As the exams come closer, whether a board class exam or a competitive exam, like JEE & NEET, a problematic phase begins for students and parents. The pressure of topping the exam or getting into the top ranking comes into every student’s life. But this pressure often increases so much that students take the wrong steps. In such situations, it is a must for a student to know how to handle exam fear.
इस आर्टिकल को हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए ऊपर कार्नर में इंग्लिश की जगह हिंदी भाषा चुने |
Stress or fear can motivate any student to study and perform better in exams, but excessive fear or pressure can be dangerous because it makes them unable to control their thoughts. Students get a lot of tension of their exams, due to which they get a disorder called exam phobia. Students Many times, a person loses courage and ends his life. That is why, being an educational group, we are here to talk about this exam phobia and let the students know how to deal with exam fear.
Exam fear or stress is a common behaviour of any student. Still, many times, students become depressed due to the parents’ expectations of performing better in exams, competition with friends, or lack of confidence, due to which they have to face a lot of problems. Students fail due to lack of sleep, tiredness, irritability, or difficulty concentrating. After failing, the mental stress of the students becomes so strong that they start thinking of suicide. According to NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau), one out of every seven youth in India (15 to 24 years) is going through a bad mental state. The suicide rate of students is increasing by 4 per cent in the country, and in the last ten years, more than 13 thousand students have committed suicide. In such a situation, making students aware of fear or stress in exams is important. Let’s talk about this: what is Exam Fear or Stress? And how do you overcome this exam fear?
What is Exam Fear?
Most students face it, but they don’t even know what exam fear is and are suffering from it. Exam Fear is a mental condition in which students fear exams and the results. It is a mental disorder or disease found in students, in which, many times, the cognitive, psychological, emotional, and social abilities of the students are affected. In exam phobia, students feel sad, stressed, and sometimes tired. Due to this, their performance in the exam is also affected. There can be many reasons, including not preparing on time, competition with peer students, lack of confidence, and pressure from parents to top the exam.
Exam Fear or exam stress affects the student in three ways: cognitively, psychologically, and emotionally. The cognitive component includes difficulty in thinking, the tension of possible results, lack of confidence, too much mental pressure, negative self-talk, and even suicide. On the other hand, psychological effects include a sudden increase in heart rate, sweating, tremors, and cold limbs. The emotional component includes tension, nervousness, depression, feeling tired, and apprehensive.
There are some Symptoms of Exam Fear
- Excessive sweating and sudden increase in heart rate.
- Being mentally stressed.
- Worrying too much about performance and getting good marks before the exam.
- Thinking about the results in advance and getting stressed.
- Difficulty in concentration while studying.
- Being sad and not eating before the exam.
- Insomnia and sweating in dreams
How to Handle Exam Fear?
It is very easy to avoid exam Fear or stress. For this, it is important to prepare on time, always motivate yourself, get enough sleep, do physical activity, meditate, or take advice from your elders. By doing this, students can protect themselves from exam phobia or stress. Let us discuss all these aspects of how to handle exam fear:
- Get Enough Sleep: Students often need more sleep to prepare for the exam, which can cause more problems. Less sleep makes the brain feel tired, which can make it difficult to remember and concentrate. Therefore, completing 6-7 hours of sleep before the exam will make the brain feel fresh and function well.
- Start Preparing Timely: Most students only study for part of the year and start studying just before the exam, which creates pressure to cover the syllabus. In such a situation, the fear of the exam arises, and then the students leave everything and study and feel pressure. Therefore, preparation should be started on time to cover revision and syllabus properly before the exam.
- Make a Schedule of Study: A study schedule should be made from the beginning. By dividing all the subjects properly and creating a schedule when the semester or class starts, there is no sudden pressure to study before the exam, and the syllabus and revision are adequately covered.
- Develop Positive Attitude: Always keep motivating yourself and convincing yourself that you can do this. Do not study continuously; take breaks from time to time. Do not let your confidence decrease; do not consider yourself inferior to others.
- Talk to Teachers: Teachers always inspire and give students the right direction. In such a situation, whenever you feel depressed or stressed, talk to your teachers. If you need help with studying or covering the syllabus, then keep talking to the class teachers.
- Use mnemonics: Mnemonics can help us memorise. In biology or chemistry, they can help us understand and remember large charts or formulas.
- Balance Diet: Many students feel sleepy during exams, but they worry about not completing the syllabus. This creates pressure on the mind. Eating too many heavy calories or outside food can also cause stomach problems. In such a situation, one should eat simple home-cooked food before the exam. Try to drink as much water as possible.
- Read Novel and Motivational Books: You can also read novels or motivational books in between so that the mind feels relaxed and motivated.
- Physical Activity: Along with studies, do physical activity or play your favourite game. Physical activity makes the body feel light and reduces stress. Play for one or two hours in your timetable; however, take half or one hour for physical activity a few days before the exam.
- Do Yoga or Meditation: Many studies have proven that meditation reduces anxiety, stress, and fatigue and releases good hormones. It also strengthens concentration and memory. Therefore, every student must do yoga or meditation.
- Avoid Social Media: In today’s era, social media distracts all students. Students feel trapped in the artificial world of social media. Therefore, keep a distance from social media before the exam.
- Don’t Force Yourself To Study: Often, the brain gets tired from studying too much. Do not force yourself to study if you feel like resting or sleeping.
A Last Few Words on How to Overcome Exam Fear
Stress or fear is necessary to motivate a person, but excessive stress or tension is harmful. Students in their 10th or 12th years are in their teenage years, so there is a high chance of exam phobia developing in their minds. Suicide cases among students have been increasing in the past years. According to the NCRB report, in recent years, cases of student suicide are growing more than suicides of farmers.
The burden of parents’ expectations, social media, increasing competition, unbalanced diet, and competition with peer groups are harming children. Therefore, it is the collective responsibility of parents at home and teachers in the classroom to protect children from getting into such a situation. Children should be free to choose their subjects according to their interests. Pay attention to the child’s behaviour occasionally; if the child is sad, unable to sleep correctly, is not eating food, or feels tired, then talk to the child and know what is on his mind. By doing this, children can be saved from exam phobia or fear.
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