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How to relieve exam stress

Exam stress is a common problem among students. Students may experience varying degrees of stress during the days of the exam. No matter how well some students may prepare themselves for an exam, they still undergo some stress during their exam. This stress is a product of pressures of studies which the student has to do to prepare themselves as well as due to the fear of getting less marks in the exam. During exam days, students have normally very little time to study their courses for the paper. Therefore, they get worried because they have to cover everything in a very short time for the paper. This worry also leads to fear getting less marks in the exam. Students think if they will not be able to complete their preparation for the exam in such a short time, they may end up getting less marks in exam. These thoughts and pressure of studies exert stress on students, sometimes in a way that the students even do not know why they are stressed. The exam stress affect the students in the following ways:

  1. It sometimes refrains the students from continuing the study and to prepare themselves for the exam because they find hard to concentrate on their study.
  2. It may also affect the well-prepared student who simply needs to revise their course during the exam.
  3. It may also cause some minor health issues such as headache, fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
  4. This stress also affects student while attempting their exam. For instance, a student while writing their paper in an exam hall may forget the answer of a question or he may find it hard to concentrate on his paper.
  5. Overall, this stress for students may lead to their low score in an exam.

  STRATEGIES TO GET RID OF EXAM STRESS

Based on the common factors of exam stress, some important strategies to get rid of exam stress are as follows:

  Realize that if the short time of exam is utilized properly, it would ensure your high marks in the exam.

As noted earlier, exam stress is a product of the pressure of studies and fear of getting less marks in the exam. In this way, it affects those students more who may have not studied well during their academic session and now they experience the burden of studying everything in a short time. Remember, whether you have studied properly or not before the exam, the days of the exam are the real game-changer for success in the exam. Sometimes, the well-prepared students may get less marks when they do not utilize their exam days properly for preparation. Similarly, the un-prepared students even get high marks when they utilize the exam days properly for preparation for the exam. This is because when we learn during the academic session, that learning naturally fades in the brain with the passage of time. This means you have to revise your courses during the exam to retain the learning in your mind and to be able to reproduce it in your exam.

Therefore, you need to stop worrying about whether you had studied well or not before the exam. Whatever, you will need to revise your courses. Simply encourage yourself by thinking that one or two days is enough time to prepare yourself. If you utilize this limited time properly, this can act as a game-changer for you. Therefore, let the stress not stop you from utilizing this available time because many students get high marks only by studying in these one or days before their exam.

  Have confidence in yourself and worry not about failure

You need to change the style of your thinking in relation to your studies and the exam. First, have confidence in yourself that you can achieve greater academic achievements. This is true because every student has the same mental capacity, but the difference lies in how different student see themselves. If you accept that you cannot make it, you accept defeat even before giving a try to your potentials. When you trust yourself, you can overcome every challenge in life. Therefore, have confidence in yourself and do your best while making preparation for the exam and think that your efforts will surely bear fruitful results. Never let the fear of failure discourage you or affect your study. Simply accept the fact that failure is also part of life and if you fail or get less marks, nothing bad is going to happen. Getting less marks will not let the sky fall on you. However, you should try your best to prepare yourself for the exam and never let negative thoughts interrupt your preparation for the exam. Be optimistic and encourage yourself.  

  Sometimes things may be taken lightly in life

We take some things in life very seriously and it unnecessarily gets on our nerves all the time. This is a wrong approach to life. We should take things lightly because this is not how life should work. Exams are a normal part of student life. They are also one among our other academic activities. Why can we not take them as a normal academic activity like any other academic activity? A little bit of exam stress is good because it enables you to prepare yourself properly. But do not take the exam seriously to the extent that it may affect your study or health negatively. Again, try your level best to prepare yourself for the exam without worrying much about it.

  Do not ask your classmates about their preparation during the exam days

During exams, most students call or send text messages to their classmates to ask about their preparation for the exam. It is quite natural to get stressed if you come to know that you have yet not studied that many chapters as your friend has studied. When you think you have made little preparation as compared to your classmate, this may give you some unpleasant feelings, such that whether you will be able to cover the remaining chapters in the time left for the exam. To avoid this, simply do not ask your classmate about their preparation.

 Think only about the days and time spent in the study during the academic session

Every student has spent less or more time in study activities during their academic session such as attending their lectures, making some study notes, visiting the library, and reading books. You should recall these days and times you had spent in your study. This will help you gain confidence that you have studied and you can easily perform in your exam. Do not think about days and times, which you may have spent in some activities that may have wasted your time.

  Relax yourself if you find it difficult to take a start

Exam stress may affect a student so negatively that he may find it hard to even open his book and to take a start. It happens when a student is discouraged to the extent where he finds it difficult to concentrate on his study even if he wants to take a start. In such a situation, act tactfully. Realize that without taking a start, you cannot achieve anything and therefore, let first refresh yourself to be able to take a start. Simply go for a walk, play a game or listen to music for some time and then come back to your study.

  Have faith in God to have hope and energy to cope with the stress.

Our behaviour is guided by a destiny made by God for us. This means our actions are governed by the will of God who is always merciful to mankind. He never lets us down and always helps us in challenging situations. Simply pray to God to help you in your academics and have this trust that he is always there to help you out and that you need not to worry.