Most students feel stressed and pressurized during exams and it is often labelled as a common phenomenon. Our culture of putting students to tests also comes with the baggage of comparison and other negative behaviours. Psychiatric disorders are often mistaken as personality traits or growing pains in children. This results in the child not receiving necessary treatment at early stages, which paves way for further deterioration of the child’s mental health.
While physical illnesses are often visible to the naked eye, mental health deterioration is harder to spot. Stress, anxiety, and other mental health problems in children are difficult for parents to identify due to various barriers which include invisibility, inexperience, and other social stigmas. One of the many disorders that plague young adults, is anxiety.
Understanding anxiety is one of the biggest ways we can help overcome it. Dr Parth Nagda provides professional anxiety treatment in Kopar Khairane and Mumbai.
Before we get to the solutions, let’s understand the basics of anxiety and how it affects students during exams.
What is anxiety?
A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome, accompanied by characteristic physical and psychological symptoms is referred to as anxiety. Everybody experiences it when faced with a stressful situation, like before an exam or an interview. It is normal to feel anxious when facing something difficult or dangerous, and mild anxiety can be positive and useful in many instances. However, there are some cases when it is considered abnormal and a disorder.
When the anxiety is prolonged or severe, happening in the absence of a stressful event and interferes with everyday activities such as going to work or socializing it can be considered a disorder. Sometimes symptoms occur before a forthcoming event as well.
In such cases, it is necessary to consult a professional for anxiety treatment in Mumbai.
There are 2 main types of symptoms seen in all anxiety disorders-
Physical symptoms of anxiety: dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, tightness or pain in the chest, shortness of breath, dizziness, and frequent urination.
Psychological symptoms of anxiety: disturbances in sleeping and eating, irritability or anger, inability to concentrate, headaches, refusal to go to school, and exam phobia.
Globally, anxiety disorders plague over 7-6 % of the student population, however, over 12 – 16% of students face anxiety disorders in India. We do not have accurate data as this is not widely reported and has a smorgasbord of causes.
A variety of causes come together for a child to develop anxiety. Some causes include repeated exposure to chronic stress and surroundings, passed on from parent to child genetically. On the other hand, infections and substance abuse, the personality of the child, major stress or traumas in the child’s life, and repeated minor stresses which build up over time are other causes. Untreated anxiety is dangerous and must be treated before it worsens. If not managed, pediatric anxiety disorders can lead to the development of depression, deliberate self-harm, and substance abuse in the future as well as significant impairment in academic performance and personality development.
Early diagnosis and treatment help with early recovery. One of the most important steps to this is to consult Dr Parth Nagda for anxiety treatment in Kopar Khairane and Mumbai.
Exam stress is one of the most common causes that develops into anxiety disorders. We can tackle this in many ways by breaking this down into simpler processes.
Let’s break this process into two phases-
-Preparation for studying
-Preparing to face the exam
Part 1 – Studying tips
Keep small and achievable study targets. Try studying for 25-30 min, and re-read and revise what you have studied for the next 10 mins. Take a good break for 15 minutes. Do something refreshing, walk a bit, eat, and again study the same way.
Making your notes with what is read from the book and what the teacher taught is useful. Writing is proven to improve and boost memory.
Break harder portions into smaller units to avoid confusion.
Use pictures. Diagrams are a quick way to represent what you know quickly and are easier to recall during revision.
A fixed schedule for studying helps one focus and not over-commit.
Sleep for 7-8 hours. What is studied in the day gets converted to long-term memory during sleep, so do not ever sacrifice sleep!
Exercise for at least 30 minutes daily to boost memory.
Part 2 – Giving the Exam
Do not read anything extra at the last minute since you will panic and lose confidence.
Keep your study material, writing material, hall tickets, etc. ready a day before the exams.
Avoid internet use and social media and other distractions.
For relaxation, try talking with your friends, watching a movie, going for a walk, and listening to some music.
If you have too much anxiety, difficulty concentrating, or panic attacks, try doing deep breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation.
If it does not help, you can always consult a psychiatrist for help with worries related to exams, exam stress, panic attacks, depression, and worries about failure.
As parents, it is important to keep an eye and ear out to spot the exam stress that turns into anxiety. We must create a safe environment that allows our children to reach out to us when they undergo stress.
Consult a professional at the earliest for anxiety treatment in Mumbai if you notice any signs of anxiety in your child.