Overcoming Anxiety Attack Symptoms

Test anxiety affects every student, from grammar school to college, at least occasionally.

In its mildest form, it causes a feeling of apprehension before and/or during a test. This slight increase in stress can actually improve scores. In its moderate form, the stress can be so overwhelming that it paralyzes cognitive functions, including memory recall. Some students even have a difficult time reading the questions. And in its most severe form, it can cause vomiting and other physiological symptoms.

If you have a child who worries about upcoming tests, gets tummy aches the evening before or the morning of a test, or performs significantly lower on tests compared with homework and other schoolwork, you might want to consider test anxiety as a cause.

The best antidote for test anxiety is to be thoroughly prepared for the exam, and top it off with a good night’s sleep. Last-minute cramming for a test can actually increase anxiety.

Sometimes parents put undue pressure on children to succeed, thus causing test and performance anxiety.

Teacher’s tips

Teachers in elementary schools often overlook the toll that anxiety takes on their pupils, especially during tests. In my partner’s class, he teaches the children how to relax before a test. Five minutes before a test, he has them do some deep breathing (take a deep breath through their nose, hold it for a count of two, then slowly blow it out through their mouth).

He shows them how to tense the muscles in their shoulders and neck, hold it for a count of five and then relax. He’ll also ask them to drop their hands to their sides, clench their fists tightly, hold for a count of five and then relax. Finally, he’ll ask them to close their eyes and visualize themselves doing very well on the test. (This takes some practice for young children.)

After he hands out the tests, he encourages them to focus only on the test questions and to ignore everything else. These are not only skills that can help them improve their test scores, but they’re lifelong strategies that can help them control anxiety and panic attack symptoms in their lives.