Test anxiety is a recognized psychological condition wherein a person feels apprehension, dread or fear when taking a test, during a test or after taking a test. This interferes with the normal learning process of the person to the extent of it affecting the different facets of his life.

There are several signs of test anxiety. It can be categorized into physical, emotional, behavioural and cognitive. The physical signs of test anxiety are the easiest to recognize among all the symptoms. They’re usually manifested through headaches, upset stomach, sudden change in body temperature, excessive sweating, difficulty in breathing, palpitation, dry mouth and sometimes fainting.

The emotional signs of test anxiety are when someone excessively feels fear, anger or disappointment towards taking exams. The extreme signs of test anxiety under this category are depression and feeling of helplessness with a mere idea of taking a test. Bursting into uncontrollable crying or laughing is falling under this category as well.

When someone is fidgeting, paces or avoids tests, then he is manifesting one of the behavioural signs of test anxiety. This is one of the most dangerous signs of test anxiety as it could lead to substance abuse. This is especially true for over-achievers who feel that they’re self-worth greatly relies on their test scores. And this could develop into a full-blown anxiety issue once they reach adulthood.

Lastly, there are the cognitive signs of test anxiety. These are usually manifested during the examination itself, like going blank, having racing thoughts, finding it difficult to concentrate or organize ideas and having negative thoughts about oneself during the examination. These can even be extended after the test, like dreading the result and comparing oneself to the rest of the class.

These signs of test anxiety generally show themselves when either the control of body or concentration is loss because of the person’s fear of committing a mistake. Mistake phobia is a common problem experienced by people at one point in their lives. But overcoming it to prevent it from taking a different form can sometimes be difficult if not recognized at its early stage.

As a parent, it is important for you to know how to identify early signs of test anxiety on your child before it develops into something that will prevent normal learning. Some parents tend to dismiss their child’s feigned sickness during examination week as something normal that everybody has to go through. Although at some point it may be true, it is still critical that you keep an eye on such instances. Your child’s early learning development will have a great impact on his adult life.

The signs of test anxiety can sometimes develop due to how a person sees himself. Most parents unconsciously instil on their children the drive to be always on top. While it is healthy to encourage your children to always do their best in all their endeavours, it can be dangerous as it makes the child afraid of failure. Therefore, the best way to prevent this condition from happening to your child is to make him feel loved even on his weakest.

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Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: test anxiety,exam anxiety,anxiety,panic