I had the pleasure to sit down with Jim Posner, Founder of The Mindful Advantage, as a part of their Don’t Panic Project. This project is to educate, inspire, and empower people suffering from stress, anxiety, and depression. I talked to Jim about the ways to reduce test anxiety and stress for parents and students. Here are a few of the major talking points from our conversation. You can listen and view our whole conversation here.

Jim talks about how he hears stories of students staying up until two or three in the morning doing homework. Getting enough sleep plays a big role in reducing stress and anxiety and here’s why:

While a student is studying or taking a test, the stress can come from an inner dialog. Self talk can fuel anxiety; a test is an opportunity or threat and it is a subjective evaluation. If you see it as a threat, that leads to more stress. Here are some methods to help counter the inner critic and to reduce stress:

Many students think they are alone when it comes to stress and anxiety - but that is not the case. 61% of students experience it sometimes and about 25% experience it all the time. Here are a few strategies to help students normalize their feelings, fears, and anxiety.

What’s the negativity bias that many students feel? Our brains feel negative things much more strongly than positive things. Here is how we can we help students manage this so that they are empowered to control their thoughts, feelings, and emotions when dealing with stress.

When it comes to high stakes testing how can we help students manage their anxiety and perform to the best of their abilities? Self efficacy -- your beliefs on how you’ll do -- are as important, if not more important, than your actual ability.