EXAMINATION FEAR

Do you know what the fear of exams is called??

The Latin name for the fear of tests or exams is Testophobia. ... to write an exam. But some people who are excellent students also suffer from the fear of tests.

This Phobia can severely disrupt normal life, interfering with school, work, or social relationships.

Walking into an examination room and knowing your life will be affected depending upon how you do on a test can cause symptoms of panic and distress in many people. Keeping calm and applying your knowledge to the questions on your exam becomes very difficult when your brain and body are flooded with stress and tension.

Why Does It Happen?

Lets see some of the Symptoms Of Testophobia…

The thought of taking a test or exam will trigger a panic attack. You will feel sweaty, nervous and upset.Your heart may race, and you may feel emotional and out of control. You will find it hard to cope with any task while these symptoms are flooding your body. You’ll feel nauseous and possibly lightheaded

Some Key Facts….

• A survey of 740 school and college students from the city has found that one third of those surveyed experienced stress due to academics.

• Conducted by TISS in Jan 2010

• The study included 330 students from private schools, 270 from civic schools and 140 students from colleges, all in the age group of 14 to 18 years. 

In 2006, 5,857 students — or 16 a day — committed suicide across India due to exam stress. And these are just the official figures

[Source: TOI, March 2008, Report] 

A study (conducted 10 years back) had found that 16 per cent of Mumbai students were depressed - that is 2 per cent more than the students in Boston. It also found that 8 percent of these were suicidal.

Today, 10 years later, researchers say things could be worse.- Statistics show that India has the highest suicide rate in the world, marginally behind China, but ahead of the west- 95-100 people commit suicide in India every day- And of these a whopping 40% are in the adolescent age group

[Source: CNN-IBN Report, Jan 13 2010] 

How can an examination be defined?

Exams are a way of assessing what a student has learned during the academic year. Apart from this, it is also a method through which the student's learning and grasping abilities are evaluated and graded by the teacher

What exactly is exam fear?

Exam fear can be defined as a phase of anxiety a child may experience during the onset of exams. This anxiety can result in poor performance in exam or even sickness which may make a child avoid exams.

Causes of exam fear in children

• - When a child is pressurized by parents for good grades.

- When too much expected from a child in terms of performance and achievements by the school, parents or teachers.

- When the child himself or herself has too many expectations 

- When a child suffers from low self esteem or confidence

- When a child fears about not been able to score like his classmates

Causes of exam fear in children

When a child has failed considerably in his earlier exams.

- When a child has scored poorly and fears for the same to happen in the coming exams

- When a child is not prepared or revised well for the oncoming exams

- When the child is scared of the remarks and scolding he may get for his performance

Symptoms of exam fear in children - Blank memory

- Severe anxiety

- Inability to fall asleep

- Nervousness

- Frequent urination

- Exhaustion

- Stomachaches

- Irritable bowels

- Loss of hunger

- Headaches

- Lowering of blood pressure

- Nausea or sickness

- Body aches

- Fever

- Cramps in hands and legs

- Shivering of hands

- Unconsciousness

Tips to Keep Fear Away During Exams for students. Students who are suffering from such fear

are likely to experience problems like difficulty in concentrating while studying, confusion, feeling tensed while looking at difficult questions, feeling blank, dizziness, sweating, sleeplessness, etc. All these factors can cause the student to feel more anxious which can affect his performance during the exam. Hence, students should know how to avoid fear and do well during the examinations.

Tips to Keep Fear Away During Exams for students

• Prepare Well in Advance• Learn, Do Not Mug up!• Make Time to Relax• Revise Properly • Avoid studying anything new just before the

exam. • Avoid having conversations with your

friends about what they have studied, how much they have studied. This will make you more tense and nervous

During the exam, if you get tensed or blank after seeing difficult questions, skip them for the time being and attempt questions which you find easier. Once you have completed them, go back to the difficult ones. In this way, you will surely be able to answer them confidently.

Parental Role in handling stress during

Exams.

What are the different things that parents can do to make things better for their children?

• Help them study• Take efforts into making things easier

for them• Help them plan their studies• Make sure they don't overdo it• Make sure they get fresh air• Make sure they get enough activity• Give them the right food• Encourage the children positively

Remember this?

What if I’ve got Pushy Parents?

Pull, don’t Push

Pull , Don’t push!

Key to Exam success

10 Tips for an Exam… Watch it!

A RECAP…

ByNamrata Prakash