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| Photo courtesy of Microsoft Hypnotherapy is a terrific process to help you prepare for tests, overcome test anxiety and facilitate recall of the information during the exam. |
If
you are a student, you know that you must take tests to assess what, how much
and how well you have learned specific course material during the past few
months. The experience can be even more intense if you are trying to earn a
graduate degree, certification or license to practice those skills as a
vocation. In that case, you will have to prove your aptitude and understanding
of information that you learned over the past one or several years. Many people
are relaxed and comfortable when they are in the “hot seat” like this. Some enjoy
taking tests and even thrive on whatever anxiety testing induces, because this
pressure motivates them to work harder and do well on the examination. And then
there are those people who freeze during a test so that no matter how well they
know the material, their mind becomes a blank slate on which they can barely
write their name.
When you feel
anxious in a stressful situation, the subconscious mind automatically goes into
a fight/flight response. No matter how loud your conscious mind screams that
you need to pass this test in order to graduate, the material you knew last
night might as well be locked in a black box at the bottom of the ocean. In
fact, the more you try to recall this information, the greater the pressure (stress)
you are putting on yourself to do well on the examination and the more difficult
this kind of memory retrieval becomes. This is because when we are in a
stressful situation, the body’s main priority is to protect itself. Even though
your conscious mind knows that there is a difference between taking a math
final and trying to defend against a mugger on the street, the subconscious
mind only perceives “stress,” and stress equals “danger.” The sympathetic
nervous system goes right into survival mode: the heart pumps harder, breathing
becomes fast and shallow, and the adrenal glands start dumping stress hormones into
the circulatory system to aid in the fight/flight response. There is no room
for remembering rules of geometry or laws of physics when it comes to
surviving; your body is too busy prioritizing basic instincts such as breathing
and circulating blood through your body. If you experience test anxiety to any
degree, like I used to, you know what I am talking about.
Hypnotherapy is a terrific process to help you prepare for tests, overcome test anxiety and facilitate recall of the information that you have learned when you are taking the
exam. First, the state of hypnosis is one of complete relaxation, calm comfort
and control. This is because it is easier to retain and retrieve the facts that
you are learning or have learned when your mind is calm and focused and your
body is physically relaxed. Eventually, your subconscious mind can begin to
create new associations (knowns)
between this feeling of calm with the ability to focus and greater ease of
recalling the information you need for the test. Second, hypnotic suggestions
to increase your motivation to succeed, willingness to apply your experience/knowledge
about the topic and amplify your desire to do your best will reinforce your
confidence in your ability to do well on the test. Third, during the cognitive
(alert) portion of the hypnotherapy session, I will teach you practical skills
and provide information to improve your overall well-being in preparation of
your test, which you can practice when you are in hypnosis.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a
certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with
honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more
information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2014
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