DO YOU DREAD TAKING TESTS?

Do you have to force yourself to get ready for a test?  Do you avoid studying?  Do you worry excessively about how badly you expect to do?  Are you anxious even when you are well prepared? 

 

Is this test, like a licensing examination, so important that it makes you nervous?  Would you also like some "insurance" by being trained for peak performance at the test?

 

Other people seem to prepare for a test without a lot of worry or procrastination, and they don't seem nervous during the test.

SO WHY ARE YOU SO ANXIOUS ABOUT TAKING TESTS?

You have become conditioned to "link" anxiety with taking tests. This can cause you to avoid studying for the test, resulting in more anxiety as well as frustration with yourself.  You don't know how to unlink the anxiety from test taking. 

 

And you don't know how to train yourself for peak performance during the examination.

YOU CAN OVERCOME THIS PROBLEM!

Most people can become calmer and perform better on tests -- when they know how.  Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has had an excellent track record in helping students and others "unlink" their anxiety from test-taking.  The results usually are a dramatic reduction in anxiety before the examination, a decrease in procrastination, and the ability to be more relaxed and better focused during the test.  Other methods, which are variations on CBT techniques, can work just as well and take less time.

 

Here are examples of how Dr. Agigian helped two test-takers: a person studying for the bar and a student with a complicated problem.

LARRY'S PROBLEM:  IF HE FAILED THE BAR EXAM,

                                  HE WOULD LOSE A JOB OFFER

THE PROBLEM:

Larry was about to take the most important test of his life: the bar examination.  Although he was well prepared, Larry was very nervous.  He had been offered a job at a good firm, but only if he passed the bar.  He wanted to calm down and do his best on the exam.

THE SOLUTION:

Larry saw Dr. Agigian, who used Thought Field Therapy(TFT), a rapid variation of a cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) technique, to lower Larry's anxiety.  They also used TFT to help Larry prepare and perform at his best during the bar examination. 

 

Although his nervousness had decreased dramatically, Larry requested a "tune-up" the day before the exam, "for insurance," as he put it.  Dr. Agigian provided this.

RESULTS:

Larry was focused, alert and effective at the exam, and he was not bothered by anxiety.  He passed the bar and accepted the job offer.

JANE'S PROBLEM: ANXIETY, OBSESSION AND DISGUST

THE PROBLEM:

Jane was about to do a dissection that would serve as a mid-term exam for an anatomy course.  Although she was a good student, Jane obsessed about doing badly at the test.  Her skin felt clammy, and she was very tense as she studied for the test.  Jane was also repelled by the smell and the procedures of dissections.

THE SOLUTION:

In one session, Dr. Agigian used Thought Field Therapy (TFT), which addressed Jane's test anxiety and her feelings of repulsion toward dissections and their odor.  She also learned how to prime herself for peak performance in the exam.

RESULTS:

Jane succeeded at focusing herself for peak performance in the dissection exam.  During her preparation, she did not obsess and was free of anxiety symptoms.  She took the test relaxed, confident and not bothered by the smell or procedures.  Jane got an A on the exam.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP

If you'd like to contact Dr. Agigian for more information or to learn whether he can help you, call to arrange a free 30-minute consultation at (510) 653-7596.

 

He can also be reached by e-mail at agigian@earthlink.net.