Test Anxiety

This has been an ongoing problem so I figured I'd look here for some advice

I have really bad test anxiety
I got some counseling two years ago.
The psychologist did mostly cognitive behavior therapy.
That didnt really help very much.
The psychiatrist seemed to want to do drugs.
I wasnt really into the idea of throwing another variable that screws with my head during exams into the equation (was afraid I would sit there going "omg im so high" and than fail, compared to just feeling aweful and doing medicore)
I meant her halfway and tried propanol (betablocker) that basically stops you from getting an adrenaline rush. It didnt seem to do anything.


After that I just kind of gave up on them. Nothing seemed to really help and wasnt really willing to do other drugs during my busy school schedule. I just toughed it out for another couple semesters.

Anyway I failed my second exam in a class and before the third one the anxiety came back really bad. It felt like going up the hill on a really tall roller coaster (and I dont like heights). Except for basically the entire day.
I could explain it more but its just a terrible feeling and Im sick of it.

Since Im still pretty hesitant on the drug issue and not willing to do them during my full load of core classes I had an idea. I'm taking a summer gen ed class. Pretty easy and generally a blow off. Ive had them before and I still feel anxiety toward them but maybe not to the degree of the others. I thought this would be a good test run for anything they think might help.

I know there are people on here that are very for and very against drugs and I'd like to here both. I have two more semesters of school before I graduate and would like to find something that would make these things a little more bearable.

Anyone got any thoughts or feedback on my idea.
If you have any questions ask Ill answer anything.

Thanks

Luke, what would the ideal situation/location be for you to do an exam? I'll be quite frank in saying that I don't think you need medication for this, but you must be aware that I'm not a professional. I think that exploring your anxiety more will help you to understand it better. For example, what is it exactly that you are anxious about during the exams? Are you anxious about everyone around you possibly looking at you?; are you anxious about forgetting something?; or something else?

Whatever the case, luke, you gotta' tell your head lecturer/teacher about this. You don't have to suffer in silence dude. Look, you've gone so far as to mention it to your pysychologist, so surely telling someone in authority in school would be no hassle for you. I think you'll find that teachers/lecturers are very approachable (...well, MOST are).

Let me know your thoughts on what I've said, Luke. For the record, I took an anti-depressant (Lexapro) for my depression and anxiety, and I have to admit that it helped me. I never took propanol.

Kevin

Thanks for the advice
sorry it took so long to reply
just had finals week

To follow up, the psychiatrist couldn't do anything without being able to follow up. This was a different guy than I had talked to before and he said that usually CBT works very well for test anxiety but I never really saw any difference.

Generally Im just worried about doing bad. I dont want to forget something or how to do something.
A smaller worry is that I'll run out of time.

The teachers in the past that Ive talked to have been approachable and understanding but they just dont have anything they can do. The psycologist suggested having extra time for me similar to people that have ADHD but the school (not prof) will only do that for people with ADHD.

I can tell how much other people worry and stress about exams and know I worry and stress more than anybody I know. I just want to be like them.

My dentist also told me I started grinding my teeth while I sleep. This was after the semester when I saw the psychologist two years ago. I dont know when I do or dont. Just that they told me that I did when I came in for a checkup. Not sure if its related but I'm guessing it somewhat is

Hi,

It's okay that you took a week or so to reply, as I recall your original post anyway. Whenever I feel anxious about something, I know that I must devote some time to thinking about it before I do it. For many of us, the unknown is very scary. For example, if I had to go to a city that I've never been to before, I would be terrified. However, I'd look up maps of the city and then print them off - and plan my routes to get to where I wanted to go to - and doing this would make me feel more at ease. Your finals are over now (?), however, but you can still take this logic of planning ahead (as I do) with you into the future.

kevin

Ya thats one of the things I like to do is prepare for the exams. Kind of. I dont feel anxious when I'm studying unless its like the day before and I havent studied enough. I tend to overstudy (cause it helps me feel less anxious) for exams and put much more time into it than other people and I think the anxiety makes me perform worse than other people who put the same time in as me. Ive outlined entire text books and redone almost every hw assignment for a final.

It sucks because Im noramlly very good at dealing with anxiety and pressure and stress. I rock climb competitively and I actually dont like heights (go figure that one out), at work or on projects I think I actually work better under pressure. Exams are pretty much the only place i feel this anxiety. Maybe a little bit in social situations and some more with public speaking (i dont think anyone likes that) but nothing like exams.

I'm thinking about graduate school which would mean tons more exams so Id hate to have this play a factor in my decision.

Well, look, if you get to the exam halls early, then you can choose the seat that is most comfortable for you - right?; or are you all designated seats? The best seat for me used to be the back of the class. In my college years, however, it was always at the very front for some reason. The middle is the worst because I feel exposed.

I'm guessing that graduate school is different from here. In fact, I'm not even sure what you mean by graduate school. A 'graduate' from what I know is a person who has a bachelor's degree. Education systems seem to differ a lot worldwide though.

Hi,

Luke, I quite agree with chuncky.Looks like you are suffering from general anxiety or may be some sort of phobia. Well, this is quite evident in anxiety disorders, and you are all freaked up t attend lectures or to attend exams, but we have to make up our mind and just dare to o and write your exams. I know how embarassing it is to do this, but listen, this really creates serious problmes going ahead. I have experienced this earlier, hope this help syou to take necessary course of action and hope ytou won'tsuffer like me!