Some students have difficulty stopping their negative self-talk. These students cannot just tell
themselves to eliminate those thoughts. These students need to use a thought-stopping technique
to overcome their worry and become relaxed.
To stop your thoughts in the classroom or during a test, silently shout to yourself "Stop" or "Stop
thinking about that." After your silent shout, either relax yourself or repeat one of your positive selftalk
statements. You may have to shout to yourself several times during a test or while doing
homework to control negative self-talk. After every shout, use a different relaxation technique/scene
or positive self-talk statement.
Thought stopping works because it interrupts the worry response before it can cause high anxiety
or negative emotions. During the interruption, you can replace negative self-talk with positive selftalk
statements or relaxation. Students with high worry anxiety should practice this technique three
days to one week before taking a test. Contact the campus counselor if you have additional questions
about how to reduce test anxiety/negative self-talk statements
