How Can You Beat Stress During Your GRE Preparation

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which is used to determine whether or not a candidate is prepared for graduate school, was created by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which is also in charge of its administration. In light of this, it makes sense why the importance of this test may cause worry. 

A mild degree of anxiety is a typical bodily reaction to potentially dangerous circumstances that call for increased alertness. Anxiety improves processing speed, alertness, and acuity of both visual and auditory stimuli. Thoughts of a higher order—which are necessary for the GRE—fall, and anxiety increases. Your fight-or-flight reaction may impair your ability to focus if you are overly worried throughout the GRE. You can also join GRE classes online.

1. Be Prepared

The most obvious but underappreciated technique to lessen GRE stress is thoroughly understanding the material. It will be less stressful if you study for the test. Once you feel secure in your GRE preparation, the test may even start to feel enjoyable. Understanding the format of the GRE exam and beginning your preparation following it is the best method to prepare for it.

2. Test Your Ability

Reduce tension before the GRE by taking all four ETS to practice exams. Via problem sets and timed practice, you’ll become accustomed to and comfortable with the GRE. You can desensitize yourself to the GRE method and make the real test feel like a practice test by taking full-length practice exams in authentic settings.

3. Exposure Therapy

To help a patient become more accustomed to the stimulus, exposure therapy entails placing the patient in an environment that makes them feel fearful and anxious. Interestingly, a fear response is brought on by a threatening situation. Imagine taking the GRE, experiencing any anxiety-related reactions, and learning how to manage them.

4. Always Try To See Your Success

Usually, we don’t realize how much our cognitive habits affect how well we function. You could sabotage yourself before putting your abilities to the test if you don’t have confidence in your capacity to succeed. You’ll work hard if you believe you can win. Make a mental image of oneself acing the GRE and providing accurate answers. Thinking positively for five minutes, three times a day is all it takes to visualize.

5. Try To Good Thought

Our attitude has the potential to worsen a challenging circumstance if we let it. Exam anxiety is likely accompanied by a variety of harmful, unfavorable mental patterns or “hazardous attitudes” among the students. By recognizing damaging attitudes, negative self-talk can be eradicated. Change your negative thoughts to positive ones whenever you catch yourself doing so.

6. Turn Your Anxiety Into Your Excitement

Say to yourself that you’re excited if you’re anxious about the GRE. While you work through GRE difficulties, tell yourself: “I’m excited to study for the GRE or I’m excited to master these GRE questions.” Before the GRE, use a motivating statement. Remind yourself that your nervousness is what’s keeping you focused if you start to feel stressed out during the GRE.

7. Try Deep Breaths

Doing regulated breathwork training is another excellent method to refocus and control your worried thoughts. We now know that exam anxiety frequently manifests as rapid breathing, so it stands to reason that deep, slow breathing will help you relax. Your body unwinds along with you. Take many belly breaths as opposed to chest breaths to help you achieve the state of relaxation necessary for learning and problem-solving. Anxiety is lessened by this breathing pattern.

8. Hydrate Yourself

A person’s mind and body can be affected by even a 1.5% dehydration, however, thirst typically doesn’t appear until a dehydration level of 1% to 2%. Stress and anxiety can result from even slight dehydration. Hydrate improves performance and reduces stress. To avoid being dehydrated during the GRE, drink water both before and during the test. Throughout the 3-and-a-half-hour exam, drink enough to stave off thirst. But, don’t overindulge to the point of discomfort.

9. Limit Your Anxiety And Try To Recognize

It will be difficult to remain calm in the testing environment if you are frequently disturbed and agitated since you are training your body to be on edge. When getting ready for the GRE, be kind to yourself. Don’t worry about incorrect responses; instead, use them to improve. Understand that GRE preparation can be unpredictable, but do your best. Recognize your overall advantages and realize that the challenges you’re experiencing are probably not too severe.

10. Do Not Compare Yourself With Other

When preparing for the GRE, comparing oneself to others is common. Compare yourself only to your best self, though, since doing otherwise could derail your GRE preparation. Anxiety-producing distraction for the GRE is comparing oneself to others. Target your objectives.

11. Do Meditation

For some people, meditation could appear too lofty and spiritual to have anything to do with studying for exams. Although studying for the GRE requires a significant amount of knowledge acquisition, few people would characterize the experience as profoundly enlightening. You might be interested in reading the findings of a recent study on meditation and performance on the verbal portion of the GRE.

Wrapping Up

The most important step in getting accepted into a reputable graduate program abroad is taking the GRE exam, and the pressure to perform well can be extreme. The GRE is one such unavoidable nightmare for many and taking any exam that will determine your chances of getting into the school of your choice will undoubtedly increase your anxiety levels. The problem arises when stress limits one’s ability to study and therefore impairs performance. A little stress can, in fact, be the catalyst for improved performance. Go for GRE online coaching.