A Workshop on Managing Anxiety Anxiety can interfere with our daily activities and when we take tests. In this workshop, you will learn to: Identify What Triggers Anxiety Learn Strategies to Manage the Anxiety Develop Strategies to Minimize Test Anxiety and Math Anxiety Identifying What Triggers Anxiety Anxiety can cause sweating, nausea, dizziness, headaches, and fatigue. It can reduce your ability to concentrate, make you feel overwhelmed, and cause you to blank out. You can feel anxious as a result of fear or stress, or perhaps because of a medical condition. Feeling anxious for long periods of time can be harmful. Fear and Stress Fear is natural. I can help us to survive dangerous situations. Fear can also keep us from living our lives to the fullest. We can use fear to challenge ourselves physically and emotionally, professionally or personally. It can be a huge catalyst for positive change. It can t be eliminated, but it can be controlled. Learn to recognize stress. Stress symptoms include exhaustion, loss of/increased appetite, headaches, crying, sleeplessness, and oversleeping. Escape through alcohol, drugs, or other compulsive behavior are often indications. Often, we increase the fear and stress we feel by worrying about an event or the consequences that follow. We play out a million different scenarios in our minds, and when we do, we increase our stress and become more consumed by fear. We need to detach for a moment in order to gain clarity. Renton Technical College l 3000 NE Fourth St. l Renton, WA 98056-4195 l 425.235.2352 l www.rtc.edu 1
Strategies to Manage Your Anxiety Use your Body Breathe Deeply. Take six deep breaths. Slowly breathe through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on the air passing through your nostrils. Or, close one nostril and breathe without making a noise. Do this for one minute. Tense and Relax Your Muscles. Loosen your clothing and get comfortable. Tighten the muscles in your toes and hold for a count of 10. Relax, and enjoy the sensation of release from tension. Flex the muscles in your feet and hold for a count of 10. Relax. Move slowly up through your body, legs, abdomen, back, neck, and face contracting and relaxing muscles as you go. Exercise and Stretch. Jog, bicycle, play basketball or racquetball, take a walk. Exercise will improve your mind. If there isn t enough time to exercise, stretch. You can sit in your chair or stand next to the table and stretch. Do it slowly. Breathe. Visualize. Close your eyes and visit a pleasant place through your imagination. Visualize the scene in detail. Visualize yourself feeling calm and in control. Visualize yourself in a situation that brings success. Stop thinking. Take a deep breath and try to clear your mind of disturbing thoughts. Check Your Attitude Don t Panic. The best way is to do one thing at a time. Trying to do everything at once only increases tension. Be Optimistic. Look for the good in people and in situations. You ll find that the journey isn t as hard as you think. Practice Positive Self-Talk. See the attached page. Avoid extreme reactions; Why hate when a little dislike will do? Why generate anxiety when you can be nervous? Why rage when anger will do the job? Why be depressed when you can just be sad? Don't sweat the small stuff Try to prioritize a few truly important things and let the rest slide. Renton Technical College l 3000 NE Fourth St. l Renton, WA 98056-4195 l 425.235.2352 l www.rtc.edu 2
Be Good to Yourself Don t overwork. All work and no play can make you tense, irritable and less efficient. Sleep. Maintain your regular sleep schedule and stay with your normal body rhythms. If your regular schedule doesn t meet your new demands, slowly change your body s schedule to meet the new demands. Take short power naps. 10 15 minutes. New and stressful situations demand more of your body. Be good to it. Eat well. Try not to eat greasy or acidic foods. Don t overeat. Recognize your limitations. We all have limitations to what we can do. Recognizing where our limits are and respecting them will help you to feel good. Remove yourself from the situation. Give yourself a break if only for a few moments daily. Avoid self-medication or escape. Don t use alcohol or drugs to solve your problems. Don t rely on caffeine and sugar to keep you going. If you are taking care of yourself, you won t need these things. Reward yourself. Think about your out of class life and focus on what you'll do this weekend or this evening. Laugh. Stress can often come from taking yourself or your task too seriously. Ask yourself what is the worst possible thing that could happen if you made a mistake or missed the deadline. Math Anxiety Math anxiety is commonly based on misconceptions about math, such as the notion that people are born with or without an ability to think quantitatively or that men are better at math than women. The best way to overcome math-related anxiety is though practice. Keeping up with your homework, attending class, preparing well for tests, and doing extra problems will help you learn the material, and boost your confidence. Renton Technical College l 3000 NE Fourth St. l Renton, WA 98056-4195 l 425.235.2352 l www.rtc.edu 3
