When it comes to exams, many of us tend to freak out, but not in the same way Nile Rodgers and Chic had intended.
My Accounting Exam Accelerator Programme not only covers the information advice I can give you, but also the less talked about mental side of things, including the stresses you face in the lead up to an exam.
Whilst we might think we can deal with the stress and pressures that come with impending exams, more often than not it isn’t something that can be prevented, although you can minimise its effects.
It has been scientifically proven that as your body incurs stress, your heart rate tends to rise whereas both your mental and physical functionality decrease and your cognitive processing completely breaks down, leading to you freezing on the spot and being unable to take action.
There are ways in which you can combat these symptoms, so it’s important to remember these handy tips in the eventuality that you find the stress to be too overwhelming in the moment.
These methods are applicable to both the revision environment and the exam setting, with stress taking over at any given moment, so stay vigilant and listen to what your body needs.
1. Breathing Techniques
If you are under stress and begin to experience a heart rate surge, by taking control of your breathing you can stop an anxiety attack.
Begin to take long deliberate breaths by paying attention to your breathing, breathing slowly, deeply and purposefully into your body, ultimately slowing your heart rate down.
Oxygenation of the brain reduces excessive anxiety levels, helping you to go back to a calm state and carry on as normal.
As you relax your body, you may find that the breathing brings clarity and insights to you as well, thus becoming able to refocus.
The proper breathing technique is as follows:
- Inhale through your nose, expanding your belly, then fill your chest counting to 5
- Hold and count to 3
- Exhale fully, counting to 5
2. Mindfulness & Meditation
A lot of people start mindfulness and meditation for its benefits in stress reduction and anxiety, with lots of good evidence to support this rationale.
Research on the neural/brain perspective of how mindfulness meditation works suggests that it helps in attention regulation, body awareness and emotional regulation.
One of the central benefits of meditation is that it improves attention and concentration, resulting in an improvement in focus, memory and cognitive skills within a couple of weeks.
Mindfulness meditation can take many forms, but is often practised by sitting down with your back straight and keeping your eyes closed, drawing your attention to the movement of the abdomen when breathing in and out.
If you become distracted from the breath, simply passively notice that your mind has wandered, but in an accepting, non-judgmental way and then return to focusing on your breathing.
3. Positive Affirmations
The key idea is that if you get into a panic you need to do something to totally take yourself out of the mind-frame you are in to reset your emotional state, which can include telling yourself positive affirmations.
You’re essentially tricking your body into believing that everything is normal, taking advice from the phrase ‘fake it until you make it’.
Try saying to yourself “I am totally settled now, let’s get to it”, repeatedly if need be, and resume what you were doing before the stress took over.
After doing so, you can rejoin the exam with a clear mind and perform like you have prepared for.
My blog Change Your Mindset To Ace Your Accountancy Exams covers exactly how you can implement positive affirmations into your daily life.
4. Focus on Focusing
We can often become overstimulated in situations where stress takes precedence, so zone in on one particular thing until you regain control over your body.
Our eyes can be extremely busy scanning a room when we get overwhelmed, so it’s important to simply focus on one aspect of the room.
Whether you opt to close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing using the breathing techniques or would prefer to stare at one specific item such as your hand, centre your body and bring yourself and your awareness into real time rather than overdrive.
By reducing the amount of influences your stress levels are exposed to, you can focus solely on reverting back to your normal self.