'And then my mind went blank...'

Everyone gets stressed to some extent about exams - including all those other people who look so relaxed! But do you get really stressed, so that by the time the exams come you feel awful and don't perform the way you want to? There are some things you can do to manage those nerves, feel better and get better results.

Understand what's happening

Because exams are stressful, we automatically react to them with the stress response - the 'fight or flight' response. This is fine, up to a point - it pushes us to get going - but beyond that point, if we're too stressed, it works against us. That's because the stress response is an old biological survival mechanism that is getting us ready to do something fast and physical, which it does very well, starting with a rush of adrenaline that gets the body all charged up.

But too much tension or worry is not very good for thinking or memory. When we are too tense or worried, we may forget or make mistakes.  That's what's happening when you go into an exam, look at the paper and can't remember things you know perfectly well. Or make really dumb mistakes that you realise as soon as you hand your paper in and walk out.  

But this is temporary!!! The knowledge is still there. 'All you need to do is - Calm down!'

'Great idea, but how do you do that?' Here are some practical steps you can take:

Do enough preparation - but not too much

You can be totally calm and still not get there - if you haven't done some preparation.  

But remember - it doesn't have to be perfect! (More about this later).

Knowing you've done a reasonable job of preparing is a relief in itself. But it's important to keep yourself in good shape and not get super-stressed before the exams. So - remember to:

• Eat well: don't switch entirely to comfort foods -remember body and mind need real fuel!  Eat little and often.  It will improve your concentration.
• Sleep well: allow yourself enough time - try to stick to a fairly regular schedule - watch the caffeine.
• Take breaks: we need breaks and relaxation to keep us 'balanced'.  It's not wasting time.
• Exercise: it's very useful to maintain health, release tension, lift our feelings, and enhance concentration.
• Get help with problems: if something is really affecting you, get help - from academics if it's about the topic, from counsellors if it's personal matters, from doctors if it's health problems.          
  

Learn and practise some ways to calm yourself

Remember what the 'stress response' is doing? Well, if it's not helping, learn how to switch it off. Get better at noticing when you're stressing out (breathing getting too fast? Butterflies? Can't sleep? Heart racing?)

Then - slow everything down.

• Breathe slowly.
• As you breathe out, remind yourself: 'relax', or 'slow down', or 'take it easy'.
• As you breathe out, let your muscles relax and loosen up.
• It may help to walk around slowly as well to give you a "whole body' slow down.

You can do this anywhere, for a few seconds or a few minutes. Close your eyes, if you feel like it. You can do it:

• when you are about to study - it helps concentration
• when you are about to sit an exam - it helps concentration and memory
• when you are in an exam, can't think of something and begin to panic.

This is a good, basic approach, especially if you practice it! Many people find that they really benefit by learning something a bit more 'advanced', such as a relaxation exercise or meditation. The counsellors can help you with this.

Think realistically and positively about yourself and your goals

Our brains are fantastic! We can stress ourselves - or de-stress ourselves - by what we are thinking. 

Often we get stuck thinking negatively, actually scaring ourselves:

• 'I'll never get it all done!  I'll fail!'
• 'I don't understand this part very well!  What if it's on the exam? I'll fail!'
• 'I can't remember the answer to this one!  I'll fail!'
• 'I had trouble with an exam last semester - what if it happens again?  I'll fail!'

When we scare ourselves, we switch on the stress response - and there we go again?

(By the way, notice how a lot of this kind of thinking is either exaggerated  - 'I'm going to fail!' - or imaginary - 'What if..?'  It's often completely unrealistic).

So - make sure you're thinking realistically and positively:

• 'I can understand most things, and I don't need 100%, so I don't need to panic.'
• 'I can't remember this one right now, so I'll answer another one - then it'll probably come back to me.
• 'I'm prepared for this one, and I know how to calm myself down if I do get rattled.'
• 'I can pass.'

So these basic steps - calm down, slow down, think positively - will work for most of us most of the time. But if you are feeling stuck, there is more you can do about it. Talk it over with a counsellor to see what would work better for you.