Exam or test anxiety is defined as a common and often normal stress reaction experienced before, during and sometimes after exams. It is a type of performance anxiety — a feeling someone might have in a situation where performance really counts or when the pressure’s on to do well.

Anxiety can be problematic when it prevents you from taking or doing your best on an exam, causes you to feel anxious all the time, or becomes extreme. Test anxiety is a combination of physical symptoms and emotional reactions that interfere with your ability to perform well on tests.

Test anxiety can also be called as anticipatory anxiety, situational anxiety or evaluation
anxiety.

• One type of test anxiety is somatic- which is what you are feeling.
• The second type of test anxiety is cognitive- which is what you are thinking.

• Negative past experiences of exams: Lack of adequate preparation, or knowledge of exam-taking techniques or study methods. Unhelpful thinking such as “I'm going to lose control!, “I can't do this, or I'm going to fail.”
• Inadequate preparation:  Students who are unprepared for the exam face the problem or those who haven't been attentive in the class face the difficulty of preparation, and during the exams, they do not remember anything and consequently feel the examination stress.

Some of the common signs and symptoms are:

Examinophobia – The fear of exams is genuine. If you  regularly become excessively nervous before or during an important exam, you may have examinophobia that is exam fever. This is a very common phenomenon among students especially when an important examination is approaching next to you.

• Feeling nervous, restless or tense.
• Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom.
• Having an increased heart rate.
• Breathing rapidly
• Excessive Sweating.
• Trembling
• Feeling weak or tired.
• Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry.
• Somatic signs include headaches, stomach aches, nausea, diarrhea, excessive sweating, shortness of breath, light-headedness, rapid heartbeat and dry mouth.
• Having trouble sleeping
• Experiencing gastrointestinal problems.
• Having difficulty in controlling worry

Exam anxiety is when a person experiences fear and physical symptoms related to taking an examination or test. It can cause a person to underachieve on an exam and lead to reduced academic performance overall. Your worries may not go away on their own, and they may get worse over time if you don’t seek help. 

Cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT) is the best recommendation for exam fear/anxiety depending on its severity. As the therapy helps to change people behaviors and thoughts that lead to unwanted feelings or behaviors.

Some common tips to cope with exam fear

• Revise early, Relaxation techniques-meditation. Every child has his or her study pattern, we help you to understand yours and set your own study pattern or table. Make small notes while reading. Take short breaks in between long study hours.
• Ensure that you always maintain a good and eligible handwriting. Sleep well, regular exercises, eat healthy food and avoid sugar, caffeine or nicotine.

• It’s okay not to be perfect: We help you to understand and accept that we all make mistakes and we are not perfect.
• Learn to acknowledge: We have done our best and that’s more important than being perfect.
• Get rid of our negative thoughts: Follow healthy life style- Get good sleep with regular exercises and eat healthy.
• Understand the importance of early preparation: Don’t wait till the day before your exam as being well prepared boosts one’s confidence and reduces anxiety.