DIP Episode 551 - Test Taking Tips for the Anxious Test Taker

Welcome to episode 551 of the Divine Intervention Podcast. My name is Divine. In today's podcast, we're going to be addressing what I like to title Testicking Strategies for the Anxious Medical Student. Testicking Strategies for the Anxious Medical Student. Testicking Strategies for the Anxious Medical Student. I think this is something you're going to find to be extremely helpful. All right. So, I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. I'm going to start with the first one. So, I'm going to call this again, Testicking Tips for the Anxious Testicker. Testicking Tips for the Anxious Testicker. And I'm not going to discuss these in any particular order, but I'm just going to run through them. This is a podcast that's really important. If you're present, that's really anxious. I think you're going to find this to be extremely helpful. So, what's principle number one? Principle number one is preparing early. Preparing early. Do not leave things to the last minute. One of the best ways to be anxious is to leave things to the last minute. Leave things to the last minute.

One mantra I've always had, and people don't know me personally. I've probably heard me say this, but I try to make the day before any exam I'm taking. Be my easiest day. It's always easier, better to panic at the beginning, not at the end. Because honestly, if you're a person that's given to cramming, cramming is a very, very phenomenal way to become anxious. So, it's just better to panic early. It's better to do the right thing on time. It's better to make your life harder earlier so that your life does not become harder later. I mean, if you look at the Bible, you know, the story of the... Is it the end? So, whatever that in summer, they do what they're supposed to be doing. So, that when winter comes, think of it as like the testing phase. Are they able to kind of stand strong? So, I will encourage you, just prepare early. Early preparation, honestly, is one of the most effective ways. I know it's not something I want to hear, because a lot of people like to procrastinate. But I'm telling you, if you prepare early, just makes your life a lot easier. And then, the second principle I'm going to discuss is trying to see as many of the scenarios you are going to be exposed to as is possible. This is almost like a principle of systematic desensitization.

I'm sure many of you have probably heard this from psychiatry in dealing with phobia, because where you show people greater and greater and greater amounts of the things that freak them out, so that they can basically adapt to it. So, same thing. You know, you can pretty much start off, if you're studying for an exam, you can pretty much start off like saying, hey, you know what? I'm going to do 20 questions every day for this thing. And then, after a while on regular intervals, okay, let me go to 30. Let me go to 40. Let me go to 50. Over time, you're kind of building those habits. And when something becomes a habit, when a big moment shows up, it doesn't feel as different to you. You're able to tackle that situation with favor. It's just like, for example, like LeBron, you know, LeBron, this is his 22nd season in the NBA. He's been in high stakes, high stress situations so many times. Team down 20, come back, win something. You know, score 25 points straight, like some crazy stuff. So, the thing is, he has seen these things, he has run these through these situations many times. So, he's just kind of used to, used to that at this point. So, if you've run through many of these situations many times, then you're kind of used to it. It doesn't come as like some kind of huge, whoo, whoo, whoo, huge surprise to you anymore. So, how can you do these? Well, you can do this with Q banks, right?

But the thing I always say is that many people these days, there's this common advice out there where you see people, they're taking an NBA me exam, and they don't do any meami practice material. Well, who are the people that are writing these exams you're taking? It's the NBA meami, it's complex. So, it would make sense, it would be who you to expose yourself to as many of their questions as it's possible. So, practice this systematic desensitization with exam prep. And then, the third thing I want to say is having the right mindset. And one of the right mindset I will say is having the mindset that you will crush the exam. Having the mindset that you want, you will crush the exam. I know you may say, oh, this is me giving myself false hope. But the thing is, if you're truly following the other principles, I'm talking about in this podcast, then it is not false hope. So, tell yourself the truth, because you'd be amazed. The subconscious thoughts that come to our minds, one, they come a lot faster, two, they come a lot louder than the things you hear on the outside. Many people think that it's the things you hear on the outside that can really determine your success or failure. But I mean, and that can be true to an extent. But I'm telling you like the noises in your head are the more important noises, because they are faster, they come at higher speed, and they come with increased loudness.

So, I will encourage you literally tell yourself the truth, especially if you're following the truth. If you know you're working hard, if you know you're doing the right thing, then guess what? Tell yourself, hey, I'm going to crush this exam. I've done well on my practice tests. I've prepared ahead of time, I don't need to be afraid, I don't need to panic. And that's going to be true if you have prepared well. Okay, now what's principle number four? Principle number four is the right thing in down principle. So, what should you write down? Basically, ask yourself, what is causing me anxiety? Literally, what is causing you anxiety? Write it down. And then, because many people do not understand this, there's something to be said for writing down something and making it plain upon like piece of paper, like just write it down, pen and paper, write it down. And then ask yourself, can you do something about this thing that's causing you anxiety? Literally, try to bring tangible to the anxiety, and the way you make it tangible is by writing it down. Because the thing is, sometimes when you write these things, don't you realize that, wait, this thing I'm actually really scared of is like literally nothing. Or sometimes you realize that, wait, if I just change this little thing around, the cause of the anxiety will cease. So, literally write down, I'm telling you this. Sometimes you see some people, they are very anxious about something.

