Tabitha Taylan

Professor Silva
Health Ed.
12/13/15
Case Study Analysis
Like many teenagers in high school and in college, Katya is
experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety. This is due to the fact
that, to get through college with her scholarship she has to maintain
her 3.0 average and essentially ace her upcoming chemistry exam.
Some people handle anxiety well, while others dont know what to do
about it. In Katyas case, she feels so much pressure that she has
experienced a panic attack while studying. She cant study on her own
and needs some sort of help to be able t pass this exam with low
anxiety and ease.
This fall semester has been my first semester in college. I can
proudly say that since my high school always had so much going on
and required me to do so many activities, I was better prepared for
college. Taking only 14.3 units this semester makes me feel that I have
so much free time to do other things and helps me focus more on each
individual subject. However, it wasnt always easy for me and took me
the first two years of high school to get a grip on my stress and
anxiety. The way I used to handle my anxiety was to sleep while trying
to avoid all of my responsibilities. In the end, that only hurt me and I

still regret doing so bad even now. Now a days I decide to plan
everything out the night before. This might not seem like a big deal but
it helps me manage not only my schedule but my anxiety as well. For
example, before I go to sleep, I look at my calendar to make sure that
everything for tomorrow has been completed. Doing this gives me a
sense of control over my anxiety and helps relieve stress. This may not
work for others but it has helped me get through a lot of assignments
and kept me on task.
If I were to give advice to anyone with high levels of test anxiety,
it would be to manage their time wisely. One may manage their time
efficiently while test taking through the use of certain techniques. For
instance, a student should not take too long on one single question.
Instead, it is better advised to skip over questions that are unknown
and return to them when all other questions have been answered.
Studies show that the efficient use of time can significantly reduce
ones test anxiety (Biggs and Felton 1973). In addition, students
should not dwell on past failures but instead, focus on academic
triumphs. According to Bandura, self-efficacy reflects ones previous
academic achievements (Bong 2012). Lastly, one should try to set
goals to help motivate for better academic success. Lopez and
Bieschke found that self-efficacy intercedes the effects of previous
academic performances on motivation (Rezaei 2012). Having motivation
can drive someone to complete tasks.

If I was in Katyas position I dont think that I would seek medical

attention. I feel that I would be too concentrated on the current
situation at hand and continue studying. It would be an inconvenience
for me to seek medical attention because I would be spending my time
with them instead of studying. On the other hand, I would go see a
professor and ask them to help explain certain concepts that I am not
familiar with.
An action as simple as time management can help decrease
anxiety. This is because if you manage your time wisely, you wont be
stressing out over finishing something before the deadline. Another
thing would just to simply think about the accomplishments you have
instead of dwelling on the failures. Dwelling on the failures wont make
them change but looking forward might help prevent them from
happening again.
Forming realistic expectations before beginning a semester starts
with knowing what you can handle and how busy you are. If you are
capable of working non-stop and understanding concepts easy then it
might be a good idea to take on more classes but if you are a slow
learner and take a lot of time to learn new ideas then maybe you
shouldnt pack your schedule with the maximum amount of units.

References
Biggs, B. E., & Felton, G. S.. (1973). Reducing Test Anxiety of Collegiate Black Low
Achievers in an Academic Setting. The Journal of Negro Education, 42(1), 54
57. http://doi.org/10.2307/2966791
Bong, M. J. (2012). Comparison of Self-Beliefs for Predicting Student Motivation and
Achievement. Journal Of Educational Research, 105(5), 336-352.
Rezaei, A. (2012). Can Self-Efficacy and Self-Confidence Explain Iranian Female
Students' Academic Achievement?. Gender And Education, 24(4), 393-409.