Stress was once vital to survival

Fight or flight response:

Rate yourself from 1(never) -5 (always)

• Trouble sleeping the night before• Sweaty palms, shaky hands before the test• Butterflies in your stomach• Nauseated, heart pounding• You read through the test and feel that you don’t know any of

the answers• Your mind goes blank• But you remember answers once you walk out• You have difficulty choosing answers• You make mistakes on easy questions• You panic

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Stress and your body The physical impact

9 immediate fight or flight responses

1. Brain dulls sense of pain2. Eyes dilate3. Lungs take in more oxygen4. Liver converts stored sugar to glucose5. Heart pumps faster6. Adrenal glands secrete epinephrine7. Spleen sends out extra red blood cells8. Intestines halt digestion9. Body hair stands up (a primitive, evolutionary leftover)

Downwards (bad) spiral1. You

underestimated how much time

you need

2. You overestimated how well you know the

material

3. You did poorly on the first test

4. The next test is even more important and your

4.0 “debit card” in the class has even less “purchasing power” 5. Your anxiety level goes up

which can hurt your performance on the next test

Tension

Panic

Poor performance

More TENSION

MORE PANIC

POORER PERFORMANCE

Common causes of test anxiety

• Others’ expectations• Letting grades determine your self-worth• Placing too much emphasis on a single test• Giving in to guilt feelings caused by

inadequate studying• Feeling helpless, that you have no control over

your performance or grades

Common feelings

• Painful• Uncomfortable• Discouraging• Frustrating• Intimidating• Paralyzing

Preparing yourselfacademically

Preparing yourself mentally

Start studying early

Stay on top of reading and lecture

Organize your information and yourself

Find out beforehand the test focus and format

Get psyched up, but not psyched out

Cram systematically Practice relaxation techniques

Rehearse for the test’s questions and its time of day and duration

Find out beforehand the test format and focus ask in class so everyone gets the benefit figure it out from old tests.

•Courses •Grade goal for each•Expected test format•Study strategies for test material

Try to get better at

predicting predicting a professor’s test

questions:

Handoutonline

Handoutonline

Previous testsPrevious tests if available

(including, obviously, ones you’ve already

taken

The professor’s The professor’s emphasisemphasis

in live lecturein live lecture is the best source of the

professor’s probable focus and style.

Rehearse

• What - will be asked• When – time of day (exams!)• How long – (exams!)• Even where, if your classroom is

open for studying

Try to zero in on what will be asked

and then practice

beforehand with your books open.

Desensitization- reduces stress gradually through repeated

exposure• Practice taking tests

o Test prep books like for the ACT,SAT, APo Sample questions from your professoro Write your own possible questionso Work with a study group to invent questionso Websites of ten have practice questions that could work

• Set up a schedule to work on questions dailyo For a regular and extended period of time

• Practice as realistically as possibleo Place, time, duration

Accumulate your successes and reinforce your confidence

Get psyched UP, but not OUT• Adrenaline rush hurts:

o Rapid heart rateo Sweaty palmso Rapid breathingo Upset stomacho Numbo Coldo Tense

Worst thinking and memory retrieval

• Adrenaline rush helps:o Confidento Alert and energetic

Best thinking and memory retrieval

Want to experiencesome intellectual stress?

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Zoom IN to your anxiety

Follow your fears to the very worst thing that could happen,

all the way to the absurd.

Then backtrack to find a reasonable level of concern and address it.

Zoom OUT from the situation

In your imagination, float out and away from your stress, viewing it as

a detached outside observer

Not to belittle or avoid problems,

but to gain some perspective

Zoom OUT into time

Imagine yourself one week,

one month, one year or one decade from the present.

How much will the current test/ grade matter then?

Practice relaxation techniques

• Breathe slowly and deeply, from your diaphragm• Scan your body, untensing from the feet up, one

body part at a time…• Tense and relax your clenched area (shoulders,

jaw, hands, stomach)• Visualize yourself to a better place – find a place

(mountains, seashore, snuggled in bed) that works for you and practice getting back there

If you feel yourself beginning to panic during the test,

try the following:

close your eyes and take a deep breath hold it for four counts, saying to yourself,

"Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it,"

then breathe out smoothly…

while thinking of something that relaxes you

such as swimmingswimming or walking or walking

along the beachalong the beach. .

or walking in the woods

Or whatever is your safe, soothing place

s-t-r-e-s-s-e-d spelled backward is

“desserts”!