Of the most common fears, test-taking ranks one of the few that we are legitimately made to face. We can avoid heights, spiders, and death for a time, but in order to get through school, get into college, or finish an advanced degree, test-taking remains one of the fears we have to repeatedly face.
- Physical symptoms – sweating, increased heart rate, tingling or numbness in the arms or fingers or face, increased body temperature, feeling of dizziness or being light-headed.
- Visual symptoms – hives or red blotches, pink/dark flush of the face or chest, increased blinking.
- Internal symptoms – increased rate of thinking, feeling of panic, feeling of inability to move or react, pain or tightness in chest or stomach, digestive issues such as increased need to vomit or void bowels, digestive and gastric noises, headache.
How an individual experiences distress from test-taking varies, but each of these symptoms is an appropriate physiological response to stressors, if the stressor is life-threatening, which exams may feel like they are, though they are not. When zebra sees a lion, zebra responds physiologically as human may be responding in the event of test-anxiety. However, test is not a lion.
I utilize a form of clinical hypnotherapy called Rapid Resolution Therapy® which works directly with the subconscious to teach the mind that test is not lion and allow the appropriate response to continue to turn on in the event of an emergency, but to then turn off when the emergency has passed, and to cease to confuse events that may not be actual emergencies.
RRT is a short-term therapy that is done on an outpatient basis. It is fast, effective, and cost-efficient. Unlike talk-therapies, months and years do not need to elapse before change is felt. Most clients feel relief after just 2-3 sessions, and many people have finished clearing their issue after just 5-6 sessions. It is also useful for trauma, other anxieties, depression, grief, and addiction.
To make an appointment for a consultation appointment, please call Autumn at 954-612-9553 and specify you want to overcome test anxiety.
Pop quiz
The fear of taking tests is also known as:
a) testophobia
b) examphobia
c) nitophobia
d) sollicitudophobia
If you answered a), you’re correct. They were not thinking very far out of the box on that one, were they?
Autumn Hahn is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist practicing at Clear Mind Group in Weston, Florida. Call 954-612-9553 for a consultation. Follow Autumn on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Sign up for the e-newsletter HERE.
Short-Term Therapy 