Students of all ages battle test anxiety

PHOENIX -- Summer's barely over, yet students across the Valley already are preparing for mid-term exams.

A survey by the Center for Student Health and Life found one out of four college students admit having a hard time managing the stress of studies and tests.

Valley psychotherapist Annette Hill-Puccia says you can hear the stress in a typical classroom.

"You might be able to hear a person breathing shallowly, sniffing their nose, clearing their throat a lot, or tapping their foot rapidly. These are all signs of test anxiety," Hill-Puccia said.

"Like any other anxiety, it's a fear of what may happen, sort of a fantasy of the worst-case scenario."

As your brain releases adrenaline, the body begins working to expel that nervous energy through fidgeting and, in some cases, allergy-like symptoms, she explained.

Outside Arizona State University's Memorial Union, several engineering students admit to having similar symptoms.

For Mohammad Rashed, test anxiety hits when he studies too hard: "Yeah! That's weird, right, because I'm feeling a lot of pressure to ace the test."

Hill-Puccia says test anxiety usually kicks in when a student places extra pressure on himself to perform and it will happen to students at all ages.

At Madison Rose Lane Elementary in Phoenix, a third-grade student tells himself under his breath, "I don't know, I don't know," as his teacher asks the class to spell "much," during a spelling test.

Little negative thoughts, Hill-Puccia warns, can do big damage.

"Advertising is very powerful! It is very short statements or images aimed at motivating you. You are your greatest advertiser. So, if you tell yourself that you're going to fail, this is not going to work, this is going to be awful, you're listening! And, you're motivated into the panic response."

To help students overcome test anxiety, she recommends they prepare well and get a good night's rest the day before. The day of the test, she recommends taking a walk or a jog.

"You might even pet your dog, or go for a horseback ride."

Doing an activity helps you to move your brain from the panic mode to logic mode she says, "and, oftentimes a connection with an animal calms down your physiology."

Once you are in the classroom and about to take the test, she says trick your brain to move into the logic mode once again, "by counting chairs, counting floor tiles, the number of blondes, the number of brunettes in the classroom."

That technique blocks the brain from launching into panic mode, "because your brain can't be in both of those mood states, anxiety and logic, so it's a really great way to calm yourself down."

Finally, before the next round of tests arrives, Hill-Puccia recommends students read the class material daily and if that can't happen, "At the very least, read the preface, summary and the questions at the back of each chapter to help your brain retain material."