Test Anxiety: What it is and How to Cope with It

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For students, taking tests is an inescapable part of the academic experience. While some students feel confident and prepared when taking a test, others may feel nervous and anxious. This feeling is called test anxiety, and it can have a profound impact on a student’s ability to perform.

Symptoms of Test Anxiety

Test anxiety can manifest itself in physical symptoms like sweating and heart palpitations, as well as mental symptoms like forgetfulness and negative thinking. In severe cases, it can even cause students to freeze up or vomit.

Causes of Test Anxiety

There are a number of factors that can contribute to test anxiety. Some students may feel like they’re not prepared for the test, or they may be unsure about the material. Others may have experienced a bad grade on a previous test, which can make them anxious about taking future tests.

There are other causes that should be taken into consideration. Often, children from poor socioeconomic backgrounds are dealing with a lot of psychological issues that are not visible right away and can be tied to other factors, rather than school performance. For example, families with lesser household income can put a lot of pressure on a child because they expect them to become a breadwinner as soon as possible.

This can apply to children from more privileged families. Parents, who are well-educated, generally assume that their children will follow in their footsteps. The pressure to achieve can be very intense in some cases.

Ways to Prevent Test Anxiety

While there are no easy solutions, there are some things that students can do to help cope with their anxiety. Taking practice tests, learning relaxation techniques, and getting a good night’s sleep are all proven to help reduce stress levels on test day. With a little bit of preparation, even the most anxious students can find ways to succeed.

Practice and Rest

The recommended amount of sleep for a grown person is between 6 to 8 hours and can vary between individuals. It is proven that children and teenagers have to sleep more to rest properly. In the week preceding the test, students have to prioritize sleep, even if it means neglecting other activities, like after-school hobbies.

Taking a practice test is also a wonderful way to blow off some steam. Tests can be prepared by parents or found online.  If there were any problems with how to calculate the test score, here are many useful tools, like Omnicalculator.

Making a Study Plan

Making a study plan can help to prevent test anxiety in several ways. First, it can help the student to focus on the most important parts of the material so that they don’t feel like they’re trying to learn everything at once. Second, it can help them to break the material down into manageable chunks, so that you don’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of information you need to know. Third, it can help you to create a schedule for studying so that they don’t feel like you’re running out of time. All of these things can reduce your stress levels and help them to feel more confident going into the test.

How to Relax and Focus Moments Before the Test

The moment before the test is crucial. Even well-prepared students can indulge in some behavior that will make the anxiety go out of the roof. Luckily, there are known and tried relaxation techniques that might help. Some of them might work on an individual better, so it’s best to try it out beforehand.

Why are We Like That?

When our predecessors were faced with a stressor, their bodies would respond by releasing a surge of hormones that would help them to fight or flee the threat. This ‘fight-or-flight’ response was essential for survival in a world where dangerous predators and other threats were a regular part of life.

Today, we are no longer constantly surrounded by dangers, but our bodies still respond to stress in the same way. While this response can sometimes be helpful, it can also lead to problems when we are constantly exposed to high levels of stress.

Meditation

Meditation can be a form of “freeze”. The student has to just stop and become aware of their surroundings as well as their physical body. There are also plenty of breathing exercises that can be found on the internet.

Listening to Music

Listening to music is some form of escapism but also can be used as a preparation for the “fight”. Putting up some motivating tunes can increase confidence as well as energy levels by helping to release dopamine.

Quick Walk

Flight response is natural. A student should take a quick walk or even run up the stairs a few times to help deactivate the ticking bomb.

Photo: Unsplash

How to Cope with Test Anxiety When it Hits

There are a number of things that students can do to cope with test anxiety when it hits. First, it’s important to identify the causes of the anxiety. Once they know what is triggering the test anxiety, they can begin to address those issues by practicing positive self-talk.

After the test, students can relieve some of the tension by trying to calculate their results with Omnicalculator. It will help them unwind and stop worrying about the score.

What to Do if a Student Has a Panic Attack During a Test

From the teacher’s perspective, test anxiety also can be stressful. Educators often care deeply about their pupils and they have to be prepared for anything. This includes knowing how to handle a student who has a panic attack during a test.

The first thing to do is stay calm. This will help the student feel more comfortable and in control. Next, provide the student with a quiet space where they can relax and breathe. If possible, let the student take the test in another room or at a later date. Finally, be sure to follow up with the student after the incident to see how they are doing and to offer any additional support. By remaining calm and offering support, you can help a student through a difficult moment and ensure that they are able to succeed.

Conclusion

While test anxiety is a real and valid condition, there are ways to cope with it. Parents and teachers have to create safe conditions for children and help them learn ways to deal with difficulties. By making a study plan, getting plenty of rest, and practicing positive self-talk, students can minimize the impact of test anxiety and improve their chances of success.