And I've had this happen in my life so many times. And then, just write it down and see the problem on paper. And knowing, okay, wait, there's a constructive way out of this problem. Sometimes, you can really, really, really help with anxiety. And the principle number five is talking through, talking through, talking through. Let me tell you this. The thing is, you want to have a plan for almost every situation you see on your exams. You want to have a plan. And I'm not saying having a plan for like the material. No, having a plan for like the kinds of things you see. So, see for example, one thing that causes people a lot of anxieties, oh, how do I handle hard questions? Well, literally write down these detailed plans. Have like a separate document, we write these things down that hey. If I see a hard question, these are the choices I'm going to make in that situation. Here's exactly what I'm going to do. And literally, as you write down these plans for anxious situations like, if you have plans for like, if I'm running out of time, what do I do? If I see a tough question, what do I do? If I see a drug or a question, what do I do? If I see a bio-stats question, what do I do? If I see a pedigree question, what do I do? And again, you know these things that you want to be ready for, based on the things you've written down that cause you anxiety. Write your plans down for these situations. Talk it out loud to yourself. And then do those things.

Again, I know some of you may be like, oh, define some of this stuff you're saying sounds hokey-pokey. But I'm telling you, it really, really, really, really helps. It really, really, really, really helps. And one thing I would also recommend just as a sidebar is before you take any practice exam, consider listening to episode 400 on the website. Consider listening to episode 400 on the website. It's a very, very helpful podcast for setting your mind in the right place before like a Heightsticks exam. Okay, now what's the sixth principle I'm going to discuss? The sixth principle I'm going to discuss is to become and quiet. Become and quiet. The thing is we live in a world that is very distractible. For now is buzzing, something always flashing over your screen, all these colors. I mean, all these things are intentionally designed to capture as much of your eyeballs as possible on your mind. But I encourage you to just become and quiet. Become and quiet. Become and quiet. Become and quiet. You may not realize this, but it's almost like you're building a certain degree of potential energy as you participate in that. Become and quiet. Become and quiet. Okay, now principle number seven is to put your 100% to the task right in front of you. This is one thing that many people don't realize. Many people again have divided attention. When you are divided, you're unstable. When you're unstable, you're anxious. Literally give 0% to the past. War is 0% about the results.

That's what you're supposed to do. Literally put your 100% to the task. Because if you put your 100% into the task, you know that see I have done everything that is literally humanly possible. I've literally done everything that is humanly possible. That is humanly possible. So put your 100% into the task in front of you. Give 0% to the past. Your war is 0% about the results. Forget those things that are behind you and just focus on what is in front of you. Press on towards the stuff that's in front of you. You see people, they keep worrying about things that are out of control of their control. Like even in the process of taking an exam, if a previous block was really hard, forget that block. Don't let that block keep controlling your present and your future. Forget that block. Don't worry about the next block. Just give your 100% to the block to the task that is right in front of you. Just make sure that what is in front of you, that key system right in front of you, you're giving your very best effort to it. Again, if you do that, it's actually going to help you not be anxious. Now, principle number eight is the skipping principle, the skipping principle. What do I mean by the skipping principle? By the skipping principle, I mean if something is weird or hard, skip it. If something is weird or hard, and this is something you want to follow while you're taking an exam, skip it. The thing is finish your first pass through the block.

Many people would like to mess with their flow during exams. You don't have to mess with your flow. If you see something, just skip it. Finish your first pass. Do all the things you can do first before you start focusing on the things that you cannot do or the things that are more challenging. You see people, they sit with questions, sit with questions, sit with questions, and then valuable exam time is burning. And then they notice that, oh gee, there are 40 questions in this block. I'm on question 32. There's only like six minutes left. And then they start panicking, they start getting anxious. And then it spills over into the next block. You don't have to be in that situation, right? I'm telling you, the best way to deal with anxiety is to know these things ahead of time. Prepare for them and just avoid them. Don't get me wrong. There are certain things that will cause a person anxiety in life. But many times in life, as with many other things, prevention is a lot better than cure. And then principle number nine is to organize, organize, organize. I actually call this the organization principle, organization principle. Literally have a system, have a system. I'm telling you this, organization kills anxiety. You want to shoot anxiety down and completely obliterate it. Organization is one thing that is very, very helpful. Very, very helpful. And the thing is, everybody's approach will be different, but be organized.

