Anxiety

Anxiety is a natural consequence of everyday stressful events. Many students experience some anxiety throughout their day; in some respects it can help them navigate difficult situations. However, anxiety can also become severe, persistent and counterproductive. Anxiety can take the form of a psychological disorder including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The NIMH has more information on these anxiety disorders.

Test Anxiety

Some students may experience severe anxiety while taking exams. They may feel nervous and notice themselves sweating, hyper-ventilating, and having difficulty concentrating. However, since test anxiety is a learned response, it can also be unlearned.

What can I do to reduce test anxiety?

• Eat a performance meal (high protein, low carbohydrate) while studying and before the exam to provide optimal mental energy

• Get enough sleep

• Exercise (physical energy = mental energy)

• Minimize your alcohol and caffeine use

• Use a relaxation exercise (see below for samples)

• Study ahead of time and create practice tests similar to the format of the exam (Multiple Choice, Essay, Concept Application)

• Stop negative thoughts (“I don’t know enough to pass”) about the test and increase positive thoughts (“I know a lot of this information; I’ll start with the questions I know”)

  • Expectations often impact actual performance

For more help contact the Center for Academic Success early in the semester for information about studying and preparing for tests. The UCPS can offer assistance and consultation for students struggling with test anxiety.

* Special thanks to Texas Women’s University Counseling Center

Stress Management

What is stress? Stress (also called anxiety) is a reaction to everyday demands on our energy. There are various ways you may experience stress including increased adrenaline, muscle tension, hyper-ventilation …anything that makes your body and mind work faster. Sometimes, our stress spills over into an unproductive feeling or mindset. In this case, there are various ways to manage or reduce your stress reaction.

• Ask yourself two questions

• How many demands are pressing on me?

• How am I coping with these demands?

• Ways to cope

  • Eliminate unnecessary demands

  • Take an assessment of your ability to cope with stress:

    1. Do I have enough physical, mental, and emotional energy?

    2. For more physical energy, attend to your eating, sleep, exercise, and use of substances like alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine.

    3. For more mental energy, consider changes in your study habits and organization strategies.

    4. For more emotional energy, find ways to vent and increase your social support through friends, family, and/or your romantic partner.

  • Engage in a relaxation/meditation exercise (see below for samples)

  • Take strategic study breaks and set up “rewards” for accomplishing successful work.

• Strategies that don’t work:

  • Ignore your physical/emotional reactions to stress

  • Blame other people

  • Push harder

  • Add demands

For more help, UCPS can offer consultation for students interested in stress management techniques.

* Special thanks to Texas Women’s University Counseling Center

Social Anxiety

The social scene at college can be anxiety-provoking at times, especially during your first year. While some students are naturally outgoing, most have to work to make social connections. Some students may find that they tend to isolate themselves or remove themselves from participating in activities for fear of embarrassment, being judged, or fear of rejection. Some label themselves as shy and fail to think of themselves as capable of joining with others. Nevertheless, this is an area where students can make changes in how they interact with others and here are some tips for making social connections:

• Change unrealistic expectations (“I should have a close group of friends the first week of college”) to realistic expectations (“It takes time to make close friends; I can start by talking to people in my residence hall”)

• Turn critical thoughts (“I probably wasn’t funny enough”) into realistic thoughts (“I can’t be funny all the time”)

• Build friendships by joining student activities/organizations.

• Pay attention to your body language and try to use good eye contact, a relaxed but alert posture, and smile.

• Think of each social experience as a way to practice making connections.

• Use open ended questions to get a conversation started. This includes any question that cannot be answered with a one-word statement (“yes” or “no”) and typically starts with “why…”, “how…”, “what…”, or “when…”.

* Special thanks to the University of Texas at Dallas Student Counseling Center

Samples of Relaxation Exercises

1. Exercise 1

2. Exercise 2

*Special thanks to Hobart and William Smith Colleges Counseling Center

Public Speaking Anxiety (PDF)

Self Help Books and Interesting Reading

1. “The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook” by Edmund Bourne

2. “Don’t Panic” by Reid Wilson