“Don’t stress, Do your best, and forget the rest!”
“Keep calm, it’s just an Exam”
“Competitive Exams”, these two words are dreaded by all students everywhere. These exams can often be very overwhelming. One might experience all sorts of anxiety, panic attack, and negative thoughts in their mind resulting in nothing but just wastage of time and a poor result in your exams. You’re not the only one, though. Every single person who has ever given an exam has faced some kind of stress and nervousness. Plus, at times our mental health gets disturbed. The one main thing along with a few hacks written below that one needs to remember is that it’s JUST an exam.
It’s easier said than done, and that’s why the following are a few simple tricks to help you deal with your anxiety as board exams can’t be avoided but you can at least try and avoid the unnecessary stress that comes along with it.
Moreover, this quick guide is a guide that has hacks written to help deal with the exam stress and anxiety, not a guide for “how to properly study during board exams” Here’s a guide if you want to learn more about “how to properly study during board exams” because a lot of times even when you’re completely prepared for your exams well in time with all the revision done as well, you might face a lot of anxiety and stress. Hence here are tips to help you deal with unwanted yet unavoidable anxiety.
1. Take a breath!
Relax, you need to be in a calm space of mind to start studying and writing an exam. If you’re worried from the beginning itself about if you’re going to do well in your exam or not then in so much stress and pressure you won’t even be able to study properly, leave aside writing the exam. You need to stay healthy and just breathe. Too much stress might also result in your health being at risk which would eventually lead to rising in your blood pressure. Hence, stressing out is never a solution.
Pro Tip: Research shows that a 10-minute deep breathing relaxation technique will mollify your stress hormone and reduce muscle tension in your body.
- 2. It’s JUST an exam.
This is the main thing students need to keep in their mind is that this is JUST a little test of their knowledge and they should be proud of whatever they score as they’ve earned it. And this isn’t the last exam they’re ever going to give. They will have a lot of other chances to prove themselves where they can do better. And mainly, your board exam marks do not define you. They have been overhyped so much, to extent that students forget the main reason they’re held, for you to know how well you can do and what your potential is, not to showcase anything to the world.
- 3. Everyone goes through it!
No matter how strong or confident a student or a friend of yours looks before or during an exam, they are also definitely going through a lot of stress and anxiety just like you are. So you don’t need to feel inferior to them just because of how they seem they are on the outside or how well they score. The feeling is mutual, trust me. Everyone is trying to fight this battle called board exam stress and you will too be able to overcome the anxiety, once and for all.
- 4. In the moment
Now, coming to a few points you might want to keep in mind before the exam, during the exam and after your exam that could help you with preparing yourself better and might just help you with your anxiety are:
- Before the exam
1. Keep your body healthy and fit and get adequate rest
2. Avoid comparing your preparation with your friends’
3. If you believe in manifestation, keep thinking “I am prepared and I can do this”
4. Design your schedule well
5. Know your plus points and your weaknesses and accordingly work on both
- During the exam
1. Take deep breaths if you feel you’re stressing out
2. Always remember, that this is just an exam, everyone around you writing the paper is feeling the same way as you are.
3. Do not unnecessarily hurry just to complete before others.
4. Do not get intimidated by the number of sheets other students are taking
- After the exam
a. Avoid discussing the answers with your friends, it will only make you more anxious about if your answer was perfect or not.
b. Do not get stressed or waste your time over thinking about the questions you had to leave that you didn’t know the answers to or over what you could have written differently or better
c. Do not get angry with yourself for not performing your best, if you feel so. Instead, be proud of yourself for writing whatever you did
d. Take a break after returning home, do not rush into studying for the next exam just because you want to do better, and start studying only when you feel better.
- 5. Get enough sleep
Studying for long hours on a stretch is onerous and appalling. When you suppress your sleeping hours more than usual, research shows us that your stress levels will accumulate. Stress can make it more challenging to fall asleep. Moreover, it can even lead to sleep disorders. At the same time, getting a good night’s sleep reduces the effects of stress and anxiety.
- 6. Aromatherapy heals
When nothing works, aromatherapy works. Blend in some aroma oils in a diffuser and relax inhaling the fumes. Science has proven its good effects on our nervous system and we highly recommended you to try it. This will aid you to deal with exam stress and anxiety.
Below are some essential oils associated with reducing stress:
- a) Valerian
- b) Lavender
- c) Jasmine
- d) Holy basil
- e) Bergamot
- f) vetiver
7) Have a dark chocolate
The results showed that eating dark chocolate daily reduced stress hormone levels in those who had high anxiety levels. Researchers also say dark chocolate appeared to have beneficial effects on the participants’ metabolism and microbial activity in the gut.
So, next time when you feel performance anxiety grab dark chocolate and you’re good to go!
We at ESPA Learn, consult schools upgrading their schooling system and providing a guaranteed solution that will help their students score good grades in their exams. Our client, SP Smart Schools is already showing excellent results in their students by implementing our latest hybrid schooling system.
If your school doesn’t have this system yet then are you really studying in the right school?
To know more: contact us now!
All in all, these are some easy-peasy steps, tricks, or tips, whatever you might want to call them that could help you deal with exam stress and anxiety. And for the last time, at all times remember, it is just an exam.
Pingback: SP Smart School changed the meaning of education