Taking a test can make you feel anxious or jittery, but it’s important to learn the techniques that can help you focus, calm anxiety, and do your best during an exam.
Here are 17 tips from licensed therapists on the best way to calm test taking anxiety:
1. Learn How to Study Well
“Don’t wait until the last minute to study. Studying small amounts of material over an extended period of time will help the material get transferred into long-term memory.
Study in an environment similar to where you will take the test. Our brain likes familiar things. Our sense of smell is the strongest of our senses. If possible, have a mint, lavender, or other specific scent around you (aromatherapy) when studying and use it the same day as the test.” – Nicole (Nikki) Lacherza-Drew, PsyD
2. Get Some Rest
“Cramming before a test is no stranger to me, but doing this into the wee hours of the night can be detrimental to performance and hinder the benefits of studying. Be sure to get a good night’s sleep prior to the test day so you can think clearly and recall that precious information you studied.” – Robert Hinojosa, LCSW
3. Visualize What You Want Beforehand
“Sit down and visualize the entire test-taking process, from heading out your door to class through the final problem. Imagine feeling focused and at ease, but also visualize a moment when you feel stuck; calmly skip that question and envision yourself successfully coming back to it and completing it later. It helps to use imagery to work through challenging scenarios successfully. Lastly, stay in the present moment, with whatever problem or question you are on; don’t waste time and energy agitating yourself by thinking about what might happen when it’s graded.” – Rev. Connie L. Habash, MA, LMFT
4. Limit Your Uppers
“Monitor your use of caffeine, alcohol, tobacco & sugars/sweeteners. These all have the ability to trigger physical symptoms associated with anticipatory anxiety and may be best to limit or avoid them, if possible, before a test.” – Janice R. Miles, LMFT
5. Grab a Peppermint
“Surprisingly enough, some studies have shown that having a peppermint prior to testing can help. I think grabbing a peppermint candy could stimulate olfactory and oral sensations so that you can concentrate better.” – Robert Hinojosa, LCSW
6. Do One Thing at a Time
“If you’re feeling overwhelmed, think to yourself ‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’ This analogy is both comical and practical. Meaning, you have to break it down, one step at a time. Don’t overwhelm your thought process by looking at the overall whole test. Just focus on one question at a time. In the grand scheme of things, it isn’t the end of the world per se. Do your best and know that your brain is capable. Don’t second guess your answers.” – Alphonso Nathan, MS, LPC
7. Lean In & Accept the Anxiety
“To combat anxiety, it is necessary first to stop denying its existence. When we try to ignore or convince ourselves that our anxiety does not exist, it increases and takes up more of our mental space. Instead, try practicing radical acceptance—fully accepting the reality of the current situation without judgment. Once we stop fighting reality, implementing healthy coping skills is more manageable, and the skills themselves are more effective.” – Caroline Brown, LMSW,
8. Try Five Finger Breathing
“In this technique, use your index finger to trace the fingers of your opposite hand, starting with the pinky finger, breathing in as you trace up the outside of the finger and breathing out as you trace down the inside of the finger. Assigning an image or feeling, such as a time you felt proud, confident, successful, loved, or happy, to each finger, can be a great way to incorporate mindfulness into the exercise, allowing you to access positive associations when feeling anxious during a test.” – Kali Rowe, PhD
9. Watch Your Self-Talk
“If you notice your self-talk is more negative, try replacing those thoughts with more helpful or realistic ones. Negative self-talk: ‘I’m horrible at math. I know I’m going to fail.’ Replace those thoughts with more helpful ones: ‘I am prepared for this test. I am confident. I can handle this.’” – Melissa (Reilly) Zawisza, Reilly Counseling, PLLC
10. Stay Grounded
“For test anxiety, I recommend a quick and easy grounding technique I call ‘Feet, Seat, Shoulders, Breathe.’
