What is anxiety? What are the signs?
Anxiety, fears, and worry are part of our
human experience. Under appropriate circumstances, anxiety helps to
heighten our alertness in dealing with unfamiliar situations, and ready
our body for any action that is needed. Mild anxiety about an upcoming
event (like an exam or important interview) also spurs us to prepare
beforehand. Worry often helps facilitate problem solving and seeking
out alternatives for handling situations that we rehearse beforehand
in our minds.
Fears and worries are not "normal" when they
become overwhelming and interfere with our daily living and ability
to cope effectively. When fears and worries have reached this
proportion, they are symptoms of an anxiety disorder, a general name
for a group of more specific difficulties such as:
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Phobias
- Panic disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The following is a list of symptoms typical
of anxiety disorders:
- unrealistic or excessive worry
- unrealistic fears about objects or situations
- exaggerated 'startle' reactions
- 'flashbacks' of previous trauma
- ritualistic behaviors to reduce anxiety
- shakiness, trembling, muscle aches
- sweating
- cold, clammy hands
- dizziness
- racing or pounding heart
- dry mouth
- numbness/tingling in hands, feet, other body part
- upset stomach
- diarrhea
- lump in the throat
- rapid pulse and/or breathing rate
What can I do to help?
Generally, anxiety disorders are
treated with a combination of specific kinds of therapies and
medication. Some of the milder anxiety disorders can be very
effectively treated with behavioral therapy. Even for the most severe
anxiety disorders, many people will have some significant improvement.
Contact the Counseling Center for further information or for
assessment and treatment.
If you would like to learn more about
treatment for these concerns, the Counseling Center has a variety of
resources to help you. Call or stop by the Center to schedule an
appointment to talk with a counselor. The Counseling Center is located
in Hazen Hall across from the Faculty Office Building, next to the
Dailey Hall. Call us at 585-395-2207
Everyone needs some level of stress or
anxiety in order to motivate and energize them. However, if these
levels become too high, they can interfere with academic performance.
Moreover, each person has his or her own point at which stress begins
to interfere. The information below will help you to determine what
your optimum stress level is and provide some tips on how to manage
stress when it goes "over the edge."
Stress chart:
You will notice that stress improves performance
up to a certain point, and then performance begins to diminish. When
the point of diminishing returns is reached is varies from individual
to individual. Indicators that you may have reached your "overload
point" include:
- Feeling unable to engage with your work
- Feeling unable to divide the work into manageable units
- Feelings of panic
- Feeling unable to absorb/learn any more material
- Feeling as if the work is "the enemy"
- Solutions include the following:
- Stop and breathe
- Talk to someone you trust
- Reassess to see what's doable
- Formulate a plan including a timetable
- Set priorities*
*(These are "possible" courses of action.
As with any activity designed to reduce stress and/or ward off panic,
the exact steps to take will depend on who you are and what makes you
feel in control. Whatever you choose to do, engage in some action to
break the cycle of inaction. Sometimes talking to a counselor can be
helpful in determining a course of action.)
Test anxiety: a special kind of anxiety
Some students perform poorly on tests for
reasons other than lack of preparation or poor study skills. This
common problem is called test anxiety and it occurs when students are
too nervous to recall learned material during an exam. If a student has
not adequately studied for a test and feels very nervous, that does
not qualify as true test anxiety. Test anxiety may be caused by a
number of factors such as poor test performance in the past, lack of
confidence, feelings of extreme pressure or fear of failure,
nervousness about having to perform or a number of other problems.
For many people, test anxiety is often a long term problem that began
as far back as elementary school. For others, it starts in college.
Whatever the origins of test anxiety, it is important to understand
that a small amount of anxiety is both normal and beneficial. It
helps improve motivation and often improves performance. Too much
tension, however, hinders performance and becomes damaging. If you
experience extreme nervousness, dread or fear before exams and
have put forth your best effort to prepare in advance, you may be
suffering from test anxiety. Simply put, test anxiety prevents you
from doing your best on exams.
Symptoms of test anxiety can be separated
into 2 categories: mental stress & physical stress.
-
MENTAL STRESS - includes your thoughts and
worries about tests (before, during or after tests)
- Negative thoughts - “I can’t pass this test.”
- All or nothing thinking - “I always fail tests!”
- Pressure - “I have to make an A on this test.”
- Inability to concentrate
- Personal myths - “I’m not the brains in the family.”
- Irrational beliefs - “Everyone in class can tell I failed.”
- Mind reading - “My teacher thinks I’m stupid because I made
a mistake.”
-
PHYSICAL STRESS - includes physical feelings,
sensations and tensions
- Muscle tension, Nausea, Shortness of breath
- Perspiration, Clammy hands and feet, Rapid heartbeat
- Restlessness, Increased blood pressure
- Heightened awareness of surroundings (especially the behavior
of others)
- people sitting nearby, watching the clock, awareness of when
others finish their test, classroom noise, etc.)
- Mental blocks or a general inability to perform complex
intellectual task
Qualities of Test Anxiety:
- Test anxiety is more intense than average nervousness before a
test and is not subject specific (i.e. only occurs during math tests)
- Not caused by lack of preparation or poor test testing skills
(although, these circumstances will likely cause someone with test
anxiety more nervousness)
- The anxiety is basically limited to test taking scenarios
(general anxiety will overlap into other areas of life)
