At the onset of examination season, there always seems to be an air of exam anxiety or exam stress around us. ‘What kind of question paper will be set?’, ‘How am I going to fare?’, ‘Will I be able to live up to my parents’ expectations? Or mine?’, and ‘How will I be judged if I cannot bring good marks?’ are the thoughts and questions that cloud young minds, leading to stress.
Stress in general may be explained as the product of a constant balancing act between real or perceived demand and resources. As WHO puts it, stress is a natural human reaction to challenges and threats.
The more multidimensional demands we face, the more stress we experience. Young adults and students in general usually bear the brunt of such stress in the form of exam stress.
One major contributor to stress in students is facing examinations. At times, it is not even clear to ourselves what is causing that stress.
It is essential to identify the stressors. The core reason that is causing stress. Here is a list of questions students can go through to identify their exam stressors:
● Is the evaluation of the examination or the examination you stress?
● Is it the expectation of your parents, teachers, or self?
● What are your goals? Are they realistic goals?
● Is it peer competition? Do you worry that your peers will perform better than you and you will be judged, or subjected to comparisons?
● Is it your sense of perfection? Do you believe your worth depends only on perfect marks?
● Is there an imbalance between the workload/study load and time available?
● Is there a mismatch between resources and demands?
What causes stress?
Stress occurs when the perceived demand is beyond the capacity of our perceived resources.
For example, in an examination scenario, stress can be caused in these conditions:
● A student is unprepared – their internal resource is less.
● They are prepared but feel unprepared and afraid – they perceive that their internal resource is less.
● They are prepared and feel the same, but she wants to get 100% – they perceive the demand to be very high.
In all the above situations, there is a disparity between the Internal Resources and the Demand (real or perceived), and the student feels stressed. Any situation has two factors that may evoke stress.
Stress Factors
- External Factors: These are factors beyond our control. For example, the student may worry whether the examiner will correct the paper accurately, whether their handwriting will be legible, if the language of the questions will be simple, etc.
Once the student accepts that external factors are beyond their control and they must let go, they become better at regulating their actions and thoughts. - Internal factors: These are perceptions about our ability and perceptions of demand. A student can be unprepared for the exam. Or, they may know the steps well yet somehow feel ‘unprepared’. When we perceive our internal resources to be insufficient for our perceived demand, these thoughts can cloud our minds and overwhelm us. So, to balance out the stress, we need to see if we can enhance our internal resources or decrease the demand.
Tips to reduce exam stress
● Nutrition and health: Focus on your nutrition and health. A healthy body also keeps the mind healthy. Eat a balanced diet and do breathing exercises regularly to calm the mind and body. Do not avoid physical exercise. Finally, get sufficient rest and sleep.
● Positive self-talk: Positive self-talk literally works like a charm in dissipating stress. Encourage students to indulge in positive self-talk like: ‘I am doing well’, ‘I can remember everything that I have learnt’, and ‘I will write to the best of my abilities and perform well in the exams’.
Positive Imagery
Viewing yourself in certain situations makes you mentally prepared. Students should view themselves as:
⮚ Being in the examination hall.
⮚ Knowing everything that I need are with me (admit card, board, pencil box, geometry box, etc)
⮚ The question paper is in front of me.
⮚ I am calm and composed.
⮚ I know the answers.
⮚ I am writing the answers calmly.
⮚ My paper finished on time.
Mindset change
Challenging students’ belief that their worth depends on examination results is essential. Therefore, parents should make it clear that the examtakers’ worth or value does not depend on results of a particular examination. Tell them, remember, you are worth way more than any examination can ever measure.
Practicing these techniques and developing these habits while preparing for the examination will help enhance concentration and memory-building. Breathing techniques, positive self-talk, and positive imagery can all be helpful even at the examination hall. Now, go bust those exam stress!