1) Notice your feet making contact with the floor. 2) Feel your body supported by your chair. 3) Gently lift your shoulders up, push them back and slip them down, noticing the space that opens up in your chest. 4) And finally, take a few slow breaths in through your nose, and out through your mouth.” – Michelle Risser, LISW-S
11. Take Breaks
“To help alleviate test anxiety, don’t study until the last minute! Let your brain rest and wander some before you take the test. Another tip: take mini-breaks during the test to ground yourself in the present moment. Pause for 30 seconds every now and then to close your eyes, take deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth, and notice how your body feels.” – Meagan Turner, MA, APC, NCC, Emerge Counseling at Compassion Cove
12. Have a Safe Word or Safe Phrase
“Let your body know that it is not in danger and that nothing that will happen during the test by having a safe word. And this is something that you need to practice, so when you are there, your body understands the message. Breathe in and tell yourself ‘I am safe. If I fail, nothing will happen.’ My husband is in the military and there are rigid tests and exercises that they have to go through often. When his anxiety kicks in he says to himself, ‘what are they going to do, send me back to Vietnam?’ Somehow, saying that gives him the reassurance that he’s been through worse, that those things cannot happen in this particular moment in time, and that his life won’t be in danger for messing up. Create your own safe word—what will let you know that you are safe?” – Ana de la Cruz, LMFT
13. Challenge Your Negative Thoughts
“In therapy, we often discuss challenging a negative internal dialogue which can include distorted thoughts of self, others and situations. When it comes to test taking anxiety, a distorted thought might be, ‘I am going to flunk this test, I am just not smart enough.’ While thoughts can be tricky, emotions are valid and validating means saying, ‘It’s ok, you’re anxious and now I am going to manage these thoughts and this emotion in the moment.’ When it comes to test taking anxiety, it is always good to do a mindfulness exercise before the test (music or guided meditations are examples), know the location and give yourself plenty of time to get there.” – Adria Hagg, LCSW
14. Do a Deep Breathing Exercise
“When our body goes into a state of stress, we do not have full access to the areas of our brain that allow us to focus, think creatively, and problem-solve. One of the quickest and most efficient ways to calm our bodies and regain control of our full brain is to breathe deeply. Deep belly breathing cues our nervous system to slow down, relax, and orient to the problem at hand.
For some people, simply laying a hand on their belly to feel the air going in and out helps them to focus their mind on their breathing. For others, using counting is effective. Box breathing has you imagine a square, or box, where you breathe in for the count of 4, hold for the count of 4, breathe out for the count of 4, and pause for the count of 4.
Breathe until you feel a sense of calm and focus, which may only require 30 seconds to a minute. They are very short interventions with extremely large payoffs.” –Carissa Hodgson, LCSW, OSW-C
15. Try Tapping
“Tapping is such a great technique that can be practiced from anywhere, at any time, as many times as needed. You tap with two fingers into different points of your body in a specific order: side of the hand, top of the head, above the eyebrow, under the eye, under the nose, the chin, chest, and under the arm. Make sure to be taking a nice deep breath (or two if needed) at each point. Repeat the sequence as many times as needed until you start to feel better.” –Edelys Diaz, LMFT
16. Remember That You Are Enough
“The feeling comes down to ‘am I good enough?’ This is a universal feeling we all carry in different areas, but test taking is all results-based. When I went to take my first licensing exam, I was so nervous that I couldn’t concentrate on the words of the questions. I kept re-reading them and spent so much time on each question that I ran out of time and didn’t finish the test. I failed by one question. I had to figure out how to manage my anxiety the next time I took the test. I used various techniques to manage my anxiety including taking a break after a couple questions to breathe. It is actually the outward breath that lowers blood pressure. When I took a bathroom break, I talked to myself and used the mantra, ‘I am enough regardless of the outcome.’ These techniques helped me pass the test and changed my test taking style forever.” – Dian Grier, LCSW
17. Practice Radical Acceptance
“I always tell my clients, there are two things you can do to help reduce your anxiety: take action, practice radical acceptance, or both. Radical acceptance is accepting any situation completely without judgment. In the case of test anxiety, the best action to take is to study to the best of your ability, that way you know that you gave it your all. Then use radical acceptance to encourage yourself after the exam, to hope for a good score, but not be given over to the ‘what ifs.’
If you receive a bad score, you can use radical acceptance further by offering yourself grace rather than shame and accept the score or take further action and request a retake. Radical acceptance may also offer you the wisdom that you are likely more adept at some subjects than others.” – Valarie McKenna, MA, LMHC
For Further Reading
Overcoming Test Anxiety Infographics
