I can't cope with exams I get extremely anxious and stressed?

LegacyUser

I've been finding university complicated.
I switched from my course last year decided it wasn't for me an I failed two modules anyway.
Now this year has gone better I failed one exam usually I'm okay at it I just messed up on the exam due to being underprepared or I have exams where I feel like I could've done better.
In every exam it seems like I go blank or mess up or what I write doesn't come out in the same way like I know it before the exams.
I have two repeats ones tomorrow luckily one is open book. My other two weeks leading up to it I got extremely stressed/anxious ended up putting off the studying longer.
Or keep forgetting how to do the things I know it's not that it's difficult, I know it I just can't remember how to do it. I just get so much pressure in exams I perform very badly or procrastinate long due to being anxious about exams.
I have spoken to the college I have extra time and breaks in a smaller room still I get extremely anxious. I don't know if I can cope with college I've already deferred my 2nd semester this year. I was feeling fine until the exams were getting nearer college just gets me too stressed and anxious I can't deal with it.

Rubberchikken

I understand you're finding it difficult but you've been trying even with the anxious moments.

Can i ask if you want to continue in college?
Would you consider letting it go for the time being and maybe focusing on your health and maybe getting a job and seeing how things go?

Take care

Lou.m

<Mod Snip: Please do not quote an entire OP. The quote facility is good for picking out specific points. Quoting the entire passage is unnecessary and clogs up the thread with duplicate posts. Please be mindful of other posters who continually find themselves scrolling through the same body of text and only use the quote facility to discuss specific points in the post >

See it as an adventure ...see it as a challenge ..something to be excited about ..that was the way I had it in my head. It was my quest!:)

Kilgore__Trout

Hi there,

Exams are stressful and everyone slips up now and then.

Do you enjoy what you are studying? Can you see yourself working in this field for a good part of your life? If so, putting in the hours should be fairly easy, if not, it's going to be tough.

Assuming the area of study interests you, and you want to continue your studies, seek advice from your lecturers on what you should do short term, for the upcoming exams. If it's not for you, or you feel you need to step back from it for a while, the previous poster's suggestion of looking for work may be worth considering. There will be opportunities to go back to college later.

Longer term, you might want to consider cultivating a good study routine. Different things work for different people, but I found doing one hour a day study on top of what's needed to keep your head above water from the first day of college worked fairly well. Make studying at least 5 days a week a habit, but balance it with other activities, of which there should be plenty on offer through societies. As the year goes on, start doing 2, then 3, then 4 hours a day, increasing the workload as you get closer to exams. It's no different from training your body. The more you do it, the easier it becomes, and the more confident you will be when the day comes.

I'd be very stressed going into an exam if not prepared for it, but if you've put in the hours, have worked hard and are confident with the material, you're primed to do well and it really takes the edge off exam time nerves. Avoiding study because you are stressed about upcoming exams avoids and ultimately compounds the problem, and it's a trend that needs to be reversed.

I understand that this may be easier said than done right now, as you seem to have come to strongly associate exams and study with stress, so I'd suggest dropping in for a talk with a college counsellor. Most colleges offer this service for free, and the staff are experienced in matters such as these. I went through a stage of being stressed in college and it helped me.

I wish you luck!

greengirl31

I'd agree with what Kilgore said ... If you put in the work you should be more confident with exams. College isn't like school where you can cram a lot into the last few weeks - you really have to keep the head down from the start so you don't fall behind cause once that happens you really are swimming against the tide and it can be hard to know where to start and you become very overwhelmed.

I think speaking to the college again is a good idea... Do you have learning support officers ?? They might be able to guide you in the right direction. Also, most colleges offer a counselling service free of charge so that's definitely a resource you should tap into. Just a word of caution here - when you speak to the college, you really have to be prepared to really try the suggestions they make. A friend of mine was like you - just completely panicked at the exam even though she had put the work in all year. She barely passed the semester and went to speak to the learning support officer who basically told her she needed to calm down and gave her a few techniques to try to overcome the anxiety at exam time. She said she thought the LSO was useless but very unhelpful even though I though the advice she was given was very good. Same thing happened this year and she walked out of an exam 30 mins into it !! She went back to the LSO again and because she had a more open mind this time thought the advice was spot on and is all set to tackle it again in September.

I would ask though is how you deal with other areas of stress in your life? Are you generally quite an anxious person or is it just around exams ?? If you can learn how to relax in general it will be a huge help in your studies IMO

Good luck :-)

LegacyUser

Rubberchikken wrote: »

I understand you're finding it difficult but you've been trying even with the anxious moments.

Can i ask if you want to continue in college?
Would you consider letting it go for the time being and maybe focusing on your health and maybe getting a job and seeing how things go?

Take care

I don't don't know if I'd be able to let it go since I already deferred my 2nd semester .
I don't want to quit or stay in college it's more of a thing I'm doing because I haven't much else to do . I don't know about the job thing it seems hard to find a job , I don't know where I'd look I've only charity shop experience still there have been for a year now.

LegacyUser

<Mod Snip: No need to quote an entire long post. >


I study business so it's fairly broad , I don't really have any idea where it's going as I'm still very undecided about what I want to do or things I'm interested in you can only do as a masters. I've sort of been going with the flow with no real goal to be aiming for. I have a couple of ideas just no idea how I'd get into those particular jobs .

My study routine is fairly bad I usually plan to study at the start end up putting it off ending up being last minute. I might have focused more on making friends last year than studying as I joined a few weeks late .

The course is business it's only 2 years it's fairly broad it leads into the degree. I might have a bad track record if I drop out of this course since I quit the last course after first year. I have seen the counsellor before she was helpful I just don't like talking about things that much. I'm getting better at controlling the exam stress if I take a break or say a positive quote over and over again. I'm usually good at all the work before the exams only during the exams the results aren't the same.

LegacyUser

<Mod Snip: Please do not quote an entire OP. You can reply to a poster by name. Quoting their full post clogs up the thread with duplicate posts >

I'm registered with the learning support I deferred my 2nd semester I quite halfway through everything as I'd missed too many weeks. They are quite helpful only for the repeats there's not as much help around it's more during the year they are more helpful.


I don't really get stressed that much a fairly laid back person , the only time I get stressed is in the exams. Although I probably take myself away from the situation when I'm stressed about anything before I deal with it taking time out, just avoiding it. I go to the gym regularly and eat healthily which helps greatly.