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EXAM ANXIETY..... relaxation Techniques

Relaxation Techniques:

Deep-Muscle-Relaxation : When we are tense or anxious, we feel stiffness in our muscles. Deep-Muscle-Relaxation technique will help you relax your muscles and release your tension. It is a very flexible technique and you can do it anytime and anywhere. You can decide to relax your whole body or a particular group of muscle. The detailed process is mentioned in my earlier article, Deep-Muscle-Relaxation

Take printout of the chart and keep it handy.  

Stretching Exercises: We all have learnt these in our schools. These are very simple exercises yet very effective to tone your muscles. Stretching your arms up and keeping your legs apart, standing like in a winning position actually boosts your self-confidence. Try it and you may also feel the same!!

Jogging: For some of you, light jogging may help relax and your mind and body. Remember not to exhaust yourself.

There are multiple other techniques to reduce your tension. Make a list of activities you really like to do and spend some time doing those in your ‘defined break-time.’ 

But always remember you are more important than your exam score !!!

EXAM ANXIETY- Developing Rational Thinking................

Developing Rational Thinking:

The other cognitive technique to deal with one’s stress and anxiety is by developing rational thinking.

Let us learn how to do it-

First of all it is very important to understand two main parts of exam anxiety 

            a. Thoughts                 b. Feelings

You may be aware that the way we think affects the way we feel.

Imagine a party you recently attended and enjoyed a lot.

Now imagine every detail of it: your friends, foods, music, lights etc. While you are imagining the great party, how are you feeling?

Are you feeling sad, frustrated, angry or you are feeling happy and excited

I am sure you must be feeling happy or excited, may be you are smiling right now!!

The same happens when you think about a difficult situation. You become sad or tense or anxious.

If your exam-related thoughts are negative and persistent, then those will create anxiety, fear and apprehension in you.

So what to do about these thoughts? The answer is simple. Interpret those thoughts, by ‘Thought-Replacement-Technique.’

What it means is replacing your negative thoughts with positive ones.

Think about your past achievements, your present achievements, anything that makes you feel competent and confident.

Remember, it is a skill and you have to practice to master it.

Remind yourself that-

‘I will do it.’

‘I will give my best.’

‘I will pass this exam.’

‘I will focus on my readings.’

You can make your own positive statements too; read those statements loud so that you can hear your voice. Talk to yourself till the time you feel relaxed and focused.

You may think this will not work. I have not heard anyone doing this. But all the successful people do talk to themselves in positive way.

Try it and it may work for you too!!

Continued………..

EXAM ANXIETY- Negative Thought Buster.............

     Cognitive Techniques:

These are very effective techniques to master your thoughts. 

You will agree that most of the time it is not the situation but your negative thoughts that make you anxious and tense.

For example, you are not able to complete your task and you start thinking that you will not be able to complete the course before the exams. 

Many of us have irrational thoughts when we are under stress. 

But there are ways to control negative thoughts. I will share the process of two very important techniques which you can use to control your negative thoughts, one in this blog and the second in the next one. 

You may find the process somewhat unusual, but sometimes doing something different is more effective than doing something usual!!

Negative-Thought-Stopping-Technique:

Remember what were you thinking before you became anxious and tense.

Write down those thoughts on a paper. You will realize that most of them are negative and over-generalized statements.

Make a list of these thoughts from least anxiety-provoking to most anxiety-provoking ones.

Attend to your anxiety-provoking thought when it comes to your mind. Focus your whole attention on it as if you are listening to a person. Just listen to your thought. While you are listening, deep breath, stay calm and do not respond.

You may notice that after sometime the thought fades. 

If it comes again, repeat the process. After some time the thought will lose its power to control you.

If the thought still bothers you then use visualization technique-

You may like to close your eyes before visualizing the scene. 

Think about your thought as a person who is bothering you. Say or shout “STOP” at the thought and ask it to go away.

You can also imagine creating a bubble around your thought. 

Hold the bubble in your hand and press it hard and burst it. Watch it disappearing and then re-focus on your task. 

