School exams and other anxiety stress - how the cope?

[WeAreStars]

I have two weeks of exams coming up over the next two weeks, most of them are two hours long. Im so worried.. I have this anxiety problem where i feel sick and faint in situations where im under pressure or where there are alot of people in a room and im not able to speak - i guess i like to feel free.

Anyway, i had three 20minute exams a week back and in them i felt TERRIBLE and now i have exams ten times longer and i have no idea how ill cope! They start tomorrow so i cant go and see a doctor for it in advance, i just need some help.. i have tried breathing exercises but they make me feel worse D: i just keep thinking about feeling ill in my mind and that makes it worse, i know i need to not think about it but i just cant! I am getting therapy for it but not for a while (the place is very busy) so please any advice? x

[L]

Are these school or college exams? Either way would there be someone you could talk to about maybe doing your exams in a different room to everyone else. Doing exams doesn't cause me much anxiety any more but the days leading up do, I go completely nuts. Best of luck in them xxx

[takethebiscuit]

I have two weeks of exams coming up over the next two weeks, most of them are two hours long. Im so worried.. I have this anxiety problem where i feel sick and faint in situations where im under pressure or where there are alot of people in a room and im not able to speak - i guess i like to feel free.

Anyway, i had three 20minute exams a week back and in them i felt TERRIBLE and now i have exams ten times longer and i have no idea how ill cope! They start tomorrow so i cant go and see a doctor for it in advance, i just need some help.. i have tried breathing exercises but they make me feel worse D: i just keep thinking about feeling ill in my mind and that makes it worse, i know i need to not think about it but i just cant! I am getting therapy for it but not for a while (the place is very busy) so please any advice? x

Hello WeAreStars. You guess you like to feel free. This might be a random question but: what kind of free do you like to feel?

If we had time I could help you feel free in the exams. I'll do my best for you anyway.

Firstly, it's okay that you've been feeling like this. Exam stress is experienced by a lot of people. When I did my assessment to qualify as a therapist, I was very anxious.

Anxiety is basically one massive future pace. What that means is a lot of anxiety involves sitting or standing around thinking about feeling anxious during future events. By thinking like that, people make themselves feel bad in the present.

And you're right, trying to not think about it won't work.

So play with things a bit. You can't stop yourself thinking about something you don't want to think about. So try to resist thinking about feeling free in your forthcoming exams. Go on, really try to stop yourself imagining yourself feeling free during your exams.