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How did you all get through your HSC and Prelims without having a panic attack?

Aspeth

I have my Prelims coming up and because of something that happened in yr3, I am terrified of exams of any kind. I have been going through therapy for years now and have recently gone back to school in yr11 (I'm 18 but because i have ADHD and Autism, they let me reenroll) and genuinely thought I'd gotten mostly over my fear but yesterday, the Head of Education for our school called everyone in my grade to talk about what the exam week will look like and I got so panicky.

I always get nauseous during tests and the only two ways to get out of the exams was if you are sick (in which case you need to offer a doctors note as evidence) or if you get stuck in traffic (in which case you must provide photographic evidence) so i went up after he finished speaking to ask what would happen if I got sick during the exam and I got so scared at the mere mention of it (even though I was the one asking) that I ended up crying...

Does anyone have any coping mechanisms they used to get through theirs? I've got the 444 (and 484) technique, patting my chest/knee/arm/etc in a slow rhythm to calm my heartbeat but no other 'generic' or 'neurotypical' techniques help... Any suggestions?

Prelims are Preliminary exams to prepare us for HSC... I'm in Australia so these are the things we have here.

Parents

  • I’m sorry I can’t give great advice, but I was the same way during exams at school (at university I have no exams but still get overwhelmingly anxious and upset over assignments!). The best things for me were repetition, so doing practice exam papers over and over to the point where hopefully even if I feel horrendous I will still do okay because ‘muscle memory’ will kick in. Trying to focus on just getting through the exam, putting all my attention on the one question I was doing, also sort of helped because it kinda stopped the anxiety overwhelming me all at once. I tried to avoid any talk of exams before the actual thing though, doing stuff like practice papers in my bedroom where I felt safe rather than at school. It could be helpful to talk to a teacher or advisor at school and tell them how you feel so they can maybe provide some support too? If extra time is available then that could help you feel more comfortable in the exam as well.

Reply

  • I’m sorry I can’t give great advice, but I was the same way during exams at school (at university I have no exams but still get overwhelmingly anxious and upset over assignments!). The best things for me were repetition, so doing practice exam papers over and over to the point where hopefully even if I feel horrendous I will still do okay because ‘muscle memory’ will kick in. Trying to focus on just getting through the exam, putting all my attention on the one question I was doing, also sort of helped because it kinda stopped the anxiety overwhelming me all at once. I tried to avoid any talk of exams before the actual thing though, doing stuff like practice papers in my bedroom where I felt safe rather than at school. It could be helpful to talk to a teacher or advisor at school and tell them how you feel so they can maybe provide some support too? If extra time is available then that could help you feel more comfortable in the exam as well.

Children