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Fear of flying, part 1
Do you really have to be so frightened every time?
When I was a young child — 9 years old to be exact– my parents sent me on a plane, alone, to visit my beloved aunt in Florida. It was exciting to travel by myself and I was treated royally by the flight crew.
Somewhere along the way the plane got into a big storm and started bouncing around terribly. This was in the days of prop planes, much smaller than the ones today and much more vulnerable to bad weather. The turbulence got worse and worse and the plane was now getting thrown around in the sky, People started screaming. I was so scared. My aunt said that when I got off the plane in Miami and ran into her arms she saw that I had bitten clear through my bottom lip.
This event had a terrible effect on me for years every time I went into an airplane . For days Continue reading
Dreaming of test anxiety?
Delia Lloyd. Blogger and Journalist
I was introduced to an interesting blog today and the post was apt for this site “Do You Every Really Leave High School?” and it’s from the blog RealDelia: Finding Yourself in Adulthood,” written by an American-born journalist in London, Delia Lloyd. The post focuses on the anxiety dreams many of us continue to have about tests. In my 35 years as I performance psychologist I’ve heard so many dreams about test anxiety that I’ve lost count. When I was a young child–just around the time I started school — I started having a full-blown nightmare about taking tests. The dream all took place on an enormous sheet of lined paper, the older kind with the red margin running up and down the left side. The teacher– something of a Alice in Wonderland Red Queen type — was standing at the top line, looking very imperious and scary. I had to go up to the top line on the page and answer a question. My Jungian analyst friends would probably have a field day with this day, but Continue reading
Test anxiety? There’s help. Just ask.
Let go of suffering: you have options!
Something came across my desk today which I want to applaud and call your attention to. It’s a posting by the McNamara Academic Center at the University of Minnesota with helpful tips for test anxiety.
This kind of help is so useful for two important reasons: (1) it’s sound advice, and (2) it shows that there is help and you don’t need to feel alone if you are suffering from test anxiety.
I encourage you to take advantage of the Continue reading
5th graders prepping for SAT. Really?
The right answer? Strengthen yourself.
The Silicon Valley Mercury News today published an article today about the SAT and ACT. Author Purvy Mody starts off by saying “The words SAT and ACT can conjure anxiety for even the most academically confident student. Standardized testing has become so talked about and so prepared for that I have heard of fifth-graders enrolling in SAT prep classes — something I am highly against.”
5th graders prepping for the SAT? AYK? (are you kidding?)
Mody ends the article with this: “Take a class if you need the structure, or get the official books and practice on your own. Whatever method you use, the most important thing is Continue reading
When the Doc gives you a prescription, take the medicine
I recently had a Skype session with a client in Asia. He is preparing for the GMAT as he wants to go to business school in the US. A very bright guy who suffers terribly from performance anxiety. We made great progress in the Skype session– I was able to observe and point out to him the various things he was thinking and doing that were adding to his stress. now this is a great example of why some people might need personal coaching besides reading the workbook. okay, back to this GMAT guy. I taught him the tools he needs for reducing the stress so he could improve his performance. They are all based on the nine core tools in the book. All I do is tweak them, fine tune them for his specific needs. The difference, during the session, itself, was noticeable. Great! But wait. Now comes the next important part. Continue reading
De-stress anywhere, anytime.
Calmness observed
After a long day at work yesterday I walked down a main and very busy thoroughfare in Portland. My head was full of the day’s events. I was still carrying around a pile of cares with me as well as all of the anticipated concerns about tomorrow.
Unexpectedly I came across a fountain with a beautiful sculpture. I stopped. The calmness radiating from the white marble and the sounds of the fountain gently permeated my busy mind and tired body. I stopped walking and took in the sight and sounds of what I’d just stumbled upon. I took a long deep breath.
The noise in my head and the tension in my body faded quickly and then I was left simply taking in the statue and the fountain. I walked around it, looking at it from all sides. Then I caught its reflection in the window of the skyscraper behind it. Something about that was soothing.
Reflecting the peace within
It was like seeing the still center within all the movement around me.
As you go about your day look for the quiet spots, the silent spaces, the moments of respite. Let yourself become absorbed by them. Breathe deeply down to your belly. Feel your feet on the ground.
Revel in the peace. It’s around us — and inside of us — all the time.
Please share with us what you discover.
The best strategy for test anxiety is…
Prepare yourself!
A blog post about preparing for the the US Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) came through today. I’d like to analyze it a bit and add my two cents (quoting the post in italics)
The most straightforward strategy to do well at taking an exam is undoubtedly by just taking practice exams. It really is as approximate as you will get to taking the real examination. Whenever you only possess time to finish just one thing to get ready for… Continue reading
Are you worrying? Stop!
Worrying? Again?
Do you find yourself worrying about an upcoming test? Or, when you are in the middle of an exam answering questions, are you worrying then?
The first thing to know is that it’s normal. Just about everyone worries from time to time.
Second, know this: worrying never solves anything. Anything. Worrying just breeds more worrying. Haven’t you noticed that when you continue to worry
Test anxiety: hitting a wall
When you hit a wall: grow something slowly. You will break through.
One of the things test stress can do is get you to feel like you can’t do anything. You feel like you’ve hit a wall. Everything looks too big, too insurmountable, too daunting. You shut down and collapse. Some people spin in place. The talk in your head sounds like this: There’s too much to do, I’ll never be able to accomplish what I want to, I won’t do well… on and on. [If this happens to you I'm sure you know what I'm talking about and could supply your own script].
This kind of talk is, literally, self-defeating. The way things work is on a
Are you anxious about an upcoming test?
What's your body doing?
Let’s start out with this rule of thumb:
When you are thinking of of an upcoming test (or anything else in the future), remember to breathe.
Here’s a very common experience for test-takers: “My test is next Tuesday (or tomorrow). YIKES!” Your heart rate goes up, your blood starts rushing, your stomach wrenches. You know the routine.
I don’t know about you, but often, when I’m thinking about something that I have coming up later today or tomorrow or next week (and it doesn’t have to be as stressful as a test), I find myself getting a little amped up. What do I mean by “amped up”? Continue reading
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