Stay Calm and Relaxed and Beat Exam Nerves
Beat Exam Nerves
Whoever said exams were getting easier hasn’t studied for a long time. In today’s competitive market-place, students have to work harder than ever before to excel so they can find work and pay off their debts. The stakes have never been so high and there have never been so many players.
The symptoms of exam nerves make it difficult for the most diligent of students to make the grade. The primitive fight or flight response to perceived danger sends oxygenated blood to arms and legs so we can fight or run away from predators. Absolutely useless in most threatening situations we encounter in contemporary life and completely debilitating when it starves our brain of the oxygen necessary to be sharp and responsive. This is why the mind can literally go blank the moment you turn over an exam paper.
This ancient neurological programming can be simply switched off by removing the perceived danger from the situation. Anxiety and stress often cause us to mentally rehearse the ‘worst thing’, leading to a chemical chain reaction which alters cognitive function and leads us to anticipate failure. In other words, if you believe you haven’t revised enough, aren’t clever enough or don’t deserve to succeed, you are probably going to prove yourself right.
So turning that thought process round using self hypnosis is a really intelligent way of accessing your best resources and remaining calm and focused when you’re learning, revising and taking exams. Your memory is a filing cabinet and you have the key. Your intellect is as great as you strive for it to be. Your capacity for success is determined by you. If your teachers haven’t taught you that then it’s a useful lesson to learn for yourself.
