Test Anxiety

The world is full of tests. Academic tests. Social tests. Personal tests. I don't know about you but I HATE test taking. It gives me so much anxiety. I go into the week and I know what I am supposed to be doing, I know how I am meant to behave; and yet, the day of the test arrives or I see people judging me (which can not be avoided) and I start to stress. Nine times out of ten I do just fine but the stress and the anxiety can really start to eat at you.

There are different levels of stress depending on the type of test being conducted too. The pressure you feel when taking a multiple choice test or an open-ended test is nothing compared to the amount of pressure you feel when taking a practical and you have somebody watching your every move over your shoulder. For me personally, what gets to me even more is when the testing scenario is customized to me.

I remember when I was taking my practical test for my first aid certification for the first time. Everyone who went before me had all these loud and crazy hectic situations where the instructors were yelling and screaming for help as the test taker were performing their duties. But when I went in, absolute silence, no background noise from fake shots or people screaming for help because their leg was pinned down; just crossed arms and silent stares as they observed. 

It's a completely different kind of stress when you go into a situation expecting one thing and then being met with another.

All you can do is your best. 

Each and every day, no matter what tests may come to face you, you take it one step at a time and do your best. 

Just breathe and move on even if you find the outcome isn't what you were expecting or hoping for.