Exams represent a significant challenge for children and young people, as well as for their parents. It is, however, generally true that some individuals may experience anxiety or stress before taking certain exams, particularly if the outcome will have a significant impact on their future career path. Fortunately, there are effective methods for reducing the stress and anxiety associated with these pivotal moments. Gabriela Maalouf, a psychotherapist, NLP trainer and expert in education excellence at the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania, offers some valuable insights.
Goal setting and motivation: Make sure students have a clear goal and understand why it is important to achieve it. Motivation is the key to success, and an effective plan can help maintain that motivation.
Managing anxiety: Exam anxiety is common, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. Specific exercises can help manage this emotion. A simple exercise is to adopt the hero pose: sitting with your back straight, raising one hand up or smiling. This can help us feel more confident and reduce stress, and works really well with little ones
Daily self-confidence exercises: devote at least 5 minutes a day to confidence-boosting exercise. This can lower cortisol (the stress hormone) and release neurotransmitters such as serotonin (the happy hormone).
„And then, if we do this every day, before the exam, we have every chance to do it when we enter the hall, to charge our body and mind with this wonderful courage that we already have in us, to release stress and not to end up in panic situations, panic attacks or even anxiety, which we don't know how to deal with even after the exam"says Gabriela Maalouf.
Include rest and relaxation in your plan: Your learning plan should include time for rest and relaxation. The body and mind need breaks to function effectively.
Adults should remember that they are role models: We set an example for our children. We need to show them first and foremost that we, as adults, know how to manage our emotions, so that little ones can build their confidence and take care of their mental health.
