Stress is not something that you can let control your life. It can shake your confidence and affect your performance.
Stress and anxiety are something that we face in our everyday life, however, it only becomes worse when we have our exams. With every passing day stress levels keep skyrocketing, with us realizing how less time we have to actually study.
Dr. Subhrangsu Aditya, from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, says “anxiety before tests or any other crisis in life arises out of apprehension or imagined fear of negative consequences.” He stresses that positive thinking is the key to handling anxiety.
Here we have given a self- assessment of the Exam Anxiety Test where you can test your stress level. This test has been developed by P.Niest and M.Diehl (1990) to determine whether a student experience a mild or severe case of test anxiety
Test your Stress
Fill in the blanks with never (1), rarely (2), sometimes (3), often (4), or always (5) as applicable.
- I have visible signs of nervousness such as sweaty palms, shaky hands, and so on right before a test. ______
- I have butterflies in my stomach before a test. _______
- I feel nauseated before a test. ______
- I read through the test and feel that I do not know any of the answers. ________
- I panic before and during a test. ______
- My mind goes blank during a test. _______
- I remember the information that I blanked once I get out of the test situation. _____
- I have trouble sleeping the night before a test. _____
- I make mistakes on easy questions or put answers in the wrong places. ______
- I have trouble choosing answers. ________
SCORING –
After filling in the numbers as per the above instruction, now you have to add those numbers and you will get a total. Now as per the total sum of the numbers you can check the level of anxiety you are experiencing and then work on it.
10-19 – You do not suffer from test anxiety.
20-35 – The level of stress is probably healthy.
Over 35 – You are experiencing an unhealthy level of Anxiety.
Many of you might have your examinations, and stress is one thing you really cannot let go, no matter how hard you try. But you must try to as these are the ways it can impact your performance.
Making silly mistakes – Stress can cause problems with attention and that will make you make more mistakes – mistakes that can be easily avoided when you try being calm and relaxed.
The problem in recollecting answers – If you feel stressed, it has a negative impact on your memory too which will lead to forgetfulness, confusion, and difficulty in concentrating.
Slowing down of writing speed – Sometimes stress leads to nervousness and that results in sweaty palms or shaky hands. This will impact your writing speed, making it slow which will affect your exam performance.
Losing confidence – High level of stress is correlated to low self-esteem. As you feel more stressed, you will end up losing your confidence and that will doubt everything you write. Confidence is the key to writing exams.
Stress and Anxiety are not something that you can let control your life especially at the time of exams, so find a way to manage the stress and ultimately your exams will go smoother.