WHAT IF I BOMB?

/in /by

Exam stress . . . Exam tension . . . Exam anxiety . . . Exam panic: It is the toughest time of the year.

Every campus has student support resources. I urge you to be aware of them and to make use of them. What I’m going to discuss today is not clinical support but a ten step strategic approach to dealing with exam stress: Name the problem, outline solutions, schedule the actions, and allow for contingencies.

  1. First, name the problem. Most often, behind exam stress is the fear that you are going to fail an exam or a term and that the consequences will be catastrophically disastrous for the entire rest of your life. If this is your concern, whether realistic or not, the worst-case approach can go a long way to reducing exam stress.
  2. Outline what the consequence of failing a particular exam will be. You might have to retake the course. It might be a prerequisite for another course. You might not get into the program you are targeting. You will lose funding. You will be humiliated and will disappoint people that are important to you. Come up with your own worst-case scenarios.
  3. Now address each feared consequence. Everyone has different solutions. You will need to come up with your own. Here are examples of what has worked for others:
    1. If you will have to retake the course or it is a needed prerequisite, look up when it is next offered. Plan to rearrange your course calendar accordingly.
    2. If you risk not getting into, say, the law school of your choice, plan to investigate other law schools, or to take an extra year to pump your GPA back (gut courses serve a purpose).
    3. If you will lose funding, jot down ways to earn or borrow for next year.
    4. If you will disappoint someone close to you, maybe reach out and let them know you are doing your best, planning for the worst (keep it brief–not a wailing session) and will touch base when you know how you stand.
  4. Write each fear down on a card or sheet of paper.
  5. Write the plan on the other side of the paper. Read these plans through.
  6. NOW PUT THE CARDS ON A SHELF OR IN A DRAWER.
  7. Each time you find yourself angsting about exams, go to the shelf or the drawer and pull out the fear/solution sheet that fits. Touch the paper. Put your fear there. 
  8. Put the paper back on the shelf. 
  9. Endorse yourself for shifting your energy, and . . . 
  10. Back to focussing and self-maintaining.

Let’s say worst case you do bomb your year. Yes, it matters. But it is not forever. When you’re taking a break, look up the academic record of Charles Schulz (Charlie Brown), who failed every single course in Grade 8, Winston Churchill, who was forced to take English because he wasn’t considered smart enough for the more rigorous courses, the life story of Stephen King, who gave up after years of rejections until his wife pull his novel out of the garbage and got him to submit it (Carrie), or the pre-McDonald’s career of Ray Kroc, who lost jobs, played piano in a whorehouse, and sold appliances until he bought McDonald’s at age fifty.

Exam stress can really hit your ability to focus and can be as distracting as TikTok. Plus it is very, very unpleasant. I hope this approach helps you keep normal apprehension from spiralling–it doesn’t replace self-maintenance of sleep-eat-hydrate-exercise, it doesn’t replace clinical support if that is what is needed, and it doesn’t replace doing the work–but it does organize and reduce cognitive load so that you can attend to the key things that you need to attend to these last weeks.

This is a tough time of the year. You can do it. And if you don’t make it this term, you will do it down the road.  Connect with me if you’d like to discuss disaster plans [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.