You probably know the excitement and palpitations before an exam. It is not uncommon for the fear of failing to resonate. If this excitement remains with these mild symptoms, it can even have a positive effect. Anxiety activates the brain and ensures alertness and concentration. Good stress, so-called eustress, increases motivation and concentration in such situations.

Test anxiety is the fear of assessment situations. You are not only afraid of the actual situation, but also of the possible consequences of a bad grade. The anxiety can be transferred from one's own performance to the whole person, so that one has the feeling that one is also being put to the test as a person (Charbel, 2004) This usually results in a "mental cinema" that dramatizes the situation further and further and, in the worst case, can lead to a blockade, a so-called "blackout". (Lohaus et al., 2007)

However, if the anxiety increases so drastically that you are prevented from studying, postpone exams and your quality of life decreases significantly, this is known as clinically relevant test anxiety. Symptoms can include a racing heart, sweating, trembling, sleep problems and difficulty concentrating. However, it is important to distinguish between exam anxiety as a psychological disorder and the fear of not being able to pass if you have not actually prepared. This fear would ultimately be appropriate.

If we want to define clinically relevant anxiety disorder, we can say that it is a disproportionate fear of failure in performance situations.

Symptoms of clinically relevant test anxiety

• Palpitations
• sweating
• tremor
• Dry mouth
• Breathing difficulties
• Feeling of oppression
• Pain/ discomfort in the chest
• Nausea
• dizziness
• Depersonalization/derealization disorder*
• Fear of loss of control
• Fear of dying
• Hot flushes
• numbness/ tingling sensations
• Significant emotional distress due to anxiety symptoms
• Symptoms are limited to the feared situations or thoughts about them

*"Depersonalization describes an alienation from one's own person. Those affected have a disturbed self-perception and feel detached from themselves. In the case of derealization, on the other hand, those affected are plagued by the impression that their environment is not real. Depersonalization and derealization often occur together and are therefore referred to as depersonalization and derealization syndrome or combined under the term depersonalization." (Dopmeier, 2021)

A blackout is a blockage that makes it impossible for the person to have a clear thought at that moment. Metaphorically, "the light has been switched off". This quickly leads to panic in an exam situation. However, the information doesn't simply disappear, but you "just" can't recall it. This can be observed, for example, when you leave a stressful situation and the answers suddenly reappear.

If anxiety and stage fright take over in the exam phase/ during the exam, this can lead to a blackout. It is then "dark" and "empty" in the head: the information can no longer be recalled Large amounts of glucocorticoids* (e.g. cortisol) are released. Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones. These also have an effect on the hippocampus. This is needed to store information and bring memories to life. The hippocampus reacts with increased performance when there are few glucocorticoids (stress hormones) in the blood. If the level rises sharply, cells are damaged. They die in the hippocampus or are irreversibly damaged.

To prevent this, the hippocampus switches itself off. The nerve cells no longer react, no longer transmit information and no longer retrieve it. This leads to the "blackout situation". If the associative power of the hippocampus no longer works, it is very difficult to remember information.

Tips to avoid a blackout

Tips before the exam:

• Don't compulsively learn new content the morning before the exam. Such situations can lead to information overload and only further increase stress levels
• Don't talk to others about the exam content shortly before the exam. This can lead to the feeling that you have learned too little or the wrong thing. This will only increase your stress level unnecessarily and may even trigger panic.

Tips for the exam

• Proceed step by step. People with exam anxiety are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks. It can therefore be useful, for example, to work through the tasks one after the other and cover all other tasks. This keeps your concentration on the current task and you are less likely to drift off.
• A blackout is not the end. Turn the page (in writing) or say that you need to take a breath (verbally). Take a sip and breathe deeply. It is possible to calm down and collect yourself again. So don't throw everything away immediately, but collect yourself first.