Issue link: https://www.hub.camaf.co.za/i/948159
17 2023 EXAM STRESS GUIDE Dealing with exam panic is as easy as 1-2-3 1. If you start panicking, allow yourself up to 5 minutes to deal with your panic. You probably feel tense, so concentrate on relaxing your muscles and trying some breathing techniques to calm down. This will help reduce the increasing tension and stress. Say STOP! to yourself. Breathe in gently and breathe out slowly, relaxing shoulders, arms, and hands. Pause for a few seconds. Breathe in again, and breathe out slowly, relaxing forehead and jaw. Stay quiet for a few seconds. Carry on with whatever you were doing, deliberately moving more slowly. You will find that in spite of your feelings, the tension will lessen. 2. Once you have calmed down, you may want to suck a sweet or glucose (particularly if you feel light-headed or nauseous). Then try to define the immediate trigger of anxiety. Is there a different way of approaching the problem? If you are completely stuck, it might be worthwhile attempting a new question, or a different stage of the problem question. Try not to think about the actual panic once you have acknowledged that it is there. 3. If panic persists or returns when you start thinking about its trigger, try again to relax your muscles, breathe, and try to clear your mind of the problem - either by blanking it, or by imagining something pleasant for a minute or two. Once your mind is relaxed, bring it back to the immediate problem and just aim to do enough to get past the problem point so that you are then free to go onto the other parts. It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." SENECA