ALIVE HYPNOSIS

Test Anxiety

Testing anxiety is a common obstacle for almost all students, even those who study a lot. The root cause of anxiety is in the subconscious mind not in the conscious mind. Students can analyze and rationalize their test-taking anxieties, but without changing one’s perception and beliefs, there will always be some nervousness that will impact a student’s testing achievement. Students come to tests as human beings with a complex mix of emotions, experiences, and beliefs that influence their testing behavior. Students do not suddenly attain self-mastery just because they are taking a test. Releasing negative beliefs and feelings may be done consciously, but it may take years. However, through hypnosis, students can release their negative beliefs and feelings in a few sessions (usually one to three). Hypnosis is a technique that goes straight to the subconscious source of our emotions and beliefs. When we solve our problems subconsciously, we feel better immediately and a new positive belief replaces the old one. Changing our feelings has a powerful effect on our behavior and confidence. There are many reasons for testing anxiety such as some of the most common ones listed here.

• Fear of failure
• Inflating the test’s importance
• Poor decision-making
• Negative thoughts
• Procrastination
• Lack of preparation
• Inability to ask for help
• Fear of disappointing parents
• Low self-esteem
• Lack of self-awareness
• Lack of self-monitoring skills
• Time allotment
• Lack of practice
• Stress, fatigue, or hunger

While studying and practicing have been traditional responses to test anxiety, students rarely use their subconscious intelligence to increase their success. Subconscious techniques are especially powerful because they help students relax the body and release negative beliefs that can spiral out of control while taking a test.

For example, as a student takes a test such as the SAT for college admission, he may experience drawing a blank, inability to focus, or even panic. These feelings if not released immediately can compound and have devastating effects over the course of a three-hour, multi-section test. Most students have a difficult time letting go of a hard question or a poor performance on a section. Sometimes, it can even lead to giving up on the test entirely. This is especially true for students who are perfectionists or who need to feel in control all the time. There is hope however. Studies show that students would perform significantly better if they had more time. Timed testing increases a student’s anxiety because they feel they are racing against the clock. However, if they were taught techniques to clear the mind, reduce stress, and focus their mind, they would be able to curtail their anxiety and perform with more accuracy and speed. Other studies also show that when students increase their relaxation, their awareness also increases.

Hypnosis is an invaluable technique for reducing test anxiety. While students cannot have their hypnotherapist sitting next to them as they take the test, they can use self-hypnosis effectively with a little practice.

Five Self-Hypnosis Techniques

1. Counting Down-Count down from ten to one and take a deep breath before the test begins. During the test, count down from three to one and take a deep breath the minute you feel yourself growing nervous.
2. Visualization-Before the test, visualize yourself doing well on the test. For example, visualize yourself moving through the test problems confidently.
3. Create an Anchor-Before the test, place the thumb and index finger of either hand together and say a word such as relax. Whenever you feel yourself starting to panic, simply put together your fingers and say the word. This anchor will train your mind to clear itself of its mental chatter and signal your body to relax.
4. Meditate-Between test sections, close your eyes and visualize being in a comfortable and peaceful place such as an island or in a meadow. This helps to keep your body relaxed and your mind sharp. If you find you do not have any extra time between sections, simply close your eyes and repeat the phrase, “I am relaxed” over and over.
5. Affirm-After finishing each section, say a short, present tense affirmation about your performance such as “I do well on this test.” You may also state that you clear your mind for the next section.

These five steps will assist students to have effective mind/body tools that will decrease their anxiety. For those students who feel they need further help, a private session with a qualified hypnotherapist can make a difference in how they behave and feel during tests. On important exams, hypnosis gives students the extra edge. Schedule a session as far in advance of the exam as possible.

