Test Anxiety

I'm not one who usually experiences any anxiety over tests. I study with the time I have and just go take it. For about the last month, my main task has been studying for my boards. It covers everything I learned (or was supposed to learn) in OT school. It seemed fairly straight forward until I started taking the practice exams that are included with the study guide I purchased. I answered the 170 multiple choice questions on the first one and read all of the rationals for all the correct answers. This process helped me understand how think through the questions and what I needed to study more. When I did no better on test #2 than on the first, I started getting nervous. I woke up at 3:00 with a tightness in my chest, a sure sign that I'm stressed. My thoughts went something like this:

• There is a lot riding on this test.
• There is no 2nd test at the end of the semester to make up for a poor showing.
• It cost $500 to take this test making a retake rather costly.
• I can't start working until I pass the test and it takes a month to get the results, so not passing would really push everything back.
• There's no way I can memorize all those charts about developmental milestones in the little bit of time that is left before next Tuesday. Why do they expect us to know things that we can look up on a chart anyway?
• There is an awful lot riding on this test.

I felt like I needed to go for a run to work out some of the stress.  But it was 3:00 in the morning so I just did some sit-ups and squats followed by some deep breaths and prayers. I eventually got back to sleep.

Since then, I've calmed down quite a bit. I still wish I felt more prepared, but over the last three days I've worked hard at reviewing the things I've learned in the past. An uncle reminded me that the most important thing to do is stay calm so you can think. Sounds like good advice. And many others have already passed this test. It is possible. I have one more day to review and then I'll do something to relax. Someone asked if I'd be throwing a party on Tuesday evening after the test. No, that will come when I hear that I've passed.