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You may find that a different approach from the one I described above works for you. The important key is that you develop something that puts you in the proper frame of mind and is predictable. The best antidote to anxiety is to plan for it, anticipate it, and be willing to face it with confidence.

As he advises, you begin by focusing on a positive activity you enjoy. He gives an example in the book of a father playing catch with his son. You then plan a set of rituals to perform before this very pleasant activity. These can be simple meditation exercises, a short exercise routine, listening to music. Again, the specific activity doesn't matter. The goal is to provide yourself with a set of steps that ultimately prepare you for the pleasant state of mind you will be in when you engage in this positive activity you enjoy.

Once this ritual is in place and part of your habit, you can transfer it to other activities and you will realize the same benefit. In other words, if you perform this ritual before taking an exam, the psychological feeling of the ritual ending with a positive activity you enjoy will transfer and youll be in a much better frame of mind for your exam. You can defeat your test anxiety by the use of this ritual since the cues of this ritual were designed with a positive anxiety-free activity as their goal. The exam will then take on the feeling of the positive anxiety-free activity.

If this doesn't work or your anxiety is particularly strong, you might find Viktor Frankl's approach called paradoxical intention to be effective. Here the idea is to confront your anxiety by trying to heighten it, thus the paradox. As Frankl points out one of the most troublesome factors in anxiety is the anticipation of having anxiety. You are faced with a situation which produces anxiety but even before you are facing the situation you begin worrying about having anxiety and thinking about what it will be like and dreading the results. But, like a martial artist who uses their opponent's force against them, you can use the force of anxiety against itself. Frankl advises that in situations like this you try to really make yourself anxious. Try to have the worst anxiety attack ever. Imagine all the feelings you have when you are anxious and really try to have them as bad as you possibly can. Of course, what you discover is that you can't do it! Just like when you try to sneeze or hiccup and are unable to. By calling attention to the anxiety and trying to have it you minimize its power and are able to make light of it. The situation of trying to make yourself anxious becomes so ridiculous that you find it humorous. As Frankl points out, you can use humor to diffuse your anxiety. You can even make this part of your ritual!

Anxiety is not normally considered a laughing matter but you can make it the object of ridicule and overcome it. By practicing and formulating some basic rituals to perform before you take an exam you can maximize your study efforts and minimize your anxiety. To the extent that you can make test preparation less stressful you can make learning more fun and this will in turn help reduce your anxiety.

Learn more about this author, Kevin J. Browne.
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