Develop Strategies to Minimize Test Anxiety Many people suffer from test anxiety. As a result, test grades may not reflect what you really know. If you can learn to prepare for the test and develop a positive attitude, you can minimize the anxiety you experience. Prepare Yourself. Participate in every class. Keep up with your reading and assignments. Find out what to expect on the exam. Determine what material will be covered, the question format, length of the exam and the points assigned to each question. It will help you to feel in control Create a study plan and divide the plan into small tasks. As you finish each task, you will experience increased sense of accomplishment, confidence, and control. Form a study group. Avoid cramming Develop and Maintain a Positive Attitude See the test as an opportunity to learn, not as a win/lose situation. Understand that tests measure performance, not personal value. Find study partners who inspire you to do your best, and avoid those who are anxious or negative. Expect progress and success not failure. Practice relaxation. Practice positive self-talk. Tell yourself that you can do well and that it is normal to feel anxious before an exam. The Day of the Test 1. Get to the classroom with enough time to relax. Practice breathing and visualization. Hurrying causes tension; fear of being late builds anxiety. 2. Develop a positive attitude because you have studied well. Believe it. 3. Make sure you can see a clock, plan your time and pace yourself 4. Choose your seat carefully. Sitting near friends can be disruptive. 5. Begin by filling in the answers you know. 6. Don t panic if others are busy writing and you are not. 7. Don t panic if you forget an answer go on, it will come back to you. 8. Don t worry if others finish before you do. 9. Don t panic if you run out of time. Outline essay questions you didn t have time to complete. Maybe the instructor will give some points because they can see you knew the answer, but didn t have time to write the essay. Renton Technical College l 3000 NE Fourth St. l Renton, WA 98056-4195 l 425.235.2352 l www.rtc.edu 4
Practice Positive Self-Talk with These Affirmations Before the Event There s nothing to worry about. I m going to be all right. I ve succeeded with this before. I know I can do each one of these tasks. I ll jump in and be all right. Tomorrow, I ll be through it. During the Event Take it step by step. Don t rush. I can do this. I m doing it now. I can only do my best. Any tension I feel is a signal to use my coping exercises. I can get help if I need it. If I get tense, I ll take a breather and relax. It s okay to make mistakes. Coping with Fear Relax now! Just breathe deeply. There s an end to it. Keep my mind on the task at hand, right now. I can keep this within limits I can handle. I can always call. I am only afraid because I decided to be. I can decide not to be. I ve survived this and worse before. After the Event, Reinforce Success I did it! I did all right. I did well. Next time I won t have to worry so much. I am able to relax away anxiety. Renton Technical College l 3000 NE Fourth St. l Renton, WA 98056-4195 l 425.235.2352 l www.rtc.edu 5
Ways to Cope with Test Anxiety Before the Test 1. Try to think positively about yourself and the test. A. Remember to B. Reward C. Plan ways to improve for the next quarter D. Remember it s an opportunity to demonstrate And 2. Try to use relaxation techniques before and during the exam 3. Attend so you can improve your techniques to manage your time, take notes, prepare for tests, etc. 4. Begin studying for the exam one to two weeks in advance. Don t 5. Make sure you continue to: get sleep, exercise, eat a proper diet, relax, and work on other parts of your life. The Day of the Test 1. Eat 2. Try to relax beforehand distract yourself. 3. Arrive 4. Avoid classmates who are anxious. During the Test 1. If allowed, get a dink or go to the bathroom. 2. Eat 3. Break a pencil lead so you can go and sharpen it 4. Think about your promised reward 5. Relax A. Tense and relax B. Breathe C. Maintain Renton Technical College l 3000 NE Fourth St. l Renton, WA 98056-4195 l 425.235.2352 l www.rtc.edu 6
Be aware of Negative Talk. Counter it with the Positive If I do not do well, I will flunk the course. Then I will never get into college, graduate or get a job. Do not put your whole future on the line with a single test. It is unlikely that one test will make or break your chances of obtaining your goals. I study hard, but in the exam room, I just get confused. Better study habits and some relaxation techniques can help keep your mind clear. I always am so worked up the night before an exam that I cannot sleep. The next day I am exhausted and I flunk. You can help yourself by learning how to relax and control your anxiety. However, do not rely on drugs to help you, they can cause even more anxiety. I just cannot keep my mind on the test. It wanders to my weekend plans, my friends, whatever. I never do well no matter how much I study, so why study at all? Do not fall into the trap of having low expectations. Studying can bring results. My sister is the smart one in the family. She always does better than I do. Do not try to compete with others. Learn in the way that is best for you. My parent s have invested so much in me. I cannot let them down. That is a lot of pressure to place on you. Focus your energies on preparing for your test. In addition, remember, they will still love you no matter how you do on it. I always think of the answers after I leave the room. That is because your tension has been released. Learning relaxation techniques could help you. Renton Technical College l 3000 NE Fourth St. l Renton, WA 98056-4195 l 425.235.2352 l www.rtc.edu 7
Bibliography Bete, C. L. (1993). Manage Stress for college success [Pamphlet]. South Deerfield, MA: Author. Bete, C. L. (1998). Test anxiety tips for success [Pamphlet]. South Deerfield, MA: Author. Bete, C. L. (2001). Beating test anxiety [Pamphlet]. South Deerfield, MA: Author. Carter, C., Bishop, J., & Kravits, S. L. (2006). Keys to success: Building successful intelligence for college, career, and life (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. The College Portfolio For Success (1999). How to study. Lexington, KY: International Organization for Student Success. Renton Technical College l 3000 NE Fourth St. l Renton, WA 98056-4195 l 425.235.2352 l www.rtc.edu 8