Facing An Exam And Psychological Preparation

Every day, in schools and universities, thousands of students face an exam. A test in class, a question, but also a remedial exam or an entrance test to a certain faculty are all tests that cause stress and anxiety. Especially if the stakes are high: how to avoid failing or pursue your future.

Taking an exam is, in many cases, a stressful experience. After days, weeks or months spent studying and reviewing, all the effort is concentrated in a few moments. With the risk of suffering from anxiety attacks, the fear of possible memory lapses or other unexpected situations.

There are exams that can last a few minutes, other whole days. Think that if the stress load is excessively high, in addition to physical fatigue, even the hormonal balance can be compromised.

Taking an exam: the time to demonstrate what you have learned

Already from the announcement of the exam date, students begin to experience different levels of stress. It is at this moment that the body prepares for action: the sympathetic nervous system intervenes to react to this heavy challenge.

However, since exams can take longer than the sympathetic system can withstand, the parasympathetic system also comes into play. The latter, as you may know, acts to restore the initial hormone levels.

Then begins a kind of competition between the two systems, which will continue until the end of the exam. Throughout this period, the body will experience many ups and downs that will negatively affect the student’s health, with high doses of adrenaline and cortisol prolonged over time.

The body’s reaction to stress is designed to deal with any short-term threats. If it persists for too long, it can have counterproductive effects.

This immunosuppression can make you more prone to disease and a less effective antiviral or antibacterial response. In fact, it is common for many students to fall ill during or after the exam session.

The psychological strategies for facing an exam

Psychologically preparing for an exam is not an easy task, but it is necessary. As we have seen, the health of students can be seriously affected on a physical level. However, the psychological component is also fundamental.

Students experience memory blocks that are due, in large part, to the feeling of not being prepared enough. Obviously, the way in which one studies or the time spent on the exam also affects and weighs on children.

The study involves several stages

Normally, the actual study does not start from day “one”, but is the result of a more distributed planning. It starts with making contact with information, an essential first step to assimilate and encode the objectives to be achieved in the memory, building a plan that will allow you to complete the preparation in time. In many cases, this first contact is simply a preamble of what will be the real work of study and memorization.

To take an exam, it is important to take advantage of this first contact to understand how to frame and divide the information, making it easier to assimilate later. This will help the student avoid unnecessary stress: the feeling of not having enough time will not be as dramatic and will allow for more careful planning.

Support is essential for taking an exam

Solving some doubts by meeting the teacher or studying with classmates or classmates helps to make the study more efficient. Of course, this eventuality will depend on the type of exam, but the comparison can lead to greater self-confidence and abilities.

The student does well when seeking support from other people or exchanging ideas, since explaining any doubts will help him better understand the topics to be studied.

The important thing is to always do it by adopting a positive attitude and not a critical one, which could feed unnecessary fears and further accentuate performance anxiety. All this, in fact, could be very deleterious.

The simulation of the exam

Exams are often presented following protocols or mechanisms that need to be known first. Knowing in advance the number of exercises or the duration of the exam will help to have a mental picture of the test.

The advice, therefore, is to recreate the conditions of the exam as much as possible, so that this simulation can help the student to face the actual test.

Learn to relax

We have seen that the build-up of stress can play a trick on those who have to take an exam. As anxiety levels progressively increase until the day of the test, it is useful to get used to doing some simple relaxation exercises.

They will be essential to give your best during the test, avoiding the bugbear of mental voids. These exercises consist of increasing the lung area, breathing slowly and deeply. This will avoid possible tachycardias, which are very frequent during an exam.

If the points discussed in this article are taken into account, taking an exam will become a more than bearable experience. This does not mean underestimating or ignoring stress: always remember that it is an organism response that allows you to react quickly to unexpected events.

And that picture is useful on exam day, but you have to analyze your nervousness levels to see if they are normal or excessive.