Anxiety during exam - Ibrahim 21

"My test anxiety causes me to feel like I'm going to fail…"
I have always feared exams. In these exam situations, I feel like I cannot think. My mind goes blank. The concept of taking a test is more challenging than actually taking the test. My exam anxiety causes me to feel like I'm going to fail and that there is no chance that I will get a good grade no matter how hard I try. I thought about it the most during the big exams. Sometimes, some of the material I've learned sticks, and I would focus on that; however, most of the time, I forget what I learned and studied, and it all goes blank. I also feel the butterflies in my stomach, my body beginning to shake, and worst of all, I feel like throwing up.

"Overwhelming Doubt"
Pre-exam anxiety caused me to doubt myself in general. To make matters worse, my school sometimes categorized exams as a big part of my grade and occasionally pressured me. This has affected me as a student since it causes me to doubt myself constantly, and I'm always anxious when the exam season starts.

"I was trying my best."
My parents believed that if I did not receive a good score on a test, I did not try hard enough, and I did not study or ask for help. What they don't know is that I did try checking the best that I could and that I get anxious during exams.

"Deciding to overcome my exam anxiety."
I decided to overcome my fear and anxieties around exams, so I would take practice exams every week. I would mimic the exam environment to ensure it is the same as when I do the exams. I would also try breathing exercises that calmed me down. Something else that worked was affirming that I had read and revised well and had the content I needed to pass my exams. Doing all this reduced my exam anxiety, and I excelled. I am glad I have these techniques to deal with my exam anxieties.