Coping with Test Anxiety

Henrietta Winkler, Student Intern, The Stool

Now that finals are officially behind us, it’s a great time to look at some methods you could have used to cope with the stress they caused. Here’s a list of three stress-relieving tactics could have helped your test scores a lot, if only you’d had it sooner.

1. Heavy breathing. The merits of good breathing are always a focus in anxiety relief seminars, but it simply can’t be stressed enough. In fact, most advice-givers tell us only to take some deep breaths, when in fact, you should be panting like a pig in labor. Really HEAVE when you breathe. It not only helps with oxygen flow, it also serves to distract those around you, thereby lowering their scores and helping the curve.

2. Stress reallocation. If finals are causing you too much stress, do something else that causes MORE stress. That will take the pressure off finals, and allow you to excel. Some ideas for more stressful activities include:
-Getting yourself or someone you know pregnant
-Filing for divorce
-Planning a heist. Preferably jewel or large bank related.

3. Dropping out. After all, what better way is there to deal with the stress of finals than not taking them? Next time finals rear their ugly head, simply drop out. Depending on how you reallocated your stress (see number 2), you could have plenty of funds with which to pay off your student loans.

As you can see, the stress from finals is not nearly as difficult to deal with as many would have you believe. Now that you have the knowledge of how to beat the anxiety, you’re on your way to a much happier life!