Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Hypnosis to Overcome Test Anxiety

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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