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Test anxiety affects all types of people. Whether you get straight As otherwise but always get low test scores, or you slack off on studying and then panic when the test papers are handed out, test anxiety is defined as anxiety about a test being so great that it affects your performance on that test.

If you find yourself drawing a blank when you come to a question you know you studied for, getting sweaty palms during a test, having difficulty staying on track during studying for or taking a test, or all of the above, you have test anxiety.

Coping with test anxiety is mostly about attitude. As with any form of anxiety, the only real way to “fix” test anxiety is to calm down and talk yourself through things. Repeat positive mantras to yourself, such as “I can do this”, and try not to tell yourself negative things like “I’m going to bomb this test”. Ignore the other students, and try not to think about the fact that the test is timed; just look at the first question and focus on it. Don’t flip through the whole test, or you will start thinking of the questions ahead when you need to focus on the first one. Breath, relax, and focus.

When you narrow your focus down to each question individually, you are effectively turning what looks like a big obstacle — the whole test — into small, manageable obstacles that you can deal with one by one. This is the same mentality that drives people who have busy schedules to make checklists. When it’s broken into smaller pieces, any obstacle looks less intimidating.