Tips for Parents of Children with Testing Anxiety

In today’s educational settings, students are tested for everything. The spectrum of exams is mind-boggling. Class exams, exit exams, placement exams, entrance exams, proficiency exams, scholarship exams, the SAT, the ACT, the STAR and driver’s license exams are all tests that students must take. Most of these exams are timed which makes accuracy more important because students must know the correct answer and be quick about it. Almost all students do not like taking exams, and some have uncontrollable test anxiety, which destroys their confidence and lowers their performance. These students usually exhibit other signs of learning anxiety such as poor concentration, procrastination, or even perfectionism.

Students internalize all kinds of beliefs about their learning abilities based upon their conditioning. If students believe that they will never do well on an exam, they will create a self-fulfilling prophecy because their beliefs will influence their behavior. Perhaps a student will not study for an upcoming exam, or perhaps he will panic and answer questions incorrectly even though he studied. In cases where students have incorporated good study skills into their learning but are still performing poorly, test anxiety is the likely obstacle.

For parents, poor study or learning habits can be frustrating because every parent wants the best learning experience possible for his or her children. In addition to test preparation strategies such as learning study skills, relaxation and imagining techniques are powerful tools that parents can teach to their children.

Three Steps to Help Your Children

1. Relaxation-Train your children to make relaxation a study habit. For example, before your children begin their homework, have them take 9 full breaths. Each inhalation and exhalation counts as one breath. Model this for your children as they are sitting down with their books open or sitting before the computer. Train your children to associate their studying space and studying habits with breathing. Also, teach them to take 3 full breaths whenever they run into a problem or feel distracted. Think of this technique as a relaxation time-out that over time will really help the mind stay calm during tests. The goal is to decrease stress and anxiety.

2. Future Pacing Visualization-You will need paper and markers for this technique. Ask your children to stand up. If you would like, soothing music may be helpful to set the mood. Keep your voice calm and tell them to close their eyes and just visualize a calendar. Tell them to imagine today’s date and visualize themselves as the learners they are today. For example, if they are getting ready for a big exam, they could see where they are today in terms of being prepared for the exam. Now ask them to open their eyes and write down where they are today in a few words (ex. unprepared or one chapter read). Tell them to place this piece of paper on the floor by their feet. Now ask them to close their eyes and visualize where they want to be in two weeks from now or any other amount of time. With eyes closed, have them walk forward a few steps. Ask them to open their eyes and write a present-tense phrase that describes where they are now. Ask them to place this piece of paper by their feet where they are now standing. Now, ask them to close their eyes again and visualize where they will be one month from today. Have them walk forward with their eyes closed. Ask them to open their eyes and write a phrase that describes where they will be, and then to place it on the floor by their feet. Finally, ask them to turn around and see how far they have come. Encourage them to use this visualization as many times as they would like while studying. They do not have to stand; they can just imagine that they are. This is a powerful mind/body tool, which will focus their mental power.

3. Reassurance Communication-What students fear the most is parental disapproval. Every child wants to make her parents proud. As a teacher for many years, I heard the phrase, “my parents are going to…” over and over again. The beliefs about parents that students internalize are major contributors to students’ self-created anxiety. Therefore, if parents can reassure children through verbal communication that they will still love their children no matter how they perform on a test, the anxiety will abate. Some parents may find this difficult. It does not mean you have to lie and say that grades or tests are unimportant; it simply reassures students that they are still worthy regardless of their performance. Try to look at your children directly in their eyes in a loving manner as you express yourself. You will also have to practice what you preach. Do not grow upset at your children if they perform poorly on their next exam. Shift the blame away from your children and focus more on the exam. Use poor performance as a way to learn about the test rather than focusing on what the children did or did not do. Debrief each test/grade this way and your children will feel that they can share their experiences with you.
As always, these techniques are most effective when used in tandem with cognitive approaches. Try study skill techniques such as mind-mapping, note-taking, organization, time-budgeting, active listening, distraction-free environments, and many others for an integrated approach to test anxiety. If your children continue to experience test anxiety, schedule a one-on-one hypnosis session with a hypnotherapist.