How to Take a Test (AKA Calming Your Flight-Flight-Freeze-Fawn Response) by Kaylea Dillon
We all know that feeling of being startled. Maybe your friend jumped out of a closet to scare you. Maybe you just ran away from a barking dog. Your heart starts pounding, your pupils dilate, and your body is ready to act to protect itself through one of the 4Fs; fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.
In my everyday life, it seems pretty common to talk about this fight-or-flight response that our sympathetic nervous system is responsible for creating. It almost becomes “normal” to live in this state. Yet, today I want to focus on talking about what it looks like to get out of this state, checking in with ourselves, and moving towards increased parasympathetic activity.
First, let's understand what is happening when our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is activated. Our SNS is activated through a release of hormones that prepare our body for life-threatening situations. However, in the modern day, our bodies see “life-threatening” in everyday situations. So, we spend a lot of time with stress hormones. Our bodies are primed to be fighting, fleeing, freezing, or fawning. However, when I am taking a test, these responses are not helpful.
So how do I calm my body to take my tests? I check in with my body and calm it to reduce my activation of stress hormones. In the Hey I’m Here Squad, we call this checking in with our ABCs.
I’m going to go through an example of what it looks like to use the ABCs when I am taking a test.
A - Awareness:
This is the first check-in point. Maybe I am starting to feel anxiety in the test room, or I am feeling overwhelmed from friends talking about last minute information.
B - Body & Breath:
Here is where I start to connect with my body. Sometimes it is just noticing the chair I am sitting in. Sometimes I notice my breath is more rapid and shallow. Sometimes it is checking in with my senses and noticing what I can hear, smell, touch, and see. Today when I took my exam, I noticed: the clicking of a pen, the rich smell of coffee, the roughness of my pens gripper, and I saw my exam.
C - Choice:
Now that I have gained an awareness of how I am feeling, and have a grasp on my body in the present moment, I have a choice to make. How can I help myself through this moment of anxiety? Sometimes tools will readily come to mind, but this is rare when I am feeling overwhelmed. Thankfully, I have one that I have done at the beginning of every test for the past several years. I come up with three mantras:
I know this. I am okay. I can do this.
Once I have three short mantras in my head, I repeat one when I tap my thumb and index finger together, one when I tap my thumb and middle finger together, and one when I tap my pointer finger. With each tap I take a deep breath. This helps ground me and allows me to start my exam feeling fresh.
The ABCs can be used at different times to check in with ourselves and the level of activation we are feeling in our bodies. Regular check-ins with myself help to not only be more aware of how I am feeling, but also keep coping skills more accessible. I think there is benefit to bringing awareness to feelings and the level of activation we feel at different times.
As important as it is to me to check in with myself before an exam, I also try to check in with myself, when I am having fun. Sometimes I will be playing video games and take a second to do my ABCs.
A - Awareness:
I am really frustrated because a boss killed me for the fourth time. I am having fun, but I definitely need to increase my level before I take them on again.
B - Body & Breath:
I stand at my walking desk while I game. I enjoy physical movement and it allows me to easily let out energy. When I take a moment to do my ABCs, I am often surprised by how the mixture of frustration and a brisk walk has my breath super fast.
C - Choice:
When I checked-in the other day and noticed how fast my breath was, I used this opportunity to calm my breathing, which did lead to me feeling calmer about losing the battle.
As you can see, there are a lot of ways to use this ABC technique to help yourself no matter what you are doing. I encourage you to be more aware of yourself throughout the day and check in, in the good moments and the bad. You might just learn something about how you respond to your environment.
Additional tools for when you may be in crisis:
U.S. Crisis Text Line: 741-741
Ohio Mobile Response and Stabilization Services: 1-888-418-MRSS (6777)