“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test,
I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.”
~ Michelle Obama
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a secondary school student, a college or graduate student, or an employee who has to take tests for career advancement or certification, test taking anxiety can affect you.
It can be devastating. No matter how diligent in your studies you’ve been, no matter how well you know the material, when it comes to testing time your brain freezes up and you can’t remember a thing!
The most maddening part is that as soon as the test is over, all the material comes flooding back to your memory.
For some people, test anxiety can be as mild as butterflies in the stomach. But for others, it can be as severe as a full-blown panic attack. But the severity is irrelevant when it causes you to perform poorly in exams that you are perfectly capable of passing.
It’s not surprising that so many people suffer from test anxiety. If the results of the test will determine your future, and even worse, if you’re paying big money for the privilege of taking the exam, then you’re sure to be nervous.
But there’s a big difference between a little nervousness – which may actually help sharpen and focus your mind – and freezing up for the entire test. If you are severely stressed, your ability to concentrate, along with your memory, will fail you.
And the more pressure you put on yourself, the more stressed you become, making matters even worse. The more afraid you become that you’ll freeze during the test, the more likely this is to happen. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Hypnotherapy for Test Taking Anxiety Can Help…
I can help you relax and turn off your negative self-talk.
After a few short sessions, you will have the ability to:
- remain calm and relaxed
- be able to recall what you know
- stop being obsessed with the clock
- stop second-guessing your answers
How does Hypnotherapy for Test Taking Anxiety Work?
I will teach you how to do a ‘Mental Rehearsal” – you will mentally rehearse going from home to the test and calming down your anxieties with relaxation breathing and other calming techniques.
It’s also important for you to understand that you have studied as much as you can study. I will help you realize that the date of the test will come (like Christmas) and be over (like Christmas: I always tell people and myself, Dec 25th will come; what's done is done. No matter what is done or not done, Dec 25th comes and passes).
It's beginning to be time to let all the knowledge settle in your brain and focus on remaining calm and rested. I will help you develop confidence and calmness – at this point, you understand that you know the information and that the calmer you remain, the better your brain will work (which is neurologically true).
Many people who are taking exams are also working full-time. If this is your situation, it’s important to take about 30 minutes a day to go into self-hypnosis/meditation/mindfulness to rest the brain and body.
30 minutes of that type of resting state will give you about 3 to 4 hours of refreshed brain and body energy, like taking a long, restful nap. But that kind of rest is deeper and more profound than a short nap. It's as if you get 3 to 4 more hours of productive energy, so it’s well worth doing.
If you or someone you love suffers from test-taking anxiety, allow me to help!
