How to Overcome Exam Anxiety

Whether you’re appearing for civil services exam or some other exam, it’s natural to be a little nervous. However, when your fear translates into anxiety, that’s where the trouble begins. This anxiety is even worse when you’re appearing for a Civil Services Exam because the success ratio of the applicants is very low compared to other examinations. This blog post will help you understand what exam anxiety is and how you can deal with it to ace your exams.

Understanding Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are some of the most common mental health issues in the US. According to current statistics, at least 40 million adults in the country aged 18 or above are suffering from different types of anxiety disorders; in other words, 19.1% of the population is struggling with temporary or long-term anxiety disorder. These numbers don’t reflect the actual numbers because many individuals aren’t even aware of their mental health condition.

People often confuse anxiety with fear and nervousness. While all these feelings may be interconnected, they are not necessarily the same. When we use the word anxiety, we’re talking about a mental disorder in which an individual develops an unexplainable and uncontrollable fear or apprehension about what’s coming. In other words, anxiety is an individual’s response to a perceived or imagined threat that might not actually be there yet.

Anxiety disorder translates into anxieties in work, relationships, and other aspects of life. One such type of anxiety that we’ll focus on in this blog is exam anxiety. We can define exam anxiety as feelings of apprehension or fear related to appearing for the exam.

Exam Anxiety

An individual who suffers from exam anxiety is afraid of failing the exam. According to the ADAA, there might be different triggers for exam anxiety, such as lack of adequate preparation, fear of failing, or bad experiences in previous exams.

Will I be able to pass the exam? What if I am unable to answer the questions? What if I am assessed on something I haven’t prepared for? What if I am unable to complete the exam on time? Similar questions bother the individual, affecting their ability to focus on preparing for the exam as it approaches.

Despite preparing for the examination and putting in all the hard work and effort, individuals often fail to do their best during the examination because of their anxiety.

Overcoming Your Anxiety Disorder

Although anxiety disorder is manageable, only 36.9% of individuals in the country seek treatment for their anxiety. The reason for this may range from lack of awareness and social stigmas attached with mental health issues to high costs of therapists and psychiatrists that make it difficult for anxiety patients to get their anxiety treated.

The good news is that certain life changes and expert tips can help control or at least minimize the negative influence of anxiety. In this blog post, we’ll focus on how you can deal with your exam anxiety.

Preparing in Advance

Most people tend to get more anxious as the exam date approaches. You can avoid these anxious thoughts by planning in advance and ensuring you’re done with your preparation well before the exam date. Utilize the remaining time to revise content, but finishing the syllabus for the exam beforehand can make you feel more calm and relaxed.

If you’re preparing for NYS Court officer exams, Suffolk County Police Exams, or any other civil services exam, you can benefit from the online preparation classes offered by Civil Services Success.

Taking Mock Exams

Despite being prepared for the exam, many people are unsure what it’s going to be like to appear for the exam. This especially happens when you’re giving an exam for the first time. However, you can overcome this anxiety by appearing for practice tests or mock exams.

For services exams, you can easily find institutes that offer mock exams or sample tests. Even if there’s no arrangement for that, you can still access some past papers and practice them at home so that you feel more confident when it’s time for the actual test.

At Civil Services Success, you can find prep classes for civil services and past exam papers to practice. They also offer similar training and preparation opportunities for NYC firefighter department exams.

Meditate

Research has shown the benefits of meditation in coping with anxiety and stress. Meditating before you start studying or before your exams can help you stay calm and focused. Numerous studies show how meditation and similar practices can boost student performance and results.

Group Studies

Research shows that socializing can also help students deal with anxiety by increasing certain hormones that affect stress and anxiety levels. Moreover, discussing the syllabus and preparing for exams with friends can help build a support system that will better prepare you for the exam.

Seek Therapy

If you think that your anxiety is getting worse with exams approaching, then it’s better to seek therapy and the support of professionals. A professional therapist can help you identify the root cause of your anxiety and help you deal with it in a better way.

Are you planning to appear for the Civil Services Exam anytime soon? Are you unable to find sufficient material to prepare for your exams? There’s no need to panic. At Civil Services Success, we have prepared thousands of candidates for their services exams in different departments. We have years of experience, and many of our students have served in the Federal Services. Get in touch with us to benefit from our course material, exam preparation classes, sample exams, and much more.