Exam anxiety: the obstacle to success and happiness

What is exam anxiety

Anxiety can be seen as the individual’s attempts to interpret environmental conditions that conflict with their physical and psychological desires. The physical conditions or the psychological aspects of the social environment can either ease or complicate adaptation to one’s surroundings. In periods when adaptation becomes harder, the body begins to tire both physically and psychologically (Ergene, 2011).

Positive and negative effects

Exam anxiety affects students, either positively or negatively. It is normal to have a level of anxiety that helps them prepare; on the other hand, it can cause negative emotions and physical problems such as dizziness, chest pain, insomnia and panic attacks, ultimately leading to poor performance (Farrahdilla et al., 2018). It is also called “anticipatory anxiety”, as it appears before someone actually experiences a failure — that is, an unrealistic feeling that can lead to worry and fear of failure before or during the exams (Birjandi & Alemi, 2010).

Anxiety and modern life

Today’s generation is more prone to anxiety, as technology and modern life surround it and everyone seeks a better tomorrow amid a host of obstacles. The symptoms of anxiety are divided into four groups — cognitive, emotional, behavioural and physiological — which operate in harmony with the whole organism (Beck, Blackwell & Clair, 1985). Freud considered anxiety the basis of all neurotic disorders and summarised it in three types: objective, neurotic and moral anxiety.

How counselling helps

The counselling process helps students first become aware of the anxiety they experience, pinpoint exactly what causes it and, through conversation, give it a different meaning — so that it takes on a positive sign, as a driving force rather than an obstacle. After all, as Freud said, anxiety is nothing but an alarm bell warning us that something deeper is going on — and counselling can help you manage it, so that your learning is not affected.