Many people just kind of, musy through life or musy through tests or musy through dedicated periods or musy through your day. You don't have to be that kind of person, have some kind of organization. If you're organized, if you have a system, you're going to feel a lot better. That's just the truth. You're literally going to feel what a lot better. But you see people, they're just very disorganized. Even in a home, I'm telling you this, if you're very organized in a home, there's going to be a lot less anxiety, right? Like for example, you see a cold blue. If any of you have ever had the opportunity to be in a cold blue, I have been in a few. If any of you have had the opportunity to be in a cold blue, you'll notice that a cold blue is going to go well. Even if the patient dies, which is unfortunate, we can't save everybody. But a cold blue is going to go very, very, very, very well. If there is a lot of organization, there's a leader, there's some kind of structure. And you don't have a leader, you don't have some kind of structure. That is just figured out on the fly. No, it's something that they plan for. So I'm telling you this, like try to be as organized as possible in as many parts of your life as is possible. Have an organized approach to taking tests. Have an organized approach to reviewing tests. Have an organized approach to going through a block. If you have that organized approach, it's almost like you're designing a life algorithm.

And you follow it like blog and play. After a while, it just kind of goes on autopilot. When things are on autopilot, anxiety is vastly reduced. And then principle number 10 is the alone principle. So please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not saying that you should not interact with other people. No, you should interact with other people. I believe that we're created to be social beings, right? You know, interact with people. But here's what I'm trying to say. What I'm trying to say is, I feel like they'll find an example. Be alone. Be alone before your tests. Right? Don't hang with other people. Right? And being alone doesn't just mean staying away from people. It also means staying away from tech. Your phone, your computer, stay away from those things. Those things can build up huge amounts of anxiety. I always tell people this. If you know your exam is studying in a certain time, you know, or when do I need to be at a pre-metric, just show up before time, check in whatever. But go to a place where other examiners are not staying. Because as you see other people, they're whittling their knees, their hands are shaking, they're sweating, they're going through a panic attack. You don't want to see those things because I'm telling you this. You see sometimes can really motivate your mindset. So just to let you try to stay away from those kinds of people. Stay away from them. Be alone. Stay away from your phone.

I'm telling you, phones and devices, they are anxiety inducing, inducing tools. I cannot tell you how much better I feel when I just leave my phone alone. Keep it in a different room. You'll be amazed at how much more productive you actually get in life. So be alone. Before the test, plug away from all these things. Plug away from social media. Don't go on Reddit. Don't go on X. Don't go on Instagram. Let go of these things. Don't go on You Tube. Don't go on You Tube shorts. All this dopamine mumble jumble going on in your brain is just not helping you. Many people think that these things calm them down. No, but it's actually making you more anxious. Let me just go and spend some time on You Tube. It's going to calm me down. No, it's not calming you down. You're going to see something that's going to make you anxious. So just don't plug away from those things. And the principle number 11 is to sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep keeps your mind calm. Many people think that caffeine and energy drinks help them. But honestly, in many situations, especially before an exam, those things actually quite counterproductive. Or you see people, they're reviewing so hard the day before a test. Or they're reviewing so hard the morning of a test. Or they're reviewing so hard during their break period or during a test. You're just amping yourself up. It's actually very counterproductive. You're literally just again making yourself more anxious.

See, the key to right decisions is a calm mind. I'm going to say that again. The key to right decisions is a calm mind. The thing is, even if you're in a fast-paced situation, if your mind is calm, it's almost like you slow down that fast-paced situation. That's the truth. So please, literally focus on being calm. Focus on being calm. Focus on being calm. Focus on being calm. Alright, now what's principle number 12? Principle number 12, honestly, is a healthy diet and exercise. A healthy diet and exercise. Exercise is very, very helpful. Very, very helpful. The thing is, life is not supposed to be without stress. Many people really trashed out stress. They're like, I don't want to have a face any stress. That's why my life to be as stress-free as possible. No, they will always be stress. But you can build capacity to handle stress better. One of the best ways to build capacity to handle stress is exercise and a healthy diet. That's the truth. I mean, like, if you just try this out, if you're pressing that just doesn't work out, doesn't work out frequently, just try it out, work out in the morning. Work out in the morning. I'll just work out during the day. You'll notice that for a couple hours after that, you're better able to handle stress. It's almost like even if something tough comes your way. It's almost like your brain has been primed to you. Hey, I can handle this tough thing. So I'll just encourage you. Develop that habit of exercise and eating healthy.

