Read her articles on marriage, children, suicide, delinquency and self-care

It is not only natural and normal but also indispensable to have a little bit of stress, anxiety or nervousness before any test/examination or appearing for an interview because it enables us to use our intellect efficiently and have a focused attention. But there is always an optimum level of anxiety/stress, above and below which, it interferes with one’s performance and badly affects achievement. Higher (than your optimum level) drive, anxiety or stress level and self doubt can make one extremely unhappy and distressed by interfering  with one’s memory, examination taking capacity and even ability level and thus one’s success level. This test anxiety/stress can affect anyone – a primary, secondary, senior secondary or even a college student or even an interview aspirant or a job-seeker’. Hence it is important not only to get assessed and know your stress/anxiety level by an experienced psychotherapist but also to consult her in case it is above or below the optimum level.

Every reader would be curious to know whether there is any effective way to assess our own anxiety level without going to the therapist. Yes, there is! The questionnaire given below will help you or your child to know your anxiety level easily.

There are 20 statements related to your examination experience. Before reacting to any statement, you please recollect your previous experience of any or all of your testing situations and give yourself the score from 5 to 1 in such a way that you give a score of 4 if you completely agree with the statement; 3 if you agree mostly but not always, 2 if you agree 50-50 times, 1 if you disagree mostly and zero if you do not agree at all. Please note that it is a must to answer and give score to all the questions. Though there is no time limit, you should not take unusual time in answering any question. 

  1. Often my palms get sweaty just before the examination.
  2. I seem to have a vomiting like feeling or strange movement in my stomach before exams.
  3. After reading the whole paper, it seems as if I don’t remember the answer to any question.
  4. I feel terrible nervousness before and in-between the examination.
  5. During examination, it seems as if my brain has gone completely blank.
  6. After getting out of examining situation, I can recollect all that I had forgotten during the exam.
  7. I can’t sleep just before the examination night.
  8. During the examination my hunger and thirst die away.
  9. It is confusing for me to choose the right answer.
  10. I commit mistake in answering even the simplest question or write the answer at wrong place.
  11. Whenever any teacher asks any question, I forget the answer even while knowing it fully well.
  12. Whenever any teacher asks me to write anything on the blackboard, my hands start trembling.
  13. While taking examination, I often feel anxious that I won’t be able to do well.
  14. I often feel anxious that the teacher might not ask me anything.
  15. My hands tremble while giving examination.
  16. My throat gets dried up and I become sweaty whenever any teacher asks me any question.
  17. I feel nervous while going to school/college over the thought that any teacher might not ask me any question.
  18. I get nervous even by the name of a test, exam or an interview.
  19. After the exam is over, it often appears to me that I shall either fail or score very few marks.
  20. The closer the examination, the more anxiety ridden or stressed I feel.

Scoring: Now add your total scores.

Every statement has 5 marks, so the maximum score is 100 while minimum is zero.

Level of anxiety/stress: 

10-20 scores: Extreme low level of anxiety (For achieving more, one must visit a psychotherapist).

20-40: Low level of anxiety (one needs to have higher motivating force for better achievement).

40-60: Medium or ideal level of anxiety which is essential to keep you focused for the examination.

60-75: High level of anxiety. The parents should be extra cautious in dealing with such children sympathetically and they should not put any burden of scoring higher in exams.

75-100: Extreme high and undesirable level of anxiety which is beyond danger mark. The parents of such children are sincerely advised to immediately consult a good psychotherapist for the same.