Preparing well for the exam is an undeniable part to succeed in the exam. However, we find students fail to perform well in the exam despite adequate preparation. The main reason could be attributed to exam phobia.
Exam phobia leads to low esteem, overburdening, thinking of results before giving exams, loss of confidence, and eventually leads to exam failure.
Let’s understand the causes and ways to overcome exam phobia.
When exam dates are around the corner, a chill runs down the spine for any student. Its natural and needed fear for the exam dates is the real motivation to gear up the learning processes.
However, many students suffer from ‘exam-fear’ or exam-phobia that shows up in many forms like fever, seclusion, not attending the exam, telling lies, insomnia, and, so forth. And, when the next exam is of 10th standard Board exam or any other board exam, the phobia gets worsened owing to the parents and peer pressure.
Sometimes, this may lead to ‘suicidal tragedy’. This calls for an ‘alert attention’ for the students, parents, and the teachers as well.
Let’s investigate more and understand better about Exam phobia and active measures to overcome the same.
Understanding Exam Phobia:
Exam phobia is nothing but ‘fear for exams’. It is an unwelcoming gut feeling that subsides as time passes. However, for many students, the exam stress may become too much to cope up.
As a result, the student may feel-
- Low in energy when he/she is compared to elders/friends who have scored high marks
- May get secluded from fellow-mates and sit inside the room in the pretext of studying
- Gets fever, headache, insomnia, diarrhea, throw-up, or unconscious on the day of the exam
- Fail to attend the exam by taking leave or not reaching the exam hall without acknowledging.
- Goes blank in the examination hall for want of adequate preparation/moral support
- In severe cases, there may arise a tendency to commit suicide/suicidal attempts/tragedy
Causes and Effects of Exam Phobia:
The causes are directly related to the surrounding atmosphere. The environment creates an influence on the moral aspect of the student which influences the performance in the exam, specifically the 10th standard board exam.
A few of the causes and effects of exam phobia include:
Exam Anxiety: It becomes difficult to prepare and write well in the exam.
The student would be in the uncomfortable zone during the preparatory phase like disturbed sleep, incomplete learning, getting irritated easily, and, so forth.
The students become more anxious and start sweating, shaking of hands or legs, or leaving the exam hall before time.
Negative Thoughts:
The students may start thinking negative about the exam questions or result.
Putting lots of pressure on studies from parents and teachers, compared with siblings or classmates creates negative thoughts in the students.
They may feel low and start thinking what if this question does not come, what if I could not answer completely, What if I failed, and, so forth. The negative thoughts pull back the effort of the students and they fail to score marks as expected.
Not Studying Well:
The students might not be prepared well for the exam for known/unknown reasons.
The students may become overconfident about a particular subject and fail to revise it appropriately. As the exam date gets nearer, the loss of confidence leads to rejection of exam.
The students may tend to escape the exam and find reasons to validate their absence for the exam.
Let’s move forward and learn how to overcome this exam phobia.
5 Ways to Overcome Exam Phobia:
Make A Study Plan:
It is necessary to formulate a study plan and implement it successfully. Making studies as a routine habit removes the exam fear from the root.
Preparation gives you ample opportunities to revise well and also boosts your confidence to attend an exam. It works like a magic in the exam in such a way that you remain composed on the exam day.
Healthy Lifestyle:
Leading a healthy lifestyle is utmost important. Having an adequate sleep, exercise, diet, and regular study keeps your energy level at its best.
This helps you to overcome the laziness, distractions, other obstacles, and wards-off the exam fear.
Having fun with friends, taking a break from long study hours like watching a movie or playing a game keeps you active throughout the exam preparation period.
Time Management:
Prepare your timetable and stick to it. Understand the chapters you have to cover, the difficult topics, dedicated hours in a week, a day, time for a subject/topic and prepare a week primer, see how it works out practically, and accordingly implement a strategy to cover the complete syllabus.
This in due course helps you to prepare targets for any assignments, implement it successfully, and manage the time efficiently.
Taking regular online mock tests helps you to manage the time in the exam as mock tests just replicate the actual exam scenario.
Visualize Positivity:
Do not let the thought of exam failure get into your head. Think of your ability and how you faced exams successfully in previous years.
The thought of exam failure puts down your energy to study well, and it happens that your thought becomes true.
Be confident enough that you will clear the exam with flying colors. And also, stay away from friends who inculcate exam fear or appear negative in their approach.
Take Parents Support/Mentors Advice:
Parents and teachers play a crucial role in providing moral support for the students. It is crucial for the students to share their concerns with the parents and respective teachers and seek their timely help.
Sitting with your child during exam hours, switching off the TV and keeping yourself away from watching the serials boosts their morale. Locking them inside the room for studies and watching the TV in the hall is a complete ‘NO, NO!
If they have to wake up early in the morning, it is recommended that even the parents wake up and sit with the children, until they are mature enough to carry on all by themselves.
Closing Note:
In a nutshell, a well-prepared and executed plan, positive outlook and parents support help the students to ward-off their exam phobia and attend the 10th standard board exam successfully.
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