Cause
Fear reactions are a part of our innate behavior that can give us a survival advantage. For example, we are afraid of predators because they can be a danger to our lives. A certain fear is therefore healthy.
Only when this fear paralyzes us and affects us in our life and work, it becomes a disease. Fear of exams can also be quite healthy, as it motivates us to learn and prepares us well for an exam. However, if one begins to exaggerate the assessment of the exam situation in a negative way, i.e. to evaluate it in such a way that “life and death” depends on it, this fear can become a disease.
An important aspect in the development of exam anxiety is the so-called self-attribution. This means that one attributes certain characteristics and qualities to oneself, but these do not necessarily have to correspond to reality. Thus, one can be firmly convinced that the exam became a disaster because one had not prepared oneself well enough or is in some other way to blame.
Other factors, such as the mood of the examiner, the length of the exam, the level of requirements etc. are not taken into account. The feeling to be responsible alone for the loading situation leads to uncertainties, from which the fear in examinations generally to fail can result.
These negative thoughts and anxious attitudes are decisive for the development of exam anxiety. Not only can they become a mental burden, but they also take up a large part of our attention and time, which is not available for exam preparation. If you generally evaluate an exam situation in a negative sense, according to which you are afraid (without any rational justification for this fear), the body also reacts negatively to the tension and the above-mentioned symptoms occur.
Very quickly this fear can lead into a vicious circle: one is afraid not to pass an exam, cannot prepare well due to the concentration and motivation difficulties associated with the fear, and experiences the exam situation as stressful and the result as unsatisfactory. This again one attributes to itself and develops beyond that a fear of the, the examination and examination preparation negatively influencing, fear. Not to underestimate with the emergence of a test fear is besides the parental education and allowance in the childhood.Children of parents who pay little attention to the emotional needs of their children, who on the contrary are more interested in learning about rules and social norms, are more likely to develop a fear of exams.
It is often the case that the parents underestimate the children’s needs and at the same time overestimate their abilities. The children learn that good behavior is rewarded and fear rejection by the parents if they make a mistake. This is easily transferred to other situations where evaluation (by the environment, employer, etc.)
takes place and especially exam situations. Even if they are not responsible for the failure of the exam, they attribute it to themselves and the cycle described above occurs. Children who rely on the support of their parents regardless of the situation and who are allowed to try out their childhood are more self-confident and less prone to developing exam anxiety.
Especially between 20 to 30 years of age, the transition period between childhood/ puberty and adulthood, many are susceptible to the development of an exam nerves, as they can be exposed to enormous stress due to studies or training. The demands placed on the person who is perceived as adult and responsible for himself/herself are met by the inner maturation process and the feeling that he/she is not yet able to fulfill the role as an adult. Test anxiety is not an illness to be taken lightly, but it can be helped well with psychological strategies.
Therapy should aim to evaluate situations as objectively as possible and not slide into destructive thought patterns that destroy mood and self-confidence and thus physical well-being through their negative orientation. It is important to counter the negative thoughts that predominate in exam anxiety with positive thoughts. Thoughts and fantasies are important and helpful and can help to overcome the exam nerves.
Simple strategies to establish a connection between thinking and feeling include the so-called “ABC of emotions”. The first step is to describe the highly stressful situation as uninfluenced by feelings as possible. The next step is about your own thoughts, expectations and attitudes.
In a final step, feelings and behavioral patterns should be examined in detail. This detailed examination of the situation can help to reveal behavioral patterns and ways of thinking that have a negative impact on self-esteem and to work on them in a targeted manner. Other approaches are behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy or hypnosis.
Behavioral therapy assumes that every behavior and every experience is trained and can therefore be learned again. In the sessions, the damaging behaviors are tackled in an environment that is favorable for learning and are specifically replaced by other behaviors. In the process, the stress is increased until the frightening situation, in this case the exam, can finally be endured.
Psychodynamic therapy goes back to the psychoanalytic theory of Freud. It assumes that there are several conflicting desires and motivations in a person. The inner conflicts that arise in the process seek a valve to the outside.
The behaviour patterns that emerge are often perceived as harmful and unwanted. The underlying problem, the internal conflict, is however ignored. The psychoanalytical approach now attempts to work on and resolve these basal problems.
In this sense it is more thorough than other forms of therapy, since it not only works on the harmful behavior but also on its cause, but it also takes longer. Therefore, this form of therapy should rather not be chosen shortly before an examination. Hypnosis is a consciously initiated, deep state of relaxation.
If it is used therapeutically, one speaks of hypnotherapy. In the hypnosis examination situations are experienced, which run however positively. This thought process can be used by the brain as a positive experience and strengthens the self-confidence. Thus positive thoughts can be trained. In addition, unconscious motivations and conflicts can be clarified in a hypnosis and worked on in the further course.