A concerned mother asks: My son faces exam phobia. Please advise as to what I should do. My son is going to appear for his board exams. please help.
Dr Saliha Afridi, Clinical Psychologist, Director, The LightHouse Arabia, Dubai, replies: Test anxiety is very normal and some test anxiety is even helpful. When it becomes paralyzing is when we have a problem. There are some things that your son can do prior to his exam that will help him on the day of exam:
Weeks before exam:
- Manage his time: Organize his study time-table.
- Develop good study habits and strategies. Sometimes it's not about studying harder, but about studying smarter.
- Organize his study materials. He may have to discuss with his professors or fellow students on what is the relevant materials.
Once he has done the necessary preparations, he can work on reducing his anxiety about the exam through these methods:
- Visualization: Weeks before the exam, start to imagine yourself taking the exam with confidence and competence. You feel good about taking the exam and knowing all the answers. Visualization is very powerful and some of the world's best athletes and musicians use it as a way of perfecting their inner game.
- Mindfulness and other meditative techniques. What these do is allow you to take control of your thoughts rather than have your thoughts control you. Practice, practice, practice. Much of the exams are a mental game in addition to an assessment of the knowledge you have acquired during the year.
- Sleep: Sleep is absolutely essential in our learning and our memory retention. If you are cramming and staying awake all nights you are not doing yourself a service.
- Diet and Exercise: Taking a board exam is like running a marathon - you cannot do it with an unfit body. The mind is part of the body and if the body is fatigued or not functioning at optimal then you will have a foggy mind.
On the day of the test:
- Wake up early, and meditate (you can use the APP Omvana - it has great guided meditations)
- Eat a healthy breakfast - avoid sugars and caffeine.
- Get there early, with all your necessary materials (pens and pencils) so you are not rushing.
- Choose a comfortable seat in the exam hall.
- Have a small snack in your bag - like walnuts or almonds to give you a brain boost if you feel mentally exhausted during long exams.
During the test:
- Look through the whole test so you can manage the time needed per section.
- Read the directions and the questions carefully per section.
- Don't forget to breathe.
- Keep the mental talk to a positive (this is what you meditated for weeks in advance).
- If you go blank, skip the question and go on - come back to it if you have time.
- Don't panic when students start handing in their papers. Take deep breaths and focus on your own work.
- Double check your work if you have time.
Disclaimer: This blog is a conversation and is not an alternative for treatment. The recommendations and suggestions offered by our panel of psychiatrists are their own and Gulf News will not take any responsibility for the advice they provide.