EXAM ANXIETY- Time- Management......................

 Time-Management-

Exam time, and there is a lot to read, understand, revise and retain in limited days. The best way you can manage this time pressure is by managing it.

The first step is to plan-

Write down what you want to achieve.

Now convert this objective into goals.

-      Long-Term Goals like planning for a month.

-      Short Term Goals. Planning for a week, for a day or for some hours is a short term goal.

Short terms goals are the sub tasks to achieve the long term goals.

Follow the ‘SMART’ strategy to set both types of goals-

 When you write down your plan in this way you will find that what you earlier thought un-achievable now seems achievable. You will gain confidence and your focus, efficiency and productivity will increase.

There is no hard and fast rule to write down your goals.

Some students write in tabular form, long-term goals on the top and short term goals below them.

 Some choose to draw stairs, Last step on the top represents long-term-goal and other steps represent short term goals or tasks to achieve the long term goal.

Some student benefit by drawing floors, top floor is the long-term-goal and different floors are short term goals.

Steps and floors give the clarity what to do first and then next and next.

Be creative in developing your own plan.

Whatever way you choose to define your goals, keep yourself motivated. Reward yourself for successfully completing your goals. It is better if you decide about the reward beforehand.

You may also set a fine for yourself for not achieving the target. It could be, for example, skipping your favorite TV show.

If you reinforce yourself in this way you will see that your motivation to complete the next level goes high.

Now the question that comes to mind is which goal to achieve first?

The answer is simple- ‘Set Priorities.’

See my blog ‘Stress Busters’ and learn how to set the priorities.’

 In short, remember following points-

-      To make a ‘To-Do-List.’

-      Do one task at a time.

-      First complete the tasks which are urgent or have deadlines.

-      Next focus on the difficult and important tasks.

-      In the last focus on simple and interesting tasks.

In the initial week assess your accomplishments. You might need to do some adjustments in your plan, which is ok. We may not be able to make an achievable plan in the first go!! So be easy on yourself.

When you are creating your plan, keep in mind whether you are a morning person or an evening person. What it means, be aware of the time of the day when your energy levels are high.

We all are different and so we work best at different times of the day. Your friends can have different study-times depending on their energy levels. Don’t plan your task based on what others are doing.

But do plan a common free time with your friends so that you all can meet and spend time together. Sharing light moments with them will keep you energetic and break your monotonous routine.

Now get ready to meet your targets. But before you start you need to do one more thing, may be a very difficult thing.  Get away from things that can distract you from your aim.

Electronic media may consume your time and drain you of your energy.

 

Comfortable cozy bed may tempt you to sleep for ‘some time.’ You know well how ‘sleeping for some time’ converts into ‘sleeping for hours’ and you can well imagine the rest of the story !!

Take small breaks and do what you like to do within that time.  

One more important reminder, keep enough time for revisions!!

Time is precious but it’s never too late.

So plan your time and get into action !!

EXAM FEVER...........

Exams are approaching and you are very busy studying. Just take some time off and answer the following questions.

-      Are you able to organize your time well?

-      Are you postponing your preparations though you know you it’s the right time to start?

-      Are you trying to understand the material but not 

    able to comprehend?

-      Are you not able to concentrate?

-      Are you spending more time thinking ‘what if I am not able to perform well in the exams?

If you say yes to any of the above statements then you are not alone. There are millions of students who think just like you.

This thinking is actually the 'Exam Anxiety.'

It is normal to feel mild anxiety when exams are near. Rather it is necessary. 

Mild level of tension-  

- motivates you to study. 

- increases your determination and concentration. 

- improves your decision-making, problem-solving and time-management skills.

While high level of tension is overwhelming and interferes with your studies as well as your performance in the exams.

When you are highly anxious you-

-  may not be able to focus and organize your thoughts.

- may not not be able to recall important concepts.

- may not be able to understand the questions.

- may feel that your mind becomes blank.

