How you can prevent and control tension during exams.

Examination anxiety popularly known as
examination fever, has probably plagued Nigerian
students since we first learnt how to say
'school'. It's one of the major problems
educationists and students as well, face daily in
Nigerian educational Institutions. It usually
affects mostly students in secondary and tertiary
institutions.

Exam fever, can be defined as 'An
irrational or obsessive fear or anxiety, of the
probability of passing or failing examinations. It
is 'irrational', because it causes us to do stuff
that we can clearly classify as being nonsensical,
absurd or foolish. Nonsensical means 'without
sense'. In essence, whenever we experience
exam fever, we act without THINKING STRAIGHT.

It is 'obsessive' because in most cases, this
menace is of a RECURRING nature. It happens
frequently, with repetition. The odds are if you
are suffering from exam fever, and you haven't
made conscious effort to break free from it, it
probably happens every time you take a major
exam.

EXAM FEVER OCCURS AS A RESULT OF STRESS

Stress can simply be defined, as 'WORK
OVERLOAD'. Human beings experience stress in
their everyday lives, and WE ALL as individuals
HAVE BREAKING POINTS. In a person's family
and personal life, and his or her work life (or in
our case ACADEMIC life), stress is always
present, to an extent.

The academic
environment, whether secondary or tertiary, is full
of stressful activities. From walking long
distances to lecture theatres, to observing
personal study sessions, one can be so stressed
up that breaking down occurs. Since we as
students, always experience stress at regular
points in time, it is absolutely necessary for us
to learn how to cope with academic stress.

You see, failure to cope with stress especially prior to
semester (or end of term) examinations, usually
leads to exam fever.

EXAM FEVER OCCURS AS A RESULT OF
PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination is another major problem we
have as individuals. Procrastination is the act of
postponing what should be done at the right
time, to a later period, giving irrelevant excuses
as reasons. It is a parasite that kills the
potential success of a lot of students, before you
can say 'EXAMINATION'.

As a student, you are
expected to read regularly, copy notes and
attend lectures, do tests and assignments, and a
whole lot more. Piling up activities or work is a
dangerous habit. It always causes LAST MINUTE
ANXIETY. As a result of rushing to cover up, a
person is further subjected to stress. When you
carry this stress to the exam hall, exam fever can
grip you.

GETTING RID OF EXAM FEVER

I want you my dear reader, to be rest assured
that if you are battling with exam fever, it is
curable. Yes, Exam fever can be cured!

In order
to achieve this, read on with a CONSCIOUS
decision to modify your routines to improve your
tolerance range and overall efficiency as a
student.

a) DEAL WITH PRESSURE: Exam tension puts us
all under pressure. This pressure can ACCUMULATE. When it accumulates, it causes
STRESS, which can lead to exam fever. Most high flying students, have over the years, learned
how to completely cope with and subdue the
external effects of this pressure.

You need to
learn how to handle pressure, not just in school,
but in every aspect of your life as an individual.
You build your ability to tolerate a lot of
pressure, with practice.

b) DON'T PILE UP WORK: Avoid procrastination
as much as possible. Maintain efficiency. Don't
put away what you have to do today, till
tomorrow. Attend to each activity as soon as
you are able to. When its time to do homework,
please do. When its time to read, please do.
When its time to attend lectures, please do.
When its time to have fun, please do. There is
time for everything. START PREPARING FOR
EXAMINATIONS EARLY.

c) DEVELOP A WORKING CYCLE: In your
personal study sessions, try to develop a working
cycle. Assess yourself. When do you assimilate
better? What method works well for you? DON'T
COPY OTHER PEOPLE. YOU ARE UNIQUE.

identify what suits you, then work it into a cycle.
A cycle helps you to be consistent.
CONSISTENCY builds CONFIDENCE. Confidence
ELIMINATES FEAR.

d) AVOID NEGATIVE THINKING: If you are in the
university, then you're probably used to hearing
that a course is impossible to pass. This lecturer
is horrible. You can never pass my course and
other stuff like that. Please DISMISS ALL
NEGATIVE THOUGHTS.

Being negative won't get
you any where. It will only add fear to your
mind. Stay positive and be prayerful.

e) WORK ALWAYS BRING RESULTS: All works
bring result. The success you achieve tomorrow,
is directly proportional to the work you are
willing to put in today. If you work for an A, all
things being equal you'll get an A. If you get a B,
work harder. Eventually, you'll get an A+ not just
an ordinary A.

f) CHECK YOUR HEALTH CONDITION: Please do
not sit for examinations under poor health
conditions. If its an unavoidable examination,
please CHECK YOUR HEALTH CONDITIONS, TWO
TO THREE WEEKS PRIOR TO THE EXAM. A
healthy student has a higher chance of
succeeding in exams.

Dear readers, exam fever is a defeated problem, if
you stick to these principles.