Fear of exams?

I have this huge problem...I have exam fear...I literally have so much stress the days before going to write an exam I get physical symptoms from it(headache,ichy spots on my skin etc)...Today it got worse than ever...I was supposed to do two exams in one day,for the first one I hadn't really studied a lot for the second one I had studied for days...I went,did the first one(mediocre) and than when it was the time between the first and the second one I had a total panic attack,since i couldn't remember a thing from my revision papers...I totally panicked,ended up calling my mom crying about what I should do and then decided to leave...I have had this many times(deciding not to go write an exam at the last moment) due to exreme fear of me failing it,which of course has led to me having so many classes and exams to still take before I can get my degree!!!What can I do to keep myself calmer and not worry so much that I'm going to fail it?I'm getting hopeless...

Fear of exams?
I used to work in a hospital and we had student nurses. When their exams were coming up I would be asked to do relaxation therapy to them as a group. I would focus on them knowing the material, when they found something they weren't sure of to move along, that they would sleep well before the exam, eat a good breakfast and feel confident in doing the exam. Evidently it helped them according to what they would share with me later.
Reply:I had the same problem with my university exams.I've studied for months,but when the time came my mind was completely frozen,blank.Or was I just shaking like a leaf and had allergies all over.Anxiety pill did the trick or a shot of tequila an hour before.Though,I don't know if you're old enough to drink,and as for the pills you have to have a prescription,but your mom can help you with it.
Reply:That's an anxiety problem you have there.


Here's my advices.


*try relaxation and meditation ("anxiety toolbox" from Gloria Thomas is good, but there's some other too), 20 minutes twice a day


*Try "bash flower remedies" (see website), works everytime for me (but not on everyone)


*Eat properly (well balanced diet, bit of this and bit of that) and yes, chocolate is good for your concentration in exam time (the richer in cocoa, the better)


Good luck
Reply:1. I can't give you advice to take relaxation drugs, quite the opposite, except a little bit of alcohol or infusions (tilio, chamomile).


2. I know you are very good at your studies, so my best advice is to just go for it! OK, so you panick, you think you'll fail. Fine. Go take the exam anyway. Maybe you'll pass, everything will come to your mind at that moment. If you fail, so what? You will not have passed if you don't take the exam at all, do you see my point?


3. Take deep breaths, and when you study, imagine yourself writing the test. Or the opposite, while you are taking the test, imagine yourself facing the real situation, in the clinic. I am sure you would find a good solution there, so you can write about it too!


4. Good luck!!!
Reply:Well, what I personally think is that you are caring too much about your exams. I found that the more I study for one, the higher I aimed for an exam, the more anxious I got because I had prior expectations for it, whereas if I just studied casually for it with no expectations, I would do better.


So, maybe you should just be more lenient on yourself and not put so much pressure on yourself, that way you can get most out of your potentials. Otherwise you're locking your potentials up with fear.





And the casual, laid back approach to exams may seem like a drawback at first but I'm not saying have a negative attitude towards your studies, just lessen the importance of it. if you weigh in the pros and cons, it outweighs with advantages:








Goodluck.