Mammy's Antidote To Exam Panic

Are you one of the thousands of students about to start your exams soon?
Do you feel like you don’t know anything, or you haven’t done enough, or you’ll never be able to remember everything?
What if I told you that there is a simple way to find all the information in your brain without stressing about it?
You don’t have to learn any techniques or do anything weird or embarrassing. In fact, all you have to do is breathe, and you’ve been doing that without a second though since you were born!
If I asked you what is three times four, or how to spell your name, or to tell me your phone number, you would most probably answer without a second thought.
The information would simply trip off your tongue.
And yet, until I asked you, it is highly unlikely that you were thinking of multiplying four by three, spelling your name or telling me your phone number.
So how did you access the information so quickly – and where was it?
At this moment, the front part of your brain – your forebrain – is filled with random thoughts just whizzing in and out in no particular order. You’re probably trying to remember formulae and definitions and dates or cram in some more last-minute information. At almost the same time, you could be thinking about the conversation you had this morning, what to have for dinner, where to go at the weekend, whether to wear the blue or the black… and on and on.
This is your conscious mind and it’s a very, very busy place. It’s also usually quite chaotic and noisy, because we are all constantly carrying conversations with ourselves inside our own heads!
Underneath all this chatter, your subconscious mind is also very busy – but in a different way.
Your heart is beating, your cells are being renewed, your lungs are filling and emptying and all your bodily systems are doing their thing without you having to think about it.
Your subconscious mind is also the storehouse of all your memories. Everything you ever learned is in there – including your phone number, how to spell your name and the answer to what’s three times four. If you try to find this information in your forebrain, where all the thinking is going on, you’ll only get frustrated.
Have you ever been trying to remember something, and you know you know it but you just can’t find the words? Then, you stop thinking about it and the answer just pops into your head! That’s because you were looking in the wrong place. Your subconscious mind knew the answer, but you were so busy searching your conscious mind that it couldn’t tell you. Then, as soon as you stopped searching, your subconscious was able to get through to you!
When you’re sitting in front of an exam paper, remember that everything you ever learned is stored in your subconscious mind, so don’t bother searching for it anywhere else! You’ll be wasting your time and stressing yourself out!
To get to the information in your subconscious mind, you have to find a way to calm down your thoughts. I know it may sound easier said than done when you’re under pressure, but most effective and easiest method to use in an exam is to simply breathe slowly and deeply.
Put all your attention on the breath and forget about everything else for a moment. Notice how the air feels and sounds as your lungs fill and empty. Breathe right down into your belly and empty every last drop of air out before you take another one in.
Before you go into the exam hall, take a few slow, deep breathes. As you’re sitting at the desk, before you look at the paper, take another few slow, deep breathes. And any time you feel your mind racing and that panicky feeling starting to rise, breathe in and out as slowly and deeply as you can.
Tell yourself as you breathe in and out ‘I can do this’ or ‘I know this’ and just allow the answer to come to you. If you feel it’s not working, move on to another question and, as soon as you stop trying to find it, your subconscious mind will give you the information you’re trying to access.
It’s all in there, along with your four times tables, the alphabet and the words to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and every other scrap of knowledge and information you have gathered throughout your life.
All you have to do is shut up and listen!
You can do it!