Help Your Child with Test Anxiety
WHAT’S UP: Wanna help your child with test anxiety and academic stress? If you’ve tried telling your child to take deep breaths when they feel anxious or have a meltdown and they go ‘Tried it…doesn’t work’, this workshop is for you. It’s for parents who want to learn 7 test anxiety relief techniques that work.
WHY DOESN'T TAKING DEEP BREATHS ALWAYS WORK FOR TEST ANXIETY?
Taking deep breaths can sometimes actually make someone feel worse if they are experiencing anxiety, stress or panic levels that are above a certain threshhold.
Our stress response can kick in when we think about a test or exam, let alone sit a test or exam. Left to it’s own devices, this can cause self-sabotaging behaviors (avoiding tasks that move us forward). These self-sabotaging behaviors are held in place by:
- negative thoughts (‘I’m stupid’, ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I can’t do it’)
- negative emotions (overwhelm, anxiety, worry, dread, self doubt, etc)
- unpleasant physical sensations (heart racing, stress-related stomach/lower back pains, tension headaches in exam season, etc).
For example, if your child has developed a coping strategy of turning to their phone as a way of relaxing, which is a form of numbing out, taking deep breaths when anxious can trigger overwhelming levels of feelings and body sensations that they’ve been avoiding.
That’s why I recommend body-based relaxation techniques instead as a starting point. They are safer ‘way in’. And I have yet to teach a student (Elementary School, Middle/High School, or Undergrad level) who hasn’t found one that works for their Test Anxiety in all the years I’ve been doing this work.
HELP YOUR CHILD WITH Test ANXIETY: LEARN PRACTICAL RELAXATION TECHNIQUES THAT WORK
Join my workshop for parents to learn a range of body-based relaxation techniques that I have found to be more effective than saying ‘take deep breaths’ to help your child with test anxiety.
WHAT: Online event on Zoom to learn a wide range of body-based relaxation techniques that work for helping a child deal with test anxiety or panicky feelings/meltdowns when they need to study for a test or exam.
FOR WHO: Parents who want to learn practical strategies that work for learners of all ages experiencing Test Anxiety at all levels (grade school to university level learners).
WHEN: 1-hour workshop on October 7th 2023 starting at 3pm Greece, 1pm London, 8pm Singapore.
PARTICIPATION FEE: €27 per person.
Once your payment has been received, you’ll get an email with the Zoom link for this month’s workshop along with the workshop prep questionnaire and resource.
WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE DAY: LEARNING THROUGH PARTICIPATION
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
1ST HALF OF THE WORKSHOP
After a brief Icebreaker Tapping exercise to get a sense of how everyone is feeling, group members are offered a chance to briefly introduce themselves by saying your name and what you would like to get out of this workshop.
I then invite you to have a go at 6 self-soothing techniques I teach learners of all ages who are experiencing anxiety in tests/exams or panicky feelings/meltdowns when studying. We pause after each one to give you time to rate how relaxing you find each one. After you’ve tried all 6 techniques, I will ask you to choose the one that you would like to have a go trying to introduce to your child.
2ND HALF OF THE WORKSHOP
I then invite someone from the group to volunteer so that I can demonstrate a more advanced relaxation technique for dissolving anxiety called EFT Tapping.
You can watch the two 30 second videos below to get a ‘taster’ of the sort of thing you can expect when participating in this second half of the workshop.
(Click on the image to watch on YouTube)
(Click on the image to watch on YouTube)
This 7th relaxation technique is great for if you want to understand the root cause of test anxiety or test-related panic attacks / meltdowns when studying. To stop them from happening again, we must clear them at their root.
This educational demonstration of EFT Tapping for anxiety will show how you can start to work on reducing your own anxiety and worry about your child. That way you can try to avoid passing your worry about your child onto them (and in so doing, adding to your child’s anxiety own).
Meanwhile, everyone else taps along to borrow benefits for reducing the intensity of their own anxiety and worry about their child as they follow the demonstration.
For inquiries: eleni@elenivardaki.com
NEW TO EFT for ACADEMICS & STRESS?