In addition you may develop other symptoms like-

Headache                                                                                                                                                                              

Insomnia 

Upset stomach                                                                      

Increased heart rate 

 Increased perspiration

Sweaty hands

 Frustration                                                                              

Fear of failure 

Nail biting                                                                                 

Mood swings 

Panic and hopelessness                                                         

Excessive daydreaming

Increase or decrease in appetite                                             

Procrastination 

Negative self defeating thoughts                           

Escaping behaviors like increase in partying or rooming here and there without work. etc.

Now the question is, can we do something to reduce the exam- anxiety?

The answer is YES !! 

In my next blog I will share some of the well proven strategies to reduce your exam anxiety.

Play Therapy......................................

No single definition can fully comprehend the meaning of play. Rather all the definitions somehow overlap to give it a complete essence. Here are some of very interesting definitions of Play are-

Natural play has been described as 'pleasurable', 'intrinsically complete', 'independent from external rewards or other people', 'non-judgmental', 'with no goal', and 'person dominated.' 

Natural play has another interesting quality that it does not occur     in novel or frightening situation.  



Play is also explained as a 'process of development for a child.' 

It is considered as the mechanism for developing 'Problem-solving skills and competence skills.'






It is a process that allows children to' mentally digest' experiences and situations (Piaget,1969). 

It is an 'emotional laboratory' in which a child learns to cope with his/her environment (Erikson,1963). 

Play is a way that the child talks, with 'toys as his words' (Ginott,1961) 

It is a way to deal with behaviors and concerns through 'playing it out.' (Erikson,1963). 


Play is a natural medium for self expression that facilitates a child's communication and allows for a cathartic release of feelings. 

It is renewing and it is constructive, and it is also allows the adult a window to observe the child's world. 

Due to above mentioned qualities of play, it has become an appropriate modality for therapeutic intervention with children. 

Play allows children to:

- Use their most natural way of communication to express their experiences, worries, anxieties and concerns


- Find options that they may not have thought of otherwise.

- Develop a sense of control, a sense of confidence, a sense of power over their lives.

- Develop better interpersonal skills that facilitate their overall healthy adjustment. 

- Once children develop a sense of mastery over themselves and their behavior their self-worth becomes positive.

Difference between play & play therapy:

- In a play therapy the therapist builds a therapeutic relationship with the child in a way that the child starts internalizing a very different perception of self. 

- The therapist responds to the child as being adequate and the child starts to see himself as being adequate.

- The therapist cares and appreciates the child and the child starts to internalize that 'I am a person worthy of being cared for', 'I am lovable.' 

In the long run as the child begins to experience himself as being more adequate, more worthy, more lovable, he himself starts finding answers for his questions. 

It is very important to know that to develop this kind of therapeutic relationship with the child, where play becomes the child's language to convey his inner world and a medium for healing, an intensive training in mental health is required.

Styles of Play Therapy:

There are many styles of play therapy based on various theoretical orientations. However all the therapies can be groped under two main types-

- Directive:  'Making people change'

The therapist structures and creates the play situation, assumes responsibility for guidance and interpretation of play and leads the child in directions that are seen as beneficial. 

-Non-Directive or client centered or Non-intrusive-  'Helping people change'

it is a Humanistic Play Therapy developed by Axline (1969) based on the assumption that child will realize his/her  self-hood via his/her own map.

The therapist leaves the responsibility and direction of the play on the child. 

The child is allowed and encouraged to choose toys to play with and is given the freedom to develop or terminate any particular theme.

Non intrusive therapy has proved to be very effective with children in developing their self-actualizing potentials. However, sometimes both the styles are used in different phases of therapy depending on the clinical judgement of the therapist. 

Following are some of the issues addressed in play therapy:

• low self-esteem
• aggressiveness
• sadness
• anxiety
• nightmares
• social phobia
• difficulty playing in an age-appropriate way
• attention and engagement problems
• clumsiness
• separation problems
• withdrawn behavior
• self-consciousness
• misbehavior in school
• difficulty with peers
• lying
• temper tantrums
• adjustment to death, divorce, new baby, various handicaps
• sibling of a child with special needs
• sibling rivalry.