needs to be one of them. Sleep deprivation has many effects:
One thing is clear: without sleep there is no way to achieve a golden 42!
A minimum of 7 to 8 hours is recommended, and I can promise that it is possible!
Time management
To reduce the stress we feel, we need to plan our time. We only have 24 hours a day and we
need to fit classes, EAC’s, dinner, homework and socializing into this short period. Sure, it is not
possible to do everything you wish, but with effective planning you will have lots of time for
things you actually want to do.
A good strategy is to decide on a study time, for example between dinner and evening snack,
when you know that you will focus on your homework. But, be careful with Internet! If you
check how effective your studies would be if you turned your Internet off while studying, you
would be surprised. Have you ever thought of how many hours you spend on the Internet
doing (basically) nothing? You could probably be doing something more effective with at least
some of this time.
Make lists every day.
Make a list of what you need to do this week or this month.
Then tick items off when you have done them;
you will feel satisfied when you actually can see your progress
and when you become aware of how you have spent your time.
Some more tips
 Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal
or professional life, refuse to accept added responsibilities when you’re close to
reaching these limits. Taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.
 Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life
and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that
person or end the relationship entirely.
 Take control of your environment – If Facebook makes you anxious, turn the Internet
off. If your room is not quiet, you can kindly ask your roommates to be quiet. If you feel
that you don’t do enough EAC’s, then try to put the energy you are wasting on being
worried on the ones you already have and satisfy yourself with what you are doing, not
what you are not doing.
Most important of all, trust in your self!