Sometimes when we get stuck on a question in the exams, we start having ‘runaway thoughts’ like “I’m going to fail this entire exam, I should have prepared for this topic instead of the other one, I’m so stupid, why didn’t I study harder?” etc etc. Sounds familiar to you? Sometimes we’re able to shrug it off and continue to focus on the exam. For some people, however, these negative thoughts continue to run over and over in their minds, resulting in greater anxiety as the clock continues to tick away.
A technique that some people have found useful when this happens is to literally tell yourself to STOP! Mentally shout STOP IT! to yourself or picture a STOP sign in your head to stop these thoughts from spiralling downwards even further. When I find unwelcome thoughts in my head, I sometimes picture a door and I shove all the unwanted thoughts out the door and literally slam the door on them! It helps to then take a few deep breaths and then go back to your exam paper.
Some people have also found it helpful to wear a rubber band around their wrist and to pull lightly on the rubber band when they get caught in runaway negative thoughts while saying ‘stop it’ at the same time. What this does is to create a mild sort of pain which helps to snap you back into reality and bring your attention back to your exam paper. Don’t pull too hard on the rubber band cos it’s not supposed to be some kind of ‘punishment’. Just a light tug will do the trick. So if you know you’re the kind who tends to flood yourself with negative thoughts during an exam, you can give the above techniques a shot and see if it works for you. Again, practice these techniques 10-12 times if you can before the exam itself so you can train your brain to respond to it accordingly.
Hi Joan, any comments or updates on the current J1 promo results?