Avoid the Perfectionist Trap
Test taking anxiety is usually connected with unrealistic goals. Set realistic goals and don’t expect to be perfect. Just understand how much time you have to prepare for your test and plan what you can manage to do. Anytime you get nervous for test you should accept your situation and work within the realms of what you have. This way, you’ll be able to maximize your productivity without the risk of burnout and exam depression. All people make mistakes, and that’s OK. Anxiety test for students in 2019 has shown that nearly 70 percent of students go through final exam stress roughly and end up being unsatisfied. If your test results are not as high as you have expected, you’ll feel less disappointed if you know you’ve worked hard and done your best. And these are the things that really matter, not perfection. Remember that college is not all about studying. Studying should be your highest priority, but you need to balance your life and make enough time for other important things like extracurricular activities, hobbies, and friends. The stress of exam should not provoke depressive moods or health issues. You need to learn how to overcome test anxiety and take care of your well-being all the time.Practice Self-Care
If you want to study effectively, keep your head together, and not have another test panic, you should definitely take care of yourself. Stress and anxiety tests often show that students who are pulling all-nighters, getting minimal amounts of movement, and surviving on junk food can increase symptoms of stress and make them feel depressed. So you should maintain healthy eating habits, get consistent exercise, get enough sleep every day, and avoid alcohol and drugs.Exercise
Regular exercise will keep you healthy and can help reduce symptoms of depression and exam stress by releasing endorphins in your brain and boosting your energy level. Research also shows that physical activity can also boost self-esteem, mood, and sleep quality. If getting to the gym feels like too much to start with, you can take regular 30-minute walks or runs three or four times a week. You will see how your exam nerves go away and your general satisfaction grows.Eat Right
The next exam anxiety killer is your nutrition. It’s vital to maintain a balanced diet during the exam period, so you should stay away from fast food. Instead, your diet should be rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. Eat fruits, fish, veg, mushrooms, and nuts. Make sure you drink enough water and minimize sugar. Eating healthy food will help you feel more emotionally resilient and less vulnerable to the impact of finals’ stress. And most importantly, you shouldn’t skip meals because it can increase your exhaustion and irritability. So you should eat at least 3 times a day.Sleep well
Good sleep habits are crucial to your mental health. Of course, you may have an unimaginable amount of studying and assignments to do, but constant fatigue caused by all-nighters can trigger depression. That’s why you should make sure you get 8 or 9 hours of good sleep. That will also help you improve your concentration and memory and increase your productivity.Take Regular Breaks and Do Things You Enjoy
You are not expected to study for days on end. No matter how intense your exam timetable is, you should schedule study breaks. That can be a short study break of 30 minutes during your revision day or you can plan longer activities and look forward to them. Spend some time away from your textbooks, and it can help take your mind off exams. Doing things that you are passionate about can help you relax and feel more energetic. It may be going outdoors, playing sports, going out for dinner with friends, watching your favorite YouTube channel, baking, gardening, listening to music – find some time to do what interests you. This way, you may relieve study monotony and change your daily pattern of activities, fear of tests taking will be eliminated, as your brain will be relaxed and full of confidence. That could be critical to ending your depressive cycle. A good idea is to exercise during your study breaks – you can try any light exercise like dancing, cycling, swimming, or walking that can boost your energy level and relieve tension from depressed studying.Practice Mindfulness
Set aside a few minutes a day to practice mindfulness techniques. Mindfulness is a type of meditation that allows you to focus on what you are feeling or sensing at the moment without any judgment or interpretation. These practices help with exams anxieties and keep you focused on what is important for you. Numerous clinical trials have proved that meditation is effective for such conditions as anxiety, stress, and depression, which is extremely relevant to students due to constant dealing with test anxiety. Mindfulness exercises can help you experience different emotions and thoughts with greater balance and acceptance. As a college student, you have to manage so many commitments at a time, so it’s hard to stay focused and not think about what you need to do next. Mindfulness will help you stay aware and conscious in the present moment and manage your stress level. You can practice simple mindfulness exercises anywhere and anytime. Here are some examples of simple practices you can incorporate into each day:- Do just one thing at a time and give it your full attention.
- Put your mobile phone out of reach for some time.
- When you have negative thoughts, close your eyes, and focus on how you breathe.
- Find mindful moments when doing routine everyday tasks like brushing your teeth or washing up.
- Accept who you are and treat yourself the way you treat people you care about.