KEY EFT RESEARCH STUDIES
Lambert, M. T. (Author). May 2020. The Tapping Project: Introducing Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to reduce anxiety and improve wellbeing in primary school students. Student thesis: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) – CDU
Aremu, A. O., & Taiwo, A. K. (2014). Reducing Mathematics Anxiety Among Students with Pseudo-Dyscalculia in Ibadan through Numerical Cognition and Emotional Freedom Techniques: Moderating Effect of Mathematics Efficacy. African Journal for the Psychological Studies of Social Issues, 17(1), 113–129.
Boath, E. Stewart, A. Carryer, A. (2013). Is Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Generalizable? Comparing Effects in Sport Science Students Versus
Complementary Therapy Students. Energy Psychology Journal, 5(2). doi
10.9769.EPJ.2013.5.2.EB.AC.AS.SU
Boath, E., Stewart, A., Carryer, A. (2013). Tapping for success: A pilot study to explore if Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) can reduce anxiety and enhance academic performance in University students. Innovative Practice in Higher Education, 1(3).
Jain, S., & Rubino, A. (2012). The effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) for optimal test performance: A randomized controlled trial. Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, & Treatment, 4(2), 13-24. doi:10.9769.EPJ. 2012.4.2.SJ Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Benor, D. J., Ledger, K., Toussaint, L., Hett, G., & Zaccaro, D. (2009). Pilot study of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Wholistic Hybrid derived from EMDR and EFT (WHEE) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for treatment of test anxiety in university students. Explore, 5(6). Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.
Sezgin, N., & Özcan, B. (2009). The effect of Progressive Muscular Relaxation and Emotional Freedom Techniques on test anxiety in high school students: A
randomized controlled trial. Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 1(1), 23-30. Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Sezgin, N., Ozcan, B., Church, D., (2009). The effect of two psychophysiological
techniques (Progressive Muscular Relaxation and Emotional Freedom Techniques) on test anxiety in high school students: A randomized blind controlled study. International Journal of Healing and Caring, 9(1). Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Stapleton, P., Mackay, E., Chatwin, H., Murphy, D., Porter, B., Thibault, S. Pidgeon, A. (2017). Effectiveness of a school-based emotional freedom techniques intervention for promoting student wellbeing. Adolescent Psychiatry, 7(2), 112-126. Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Gaesser, A. H., & Karan, O. C. (2017). A randomized controlled comparison of Emotional Freedom Technique and cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce adolescent anxiety: A pilot study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 23(2), 102-108. doi:10.1089/acm.2015.0316 Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Gaesser, A. H. (2014). Interventions to Reduce Anxiety for Gifted Children and Adolescents. Doctoral Dissertations, 377. http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/377 Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Dawson, et al (2018), “Is Tapping on acupuncture points an active ingredient in Emotional Freedom Techniques? A systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies”, The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol 206.
Bach, et al (2019), “Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) improves multiple physiological markers of health”, Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, Vol 24
Church, et al (2012) “The Effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques on
Stress Biochemistry: A Randomized Controlled Trial”, The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol 200
Stapleton, et al (2020) “Reexamining the Effect of Emotional Freedom
Techniques on Stress Biochemistry: A Randomized Controlled Trial”, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
Wittfoth, et al (2022) “Bifocal emotion regulation through acupoint tapping in fear of flying”, Journal of NeuroImage: Clinical, Vol 34
Wittfoth, et al (2020) “Emotion regulation through bifocal processing of fear inducing and disgust inducing stimuli”, BMC Neuroscience Journal, Vol 21.
Maharaj, M. (2016) “Differential gene expression after Emotional
Freedom Techniques (EFT) treatment: A novel pilot protocol for salivary mRNA assessment”, Energy Psychology, Vol 8.
Church, et al (2018) “Epigenetic effects of PTSD remediation in veterans using Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques: A randomized controlled pilot study”, American Journal of Health Promotion, Vol 32.
1:1 EFT Tapping sessions with Eleni
- “Panic Attacks in School Tests” (middle school)
- “Panic Attacks in Tests and Exams” (high school)
- “Final Exam Stress: Tapping into Confidence” (university/college)
- “Tapping Away Exam Stress & Procrastination” (professional exam)
MEET ELENI
Eleni Vardaki is a certified and accredited EFT Tapping coach who works with individuals and schools, offering services and package deals that support the well-being of children and adults. She seeks to help bridge the gap between mainstream education systems and the well-being skills we need to thrive.
You can e-mail her book an obligation-free introductory meeting for 1:1 support to see if it’s a match: eleni@elenivardaki.com
