Project 3 - Case Study

Overview of the Scenario

College can be stressful sometimes. Life in general can be quite unpredictable. There

are choices where we cannot change the outcome and we have to live with them. Other times,

there are mistakes that we have made that could have been prevented. This seems to be the case

for Katya. She is a freshman with a 3.0 GPA. While she studys extremely hard for her exams to

maintain that GPA, she still gets severe test anxiety. As she nears the end of her semester, she

must try to deal with the pressure to do well on the exam in two days or else she risks losing her

scholarship.

Personal Experience

I have had my fair share of anxiety right before tests or presentations. In elementary

school, I was extremely shy and didn’t like to talk aloud in the slightest and that affected my

presentations that we had to do. This continued throughout middle school. In high school, I

slowly grew out of my shy shell, if only a little bit, but I still got anxiety whenever I took a test.

This resulted in me possibly making small mistakes that I shouldn’t have done in math or not

reading a sentence correctly in English.

Of course, I don’t believe that my level of anxiety is to the extent of Katya’s, since I’ve

never suffered a panic attack from studying, or had to worry about losing a scholarship. Time

management is a huge factor in being able to juggle life, school, and work in harmony. It is very

easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of things that are put on us as students. It isn’t until

college, where we can pick and choose our classes and the time that works best for us that we

truly get to manage our own time. Even then, in college, we have new adult responsibilities to

balance our school life to. Personally, when things start to get overwhelming for me, I like to
take a step back and take a short break. Sometimes, taking a deep breath and meditating can be

all that you need to help you reset yourself and regain focus.

Recommendations

Katya’s lack of self confidence is a major factor in her stress levels. She doesn’t

believe she studies enough and her efforts don’t make a difference in the end. It’s important to

find and identify why she lacks self-efficacy. As a friend, I would first question how well she

understands the material. According to the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton

College, or SERC, a tip to improve self-efficacy for struggling students is to encourage students

to try (Self-efficacy, 2021). The key is to make the experience more flexible and aligned to the

student. If Katya has anxiety because she believes that she doesn’t understand the material well

enough when taking the test, it can be a big boost to self-efficacy if she can prove to herself that

she has a grasp of the material better than she leads herself to have.

However, if anxiety still persists, Katya should search for some methods to help reduce

anxiety rather than overstudying. Assistance can be found anywhere if one is willing to find it

such as the student help centers that should be located on campus. Calling a friend to hear a

familiar trusted voice also helps to calm oneself, or simply taking a break is all you need.

On the day of or the night before the test, Katya can use some commonly used methods to

reduce the anxiety experienced before the test. It’s extremely important to get a good night’s rest

before the exam and eat a good breakfast. This means to try and cut out caffeine, sugar, and

other processed foods. Caffeine can trigger panic or anxiety attacks (21 quick tips, 2014).

Natural rest and a balanced breakfast on the other hand allows the brain to be able to think

clearly, stay focused, and deal with anxiety (Test anxiety, 2021). Playing calm or familiar music

can help her relax. This can also help Katya block out distractions and review topics inside her
head. During the test, it’s good to keep in mind to take deep breaths, stay hydrated if possible,

and don’t pay attention to both the time and the students around you as much.

Conclusion

Stress can sometimes be beneficial to us while other times be our achilles heel.

Procrastination is a form of stress that we often experience. We find hidden energy that we did

not know we had to complete the tasks that were given to us to finish on the clock. This type of

stress is short term as it only lasts until we complete the task. However, long term stress like

chronic stress can be detrimental to our health. If you believe that you are suffering from chronic

stress that it becomes a burden to your daily life, you should seek a doctor or a professional as

soon as possible for help. Even though the scholarship means a lot to Katya, it should not be

more important to her than her health. Seek assistance when necessary, don’t bottle up the stress

as it will only get worse.

References

Self-efficacy. Affective Domain. (2021, September 22). Retrieved December 6, 2021,

from https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/efficacy.html.

Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). 21 quick tips to change your anxiety forever. Psychology Today.

(2014, May 14). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anxiety-zen/201405/21-quick-tips-change-

your-anxiety-forever.

Test anxiety. Learning Center. (2021, September 30). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from

https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/tackling-test-anxiety/.