Test Anxiety is one of the more common manifestations of the overall



pattern of anxiety, which everyone, sooner or later, experiences.

What is anxiety? Anxiety is about losing control. It does not

matter if the feared situation is external, like not doing well on

tests, or whether it is internal, like not being able to control our

feelings. The subjective experience of anxiety is the same.

We feel a vague sense of uneasiness, which if allowed to build,

crescendos into something that can be quite painful.

The easiest remedy for such an experience is to stop thinking what

we are thinking. The defensive strategy is that whatever it is that

triggers anxiety should be avoided. Alternatively, if it is the

environment in which we find ourselves, the simplest solution is

to leave. These are quick fixes for anxiety, and often work when

the anxiety is low, or when we can control what we think or where

we are.

However, other kinds of anxiety are not so easy to contain.

Test taking anxiety is about being unprepared for a test, or

having to do really well "or else." One cannot just leave the

circumstances behind or just go away, physically.

To manage this particular form of anxiety, one has to first identify

what specifically triggers the fear. (BTW, anxiety is usually

thought of as unfocused fear; that is, we are afraid of something

but just do not know of what. Since test anxiety is specific, we

might just as well label it test fear, not test anxiety.) It could

be lots of things. Have you not studied enough so you fear just not

knowing enough answers? Are you competing with others who you

perceive to be better prepared, or smarter? Is there a bigger

consequence if you do not do well? (Think final exams vs.

mid-term quizzes.)

To manage test anxiety, as with most experiences of anxiety, try to

break the experience down into smaller categories. Think baby steps,

in popular vernacular. As with most things, the smaller the steps

are the easier they are to manage. Moreover, try not to think of

the final outcome; rather, focus on the particular steps, letting

them add up one by one. It does not take long to realize the smaller

steps are manageable. Without thinking of the final goal, managing

smaller steps inevitably leads to the bigger goal, which is to reduce

test anxiety, in this case from the inside out.

Here is an example. Suppose there are fourteen chapters to master

before a final exam. You could worry about the magnitude of material,

fretting that with so many chapters, surely there will be something to

forget, hence lower your grade. Or, you could focus solely on

Chapter One. The idea is to be "in the moment" with a smaller step,

in this case paying attention to only one chapter. Just study that,

and then ask your roommate, parent or significant other to quiz you if

there are no quizzes at the back of the chapter. Master one chapter.

When this is done, you have reduced your anxiety one-fourteenth.

Does not seem like much? Study Chapter Two and do the same thing,

while reviewing Chapter One. Now you have mastered two-fourteenths,

plus gotten a sense that this project is doable, and so on.

Unfortunately, many people do not stay in the moment, nor do they

break their experiences down into manageable units. These are the

people who are prone to develop anxiety disorders proper, of which

there are many. If you think this is your experience, this author

has written an ebook that shows you exactly how to assess your own

experience of anxiety, and a lot more, especially if you are a

do-it-yourself type.

Dr. Griggs