How to Deal With Exam Anxiety

Life

Part 3 Reducing Anxiety Mentally

1.Think about your cognitive state. Anxiety often impairs concentration and causes sufferers to simply blank out. If you're trying to study but just can't bring yourself to focus, you could be suffering from anxiety. Procrastination is also a symptom, since avoidance of a problem is a defense mechanism. If you notice these symptoms, it is time to take action and work on your thought processes.

2.Analyze your thought patterns. Often when people suffer from anxiety, they focus on overwhelmingly negative thoughts. You may say to yourself "I'm definitely going to fail this test," or "If I fail this test my life is over." These thinking traps are a symptom of anxiety, as well as a cause of greater anxiety. If you find yourself thinking this way about a test, you can take some steps to address and remedy those thoughts.

3.solate and analyze negative thoughts. When a negative thought enters your head, stop what you're doing and think about it. By breaking down negative thoughts, you can find that most of them are unrealistic, and then replace them with more positive thoughts.

Think about whether this thought is logical. For example, you think "If I fail this test, my life is over." Is that really true? In almost all situations, no, it's not true. There is no logical way a test will result in your life ending, making this an unrealistic fear.

4.Put negative thoughts in perspective. When many negative thoughts are put in real-world perspective, they don't seem so serious.[15]

For example, you're convinced that you will fail the biology test tomorrow. But you've gotten good grades on every biology test this semester so far. Past experience is on your side here. This new perspective makes your fear seem more unlikely, since you've already established that you're good at biology.

5.Replace illogical thoughts with logical ones. Once you've established that a fear is illogical, you can work on replacing it with a more balanced and logical thought. This will bring your mind back to reality and help break down illogical fears.[16]

Once you've isolated the thought that "I will definitely fail this test tomorrow," replace it with, "I've been studying all week, I know this material, and it's within my power to do well on this test." This new pattern of thinking breaks down your fear that was based on nothing, and replaces it with a new thought that is rooted in reality.
Even if you can't get past the idea that you will fail tomorrow's test, you can use logic to help you remain calm by reminding yourself that a failed exam doesn't mean you will fail the class. Remind yourself that you may even have other options, such as investigating extra credit or asking to re-take the exam.

6.Use positive self-statements. When people suffer from anxiety, they usually use negative self-statements like "I'm stupid," or "I'm worthless." These kinds of statements can easily cause your anxiety to progress into depression and threaten your overall mental health.[17]

Just like you replaced your illogical fears with logical thoughts, replace negative statements with positive ones. Make an effort to tell yourself "I'm a hard worker," "I'm tough," "I can do this," or "Everything will be okay." That way you can cut negative statements out of your thinking and improve your happiness and mental health.
Statements such as "I'm stupid" or "I'm worthless" are not only unhelpful, they're untrue because they summarize you based on one observation. For example, if you've performed poorly on your calculus quizzes so far, you might think "I'm a loser." This is an emotional overstatement. Try to think about the facts instead: You just happen to be performing poorly on calculus quizzes. This says nothing about who you are as a person, or your ability in other areas.

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