Terrible test anxiety!

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Specializes in Taking one day at a time....

No matter how much I study, I feel like its not enough (even though I always end up doing fine!)... But sometimes its so hard to concentrate during tests. My heart is racing, my palms are sweaty, and when I look at the first test question I am thinking "OH #*%&^" rather than "I can do this!"..... And forget about skills tests, my hands are shaking like a leaf, and I feel like I could die on the spot. My mind constantly goes blank from nerves, which is the WORST when I know that the material is in my brain. Is there any way to overcome this? I am actually already on medication for anxiety... It generally helps, but not during test time. Nothing seems to stop my hands from shaking, which makes me more nervous. Its a vicious cycle....:zzzzz....... Gosh, I love nursing school guys.;)

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Personally, I find that if I'm ever anxious or flustered over something, it sometimes helps to try some relaxation techniques.

When you get all shaky, put your pencil down, hands down, and close your eyes and breath deeply 10 times... focusing on the sound of your breath. Concentrate on making your breath as smooth as possible and relax. Then try going at it again.

I find that this helps me in situations where I'm stressed

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Just remember to take a LOT of deep breaths...throughout the whole test and you'll relax!

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Listen to Mozart while you are cramming the day before.

When you start to get Anxious, with a capital A, think of Mozart melodies.

It must work because when Einstein was having trouble formulating the General Theory of Relativity he played Mozart on his violin (no kidding).

I've also heard that students use Mozart to improve their IQ scores.

Bo

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Specializes in LTC.

Before you even look at the questions, write down everything you know about each topic. This will take about 5 minutes depending on how much you write. For an example: before I had my exam on fluids and electrolytes I wrote down the values for each and s/s of hyper and hypo for each. By writing down what you know before the exam relieves your anxiety and you will have more confidence even before you start answering questions. And if in the middle of the exam you get stuck, you won't panic because you can refer back to what you've written. This works for me, and I hope it works for you. At my CC any student who has anxiety can take there test in the testing center, and also have a lot more time.

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Specializes in Pulmonary med/surg/telemetry.

My best friend is the same way. We study before tests together so I know she knows the information but when it comes down to the tests she gets so nervous she can't remember what she knows. It got so bad this semester that she even got a 60% on one test! After that she decided to take a Benadryl really late the night before the test (some women in my class with bad test anxiety even take 1/2 that morning) and even though she was sleepy, it calmed her down enough that she didn't get so worked up and she could actually think. She hasn't gotten less than an 85% since she started doing this.

I don't know if it would work for everyone with test anxiety but I just thought I'd share.

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Thought of something else:

If your school offers tutors in the subject pay for one for just one chapter and see if that doesn't get the anxiety under control.

Bo

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Hey There!

I know your pain. I am also on head meds for anxiety and depression. I had to have the meds readjusted and another one added. The shrink added Zyprexa 5mg./day. This has helped alot. The head of the LPN program said she could tell the difference, and believe me she makes me nervous just being in her office. I still feel anxiety at test time, but my mind doesn't go blank, and the last skills test my hands stayed steady. It also helps to have a nice instructor, but thats always luck of the draw! My meds are Depakote 750mg/day, wellbutrin 300mg/day, and the Zyprexa. I hope something helps you. I felt awful thinking I was too crazy for nursing!

good luck:uhoh3:

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Specializes in Taking one day at a time....
Hey There!

I know your pain. I am also on head meds for anxiety and depression. I had to have the meds readjusted and another one added. The shrink added Zyprexa 5mg./day. This has helped alot. The head of the LPN program said she could tell the difference, and believe me she makes me nervous just being in her office. I still feel anxiety at test time, but my mind doesn't go blank, and the last skills test my hands stayed steady. It also helps to have a nice instructor, but thats always luck of the draw! My meds are Depakote 750mg/day, wellbutrin 300mg/day, and the Zyprexa. I hope something helps you. I felt awful thinking I was too crazy for nursing!

good luck:uhoh3:

Wow, thanks! I am on zoloft 50mg/day right now, quite possibly may go up to 75/mg (Im still experimenting with therapeutic dosages...). But I dont think I will, because although that relieves my anxiety to a degree, it doesnt take away my shaky hands. Sometimes my hands are shaking when I am just sitting in class if Im thinking about a test or something big coming up. I also take ativan 0.5mg PRN (Aka: Clinical days!!) Hmmm, I have a visit with my shrink (lol) this Thursday, perhaps I can suggest Zyprexa? Thankfully, my clinical instructor this semester was awesome. And next semester I actually based my schedule around what clinical instructor I would have (To me, its the most important thing!) and I will have an even more amazing one, Thankfully!.... And I completely understand about the "too crazy for nursing" comment. There are times when I see the "cool, calm & collected" students and I am just like.... oh no, why am I here?... But I dont think that as much anymore..... I guess its getting better.:) Good luck to you!

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I feel your pain also, it was so bad that on one test I forgot EVERYTHING that I had studied. It was horrible.

What I do is find one particular song that calms me down, listen to that in the car on the way to the test and listen to it on my iPod before I go into the exam room. When I get the test, I first write out all of the most important things that I know I might forgot if I freak out.

I'll read each question very slowly, covering up the answers because if I look at them first, chances are I'll get confused and forget what I know. So I scribble down my rationalizations of the questions and come to my own answer. Once I have that, I look at the actual answers and usually, the one that I reached on my own is one of them!

There are times when I start to freak out during the test, but at those times I usually focus my attention on my desk, or anything that isn't my exam, and play that one relaxing song that I listen to in my head.

It really, really helps to have that one song stuck in your head during the exam, because it definitely helps calm me.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

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