Was this you when you saw that midterms are approaching? Is that how you look when anything suddenly springs up on you? Do you have some form of anxiety? If so, don’t fret, lots of other students suffer too (including me).
Midterms are one of those things that manage to creep up on you even though you know you should be expecting them. Even though your anxiety may force you to plan and study way before you need to, exams still manage to pop up seemingly out of nowhere and make everyone feel rushed. The good thing is that, as you gain more college experience, you stress less (sorry, freshmen and sophomores), and once midterms are over you can relax a little. There are ways to survive midterms though, even with crippling anxiety.
- Eat. Often times anxiety gives you stomach aches and causes you not to eat. Maybe you’re so overwhelmed with everything else going on that you totally forget. You have to eat during midterms to keep your brain and body functioning, just like every other day, even if you don’t feel like it. Getting shaky from lack of nutrition doesn’t help in the slightest when you’re trying to remember the name of the director of some indie film you saw the first day of class.
- Drink Water. Staying hydrated is just as important as eating, so make sure you are consuming a decent amount of water. You will feel calmer and your body will be balanced, plus water helps avoid headaches.
- Don’t Drink Caffeine. You may want to have a cup of coffee because hey, you got no sleep last night while studying (you were actually just panicking, but you were looking at your book while crying so that still counts), but don’t do it! There is some weird witchcraft with caffeine where, if you’re anxious, it will simply amplify your anxiety and keep you saying tired. It also doesn’t help with that shakiness.
- Talk To Yourself. When you have those anxious moments in bed, talk yourself down. Take some deep breaths, and tell yourself out loud how your fears aren’t realistic. Explain to yourself that this is just a small moment in your college career, and an even smaller moment in your life. If needed, talk to other people including classmates. Somehow expressing your fears verbally helps relieve anxiety.
Ultimately remember that it’s just one exam and you are one person who is so much more than a GPA, a student, or someone labeled with anxiety. In a year you won’t even remember this midterm because you’ve gone through so many, and as you get further into college the midterms and anxiety lighten up. Everyone gets through them, and you will too.