Many of these junk food, it just really clouds your mind, makes your brain foggy. It's just not very helpful for an individual. And then principle number 13 is best case versus worst case scenario thinking. Best case versus worst case scenario thinking. I'm not saying that you're planning for things to go horrendously. But look at the best case versus the worst case scenario. Sometimes you're seeing, oh, this is about as well as something can go. And this is as poorly as something can go. When those boundaries have been predefined, sometimes it takes anxiety out of a process like, Hey, if this thing doesn't go this well, well, the worst that could happen is XYZ. So say, for example, you've been taking practice tests. You know what your averages have been. You're like, okay, well, worst case scenario. If I score like one standard division below this, this was going to happen. If I score one standard division above this, this was going to happen. Sometimes it can really, really keep you calm. Literally just define those boundaries. You're not planning for the worst. But if you're aware of the worst that something can be, then sometimes it actually has a common effect on a person. And then principle number 14 is to get professional help if you need it. Again, we don't pay much attention to mental health in this country. We don't pay much attention to mental health in medicine. I've always said this. I say this at many of my review classes.

You can take your other people if you're not, if you've not been taking care of yourself. Right? If your mind is not in the right place, you're not going to be well. That's the truth. Right? And if you see that somebody is struggling, please be your brother's keeper. Try to help out. Literally try to help out. If you need professional help, get that help. There's help available out there for anxiety. Right? So if you need help, get that help. Sometimes honestly, if you're just as simple as just talking to somebody, having an accountability partner, having a person that you can go and pour out your heart to is very, very helpful. So I'll encourage you. If you need help, get that help. Ending your life is not the way out. Please. It's not the way out. It's not the way out. Ending your life is not the way out. Please, if you need help, get that help. If your heart is overwhelmed, speak to somebody. There is somebody out there in some way, shape or form that is willing to help you. That's why sometimes it's actually really good to have like very good friends. I'm not just again, friends that are only there for what they can suck from you. But actually true friends, the truth is unfortunately true friends are rare. But they're out there. True friends are rare but they're out there. Right? And then the 15th principle I will say is just pray. You spray on trust God. You know, at the end of the day, many people that listen to those podcasts again, divine intervention podcast.com.

You probably know I'm a Christian. But just pray. Just pray on trust God. You know, you can be very worried. You can be very overwhelmed. But just pray. I'm telling you this. I can tell you this from my personal life. I've been in situations that have caused great anxiety. What do I do in those moments? I just pray. And I just trust God to help me. That's the truth. I just pray, you know, be anxious for nothing but in everything by pray and supplication with thanksgiving. So I just pray. And I try not to be anxious. Right? Just pray and trust God to help me out in those situations. So I think I'm going to go ahead and stop here. Thank you for listening to me today. Again, God willing episode 552. We're going to continue the iron story. Again, trust me. I've no forgotten that. But I just feel like in other priorities, I'm like, hmm, this is something that may help people a lot. Because a lot of people are doing it anxiety these days. Right? So this, even if you're not taking a test, but just for life, I suspect that many of these principles will help you with anxiety. And I have this podcast on Apple Google Spotify. Check those out. Have a You Tube channel. We have a bunch of videos. Check those out. And then I have on the website called divine intervention life lessons.com. Divine intervention life lessons.com. Every week roughly, I post them on a podcast or two where, you know, from a biblical perspective address a life lesson.

There's actually an Apple podcast associated with that. The divine intervention life lessons podcast. And then if you're interested in any of my classes, have a bunch of classes in the month of December, nothing else left for November. Just shoot me an email through the website. We can send you an email directly. And I'll be more than happy to point you in the right direction. The over Zoom, many people have taken them and found them to be extremely helpful. So thank you for listening to me today. Again, I pray that things get better for you. But until next time, until episode 552, have a wonderful rest of your day. Have a wonderful week. God bless you. Bye for now. Thank you.

To gradually expose oneself to increasing levels of difficulty (e.g., Q-banks) so that high-stakes situations feel less novel and more manageable.

Stay away from tech and social media because these devices are highly anxiety-inducing tools and distract from focus.

Employ the "skipping principle"—finish your first pass through all questions, even if you don't know the answer immediately.

Because focusing on what has already happened or what might happen causes divided attention and instability, preventing full focus on the current task.

Having a structured system (a plan/algorithm) for reviewing material, taking tests, or approaching study periods reduces feelings of chaos and uncertainty.

A healthy diet and regular exercise.

To avoid cramming; it is better to panic or struggle with preparation earlier rather than at the last minute.

Systematic practice using Q-banks and simulating exam conditions (Systematic Desensitization).

Write them down to make the fear tangible and analyze if a constructive solution exists.

A calm mind allows one to slow down the perceived pace of a stressful situation, improving cognitive function.

To minimize exposure to constant digital distractions (buzzing screens, flashing colors) that are designed to capture attention and increase mental noise.

To avoid cramming; it is better to panic or struggle with preparation earlier rather than at the last minute.

Systematic practice using Q-banks and simulating exam conditions (Systematic Desensitization).

Write them down to make the fear tangible and analyze if a constructive solution exists.

A calm mind allows one to slow down the perceived pace of a stressful situation, improving cognitive function.

To minimize exposure to constant digital distractions (buzzing screens, flashing colors) that are designed to capture attention and increase mental noise.