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 Anxiety kills. It also slows the flow of blood to your brain, and you
know how important the brain is when you take a test. Anxiety is a primeval
physical survival mechanism that causes adrenaline to be released into
the blood stream. That adrenaline gives the body the ability to do great
feats, such as, outrunning a tiger, pulling the door off of a wrecked car,
and scoring the winning run in a baseball game, but it doesn't necessarily
help a college student take an exam. The goal should be to reduce your
anxiety before the test. The following are time-tested methods for reducing
anxiety:
1. Breathe! Oxygen calms the system. Before you take a test,
sit down and breathe slowly and deeply. This will calm you down and get
oxygen to the brain.
2. Relax the tense areas of your body. When you feel anxiety,
close your eyes and imagine the areas of your body that are holding stress.
Usually it's the neck and shoulders. Imagine releasing the stress in those
areas. Just let it go. Make everything in your body loose: your muscles,
your bones, your tendons, your nerves, your organs, your skin, your brain,
etc.
3. Create a positive image. In your imagination, see a good grade
on the returned exam (get specific; actually see a 95 or an A or whatever
grade you want on the exam). Visualization is very important. A positive
image begets a positive reality. If you go around filling your head with
negative images, your reality is likely to reflect that negative image.
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