AngeliqueHernandez

Knott
Health
24February2016
Project3:CaseStudyAnalysis
ThesemesterforKatyasschoolyearissooncomingtoanend.Shestudiesveryoften,
butgetsextremelynervousandanxietyfilledthatstudyingwontmakeadifferencewhenshe
takeshertests.Shehasa3.0gradepointaverage,andsheneedstodowellorhernexttest
becauseabadgradecouldputherscholarshipatriskofbeingtakenaway.Hernextexamisfor
chemistry,shewasinastudysessionwhenshestartedhavingaseverepanicattack.Alotof
collegestudents,includingme,canrelatetoKatyasexperience.Mostofushaveatsomepoint
experiencedtestanxiety.
Mypersonalexperiencewithtestanxietyhasbeenverybrutal.InmyheadIwasalways
sosureofmyselfwhiledoinghomework,andevenansweringclassroomquestions.Thoughas
soonasanexamstarted,myhandswouldbecomeshakyandsweatrolleddownmyface.My
anxietytoldmethatanyanswerIwrotewouldbewrong.SometimesIevenhadtostepoutofthe
classroomandawayfromthetestbecauseIwastrembling.Ispoketooneofmyprofessorsabout
thisandtheytoldmetostudyenough,nottostudytoomuch,orImaystarttoquestionthings.
BasicallytostudyefficientlysothatIcouldperformwell,andgetagoodnightsrest.Simpleas
itmayseem,inthelongrunitworked.Iwasntstayingupuntil4amanymoretryingtocram
knowledgeintomyhead,itjustcametomesometimes.ThebestthingIdidwashavethat
conversationwithmyteacheraboutmytestanxiety.

Myfirstrecommendationistotrytogiveyourselfabitmoreconfidence.Concerns
abouttakingatestorbeinglateforanappointmentoftenindicateanxietyineverydaylife
(Huberty,2012).Justlookingatyourselfandtellingyourselfthatyouhaveeverythingunder
controleverydayisawaytogainselfassurance.Slowlybutsurelythiscanbecomeeffective.
Mynextrecommendationistotrytoavoidtheuseofmedications,ifyoureabletodoso.
Substanceusedisordersalsofrequentlycooccurwithanxietydisorders,althoughthereappear
tobesomedifferencesamongtheanxietydisordersintheirratesofcomorbiditywithsubstance
use(Storch,2013).Onceyoulatchontoillegalsubstances,itshardtogetyourselftostop
abusingthem.Itcouldbesomethingasseeminglylittleasoverthecountermedicinefromyour
localpharmacy,andturnintoyouseekingsomethingstrongerandstrongereachtimetocalm
youdown.Myfinalrecommendationistogethelp,findasupportsystem.Youmayfeellikeyou
arealoneinlife,butthatsneverthecase.Somanydifferentpeoplecanrelatetoyouinways
neitherofyouevenunderstand.Astrangerpassingby,aprofessor,astudentinyourclass.
However,patientswithanxietydisordersdoexperiencesignificantsuicidalideationandmake
suicideattempts(Simeon&Hollander,2006)(McKay,2013).Feelingalonecanleadto
depression,whiledepressionleadstothoughtsofselfharmandsuicide.Alotofanxietycanbe
apartofthis,soitisimportanttoseekprofessionalhelpifneeded.Dontbeafraidtoreachoutto
somebodyandaskforhelp.
Testanxietytakesatollonallstudentsatsomepointoranotherintheireducation.Weas
acommunitycanworktogethertoreinforceeachother'seffortstostudyandgetaproper
educationonwhatwearelearning.Itcouldbeassimpleastellingsomebodythatyouknowthey
willdogreatontheirnexttest,oreventellingyourselfthat.Everystepcounts.

WorksCited

Huberty,T.J.R.(2012).
Anxietyanddepressioninchildrenandadolescents:Assessment,
intervention,andprevention
.NewYork:Springer.

Storch,E.A.,&McKay,D.(2013).
Handbookoftreatingvariantsandcomplicationsinanxiety
disorders
.NewYork,NY:Springer.

McKay,D.,&Storch,E.A.(2013).
Handbookofassessingvariantsandcomplicationsin
anxietydisorders
.NewYork,NY:Springer.