Brain-Booster: Students must overcome exam fear

It is rightly said FEAR has two meanings: Forget everything and run or
Face everything and rise. The choice of what you want to do is yours.

A well-known fear that we know is of kids and students exam time fear. Students everywhere we see get very worried for marks and good grades. We all know how much it is important and that good marks matters but the tensions, the stress a kid goes for that is really bad. During exam time and just before the exams; kids go through several stress situations like Anger, depression, anxiety, palpitations, sweating, eye pop out etc.

55 to 75 minutes before the exam starts; the student should laugh and must have a broad smiling face. Yoga Breathing exercises like Anulom Vilom and Kapalabhati would help a lot. Practice of Brahmi is very beneficial. They help you to stay relax and remain focused on your goals. Last minute you will be thinking what question will come and what will not but since that is not in your hand don’t bother and have no anxiety. Always remember: “You are stronger than your anxious, scary, intrusive thoughts. ” They will pass, they always do. Avoid surely contact with your friends who are already quite panicky; they make you the same.

For students who are appearing for various exams, here are (7) useful tips that can help minimize the stress:

1. Strategize your time well. Approach your work with prior planning. Only then can you be successful. Cramming will not work; it never really helps. Prepare a list of the chapters of all the subjects in decreasing order of difficulty levels so that you can focus easily on the difficult chapters first. Prepare a time-table by allocating the days of the week to the subjects. Also take up difficult subjects every day. Practice easier ones on weekends.
2. Plan your revision and complete it in allocated time. This will give you a sense of achievement and build your confidence.
3. A regular six to seven hours of sleep is mandatory for the body to function well. Also, sleep at a regular time by and large; don’t alter your sleeping cycle.
4.   It is not important whether you study late or get up early, as long as you get into the habit of being most alert at the same time as that of the exam. Also try and stop working 75-90 minutes before bedtime. You will find it helpful to do some relaxation, which is particularly effective in relieving stress.
5. You are no longer expected to mug the bookish language. For that matter, you do not have much time for that. And mugging anyway doesn’t help. Let the tone of your answers not be bookish. You should try to answer in your own words. They should give the impression that you have understood the topic well. Yes, in some instances, you will need to quote the lines from the textbook (as in case of theorems in Mathematics or in Social Sciences), in order to make your answer authentic.
6. Spend time with such friends and family members who have a positive effect on you. It really works wonders. And avoid negative thoughts, such as “Everyone else seems better prepared, while I’m not. ”Challenge such thoughts with positive thinking; for example, “I have done well in exams before and will do well this time too.”
7.  Take Mock Tests. They definitely help.

Building self-confidence and maintaining it throughout the test is very important in order to excel. Focused preparation is the key here. It is a good idea to spend time solving previous years papers. This helps you become familiar with the test pattern of each subject in advance. But make sure you attempt those mock tests in the same format and with the same limitations which you will face on Exam Day.

Also, just before the exams; use 5-5-5 breathing to prevent anxiety. Breathe in slowly to a count of 5, completely expanding the lungs. Hold air in for a count of 5, then slowly release to a count of 5. Repeat until calm. This will enable the student to recall information that has been stored in the memory more easily, so that the kid doesn’t “go blank” when seeing exam questions.

Talking of “going blank”; at times you will get such times. In such situations, be patient go through that question again and again and also think of some related topic; you will soon remember the answer . As it is rightly said: “Difficulties are plenty, but only the winners win over them”.

It is also imperative to have good and proper eating habits. One important thing is caffeine. It is ok to have a cup or two of coffee but too much of it causes headaches, blood pressure, insomnia etc. Avoid too much chocolate too. And please don’t skip your breakfast; it’s the most important meal of the day. And eat healthy stuff at regular intervals to get energy. Do ensure you have proper protein, carbohydrates like rice, vegetables, fish etc. Fruits and Nuts too help.  

Parents too must not pressurize their kids but be supportive of them.
Give them MORAL SUPPORT.

A important relaxation mantra is to recite numbers slowly from behind like e.g. 50 to 1. Not very fast but in a slow and relaxed manner.  

In conclusion; if you have done your work properly; there is nothing to fear. Do your work with CONFIDENCE.  As it is rightly said: “Experience tells us what to do. Confidence allows you to do it”.

About the writer: Minoo Jokhi is a Mathemagician cum Memory Development Trainer based in Mumbai, India. He trains people of all ages right from 4 to 80 years of age and shows them how to increase their Memory-Power and once and for all shatter the myth that memory is neither good nor bad but in reality, is trained or untrained. Readers can contact him via email on [email protected] or follow him on http://www.minoojokhi.in/

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