Budget Management Tips for Students studying English Language Abroad

buget management
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A Financial budget, also known as a money planner, is simply a spending plan decided in advance to help manage one’s income and expenses. This plan, if executed well, can aid in savings and avoid unnecessary expenditures. Wants can never be limited, and at the same time, resources can never be unlimited. This very fact calls for effective management of funds, without which one is sure to go overboard and end up paying the price of tribulations.

However, living under the tutelage of our dear parents, we never feel the pinch or need to monitor ourselves because of their forever presence to provide. Well, things are about to change if you are planning to follow your dreams and rush to study abroad for that much needed further education.

Living in a foreign land can be tough as it is, adapting to a new place and surrounding is definitely not peanuts, especially one of the common problem that most people face are the language barriers, so the last thing you would be wanting is to run out of cash and walk around broke to the core. Here’s where budget management comes into action. A well-defined budget will help you-

  • Ensure survival
  • Avoid unwanted expenses
  • Save for the future
  • Stay organized
  • Avoid debts

Sounds fruitful now, doesn’t it?

While drafting a budget is no rocket science, it does call for bringing out the analyzer within us. Just as two individuals cannot be the same, two budgets belonging to different people can never be the same.

For this very reason, it is important to customize a budget according to one’s needs and wants. Keep reading to get an idea of how to create not just any budget but your very own personalized one and be true to it.

1. Prioritize important expenses

The first step to creating a good and effective budget is to jot down all the fixed expenses, expenses that cannot be ignored, and are vital for your survival itself. These include expenditures related to renting, food, electricity, clothing, and similar such necessities.

Set aside a round figure amount based on these expenses and remember to opt for the higher limit of them, i.e., since these expenses vary and aren’t constant, take a safer bet by setting an amount that wouldn’t cross that figure in any case.

budget management

2. Set aside entertainment funds

Entertainment is part and parcel of our ongoing lives, especially when Prioritize in a new country. The thrill of exploring new places and the taste of freedom is adventurous beyond measure.

However, it is very important to monitor these expenses since overwhelmed by the fascinating new world, you easily tend to overspend, resulting in burning a hole in your pocket or much worse leave you hanging broke till the next payday.

So, it is very important to set a limit on this spending well in advance. Use it wisely or spend these allotted funds extravagantly, that choice is all yours, but remember to stick to this pre-decided limit.

3. Make a schedule

There are countless times when we have set a plan and failed to follow it. Adulting is no easy task, and with it comes several responsibilities. Thus, to ensure a disciplined and organized lifestyle, it is important to set a schedule and follow it religiously. Be it hitting the gym or waking up an hour early, follow what you commit to because if you don’t, a budget which is just a part of your life would surely fail to stand effective in a disorganized life.

Set small milestones 

The point of setting small goals for yourself is to self-motivate you to keep going ahead and continue conquering those hurdles you thought you couldn’t. Along with these mini-goals, make it a habit to reward yourself every time you accomplish it. It could be something small or something you’ve desired for a while. Treat yourself for following and being true to your budget. Having something to look forward to based on certain conditions would certainly aid in keeping you on track.

Spread your expenses

Get into the habit of saving part by part. If you are aware of an upcoming huge expense or if you wish to fulfill a certain want, plan ahead of time and spread these expenses in the form of savings instead of enduring a huge expenditure from your regular income.

Set aside a buffer budget

A buffer budget is meant to prep you for future unforeseen expenses that may pop up. It is better to be safe than sorry in the time of need.

Self-introspection 

The most effective yet hard task to do is self-introspect your decisions. Right before you decide on spending, make sure to ask yourself three questions

1. Do I need this?
2. Is it worth it?
3. Is it important at the moment?

This simple trick will help you stay within your budget. If your answer to each question is “yes”, go ahead with your spending spree, if the answer to any of these questions is “no”, well, you know what you need to do. Nevertheless, you could always plan up and execute in the future. So, don’t be disheartened!

Plan in advance

While enthusiastic about creating a budget, the first step to drafting one is to begin in advance. Set a budget from payday to payday, but begin planning when you’re halfway through your monthly budget.

Planning ahead of time allows you to include all expenses and savings required for the next budget without skipping any element due to the ease of time. The more effort you put into creating a budget, the more likely you are to stick to it to make your efforts worth it.

 

Even though following this new lifestyle while balancing the pressure of studying abroad may seem hard at first, remember to think about the negatives that would crawl behind your untimely decisions and influence your living. It takes just 21 days for a habit to kick in, so hang around, and you will perfect the art of budgeting eventually.

Happy budgeting!

AUTHOR BIO

Abhyank Srinet holds a Masters in Management degree from ESCP Europe & has an engineering degree with a specialization in Instrumentation & Control. His interest in the digital landscape motivated him to create an online startup for Masters in Management application consulting (MiM-Essay.com), focused on spreading quality information about the MiM degree & performing application consulting services for clients. He is the chief consultant of the company and takes care of the Business Development and Digital Marketing side of the company. He is very passionate about writing and marketing.