Exam Stress Reviews

” I visited you in October as I was suffering from extreme panic attacks and anxiety due to a law exam I was due to sit the following day.

I’m sure you will remember – I was sitting in your waiting room with tears running down my face!!!

I was unable to recall any information, I was unable to breathe, unable to hold a pen. I felt like I was falling apart !!

Thankfully, you agreed to see me at short notice.

I underwent your Fast Track Hypnosis Therapy and after the session, I was calmer and listened to the CD when I got home.

I was able to revise for the remainder of the evening without any problem.

The next morning (the morning of the examination) the panic attacks returned, and as instructed I listened to the CD and then sat the exam immediately afterwards.

Alan, I would like to thank you for agreeing to see me at such short notice and working your magic. I must admit I was sceptical about your Fast Track Hypnosis, however, I have now been converted!!!!!

I was awarded a distinction in my exam, so thank you so much for all your help!!

Many thanks and best wishes … Julie……….”

” I decided to study with The Open University many years ago, in order to facilitate my desire to expand my mind and hoping that it would help me to make a career change.

I never started the Degree thinking it was going to be easy or even, that I would get a Degree at the end. I took each course as it came.

Initially, I commenced on a Natural Science Degree, but decided to pursue a Psychology Degree, the brain really interested me and I wanted to find out more.

During my studies, my degree covered subjects such as child development, biological, social and finally cognitive psychology. These subjects taught me how the brain works, how we think, how we process, store and retrieve information.

How we process information is directly affected by stress, which in turn affects our decision-making process, how our emotions are altered by the changing status of our brain and its chemistry.

My working memory was not, at that time, encoding to my short term memory and subsequently nothing was being stored in my long term memory.

My personal feelings towards the course were very negative, and I had unintentionally set myself up to fail, but why was this happening now? I had re-wired my subconscious to dislike the course and everything associated with it, my perception was altered and this had to change.

This was my final course and to my horror, my study skills were starting to fail me.

This was mainly due to the intense pressure I was putting myself under, in order to pass – cost – both personal and financial and the amount of effort I was putting into studying, how far I had come over the last 6 years, I was nearing the end and my nerve was going!!

I had certainly learnt techniques during the course of my study to help me study harder and pass the exams, for example, choosing main areas to study intensely, then areas which were the back-up, writing out my time table, note-taking, condensing, deep revision by answering mock questions, discussing with my peers, but this time it was just not working.

I could not follow the literature; I was missing the main points, finding great difficulty understanding theories and counter-theories and the course was enormous!

My nerves were getting the better of me, so appreciating that the brain is so immensely powerful and given that we really have only scratched the surface with research etc., I decided that my deep sub-conscious needed a helping hand.

I really was not feeling well, I suffered from head-aches, sweaty palms, nausea, couldn’t sleep and anxiety – and I was hating the course, I did not know if I could carry on with it!

I had to bribe myself to open the book, again to read it, and then I rewarded myself for actually reading a few pages, and I just couldn’t remember any of it!! I would sit and look at possible exam questions feeling blank!!! It may have been encoded (somewhere) but my retrieval was not working!! I really needed help.

So I visited my GP, to see if he could help.

Did I really need to do a Degree, he asked, I explained that I had studied all these years and it was my last course – his answer – a nighttime routine, bath and early to bed, assisted by sleeping tablets. I did not follow his medical advice re the sleeping tablets.

I decided to book a Hypnotherapy Session with Alan to help me study more effectively.

I met with Alan, I had my session, I came home feeling tired and less anxious. I set myself a routine. I started listening to the CD that night and continued every night.

Listening to CD in bed – headphones on nobody else needed to share!! Then I studied as before, setting out a timetable, I wrote notes, I condensed, I sat mock exam papers, I studied hard I really did, but this time, my study was focused and I rarely had the intense feelings of fear and sickness that I had felt before.

This was six weeks before my exams and I was really enjoying studying the course, was finally engaging with the material, was able to hold my own in arguments and discussions over differing theories and my biggest regret, not going to see Alan sooner!!

Then the dreaded results, how would I do?? Oh my, I got 80% overall examination score which included a Research Paper, the breakdown of my results said it all, 84% for my written paper, I was so delighted!!!

As a recent Psychology graduate, I can only say that you really cannot underestimate the power of the mind, you really can achieve anything if you can focus your thoughts etc., and I feel that Hypnotherapy certainly assisted me in focusing my thoughts for studying and passing my exam.

For me, Hypnotherapy worked.

From that success, I decided to go back and see Alan again, this time to help me lose those extra kilo’s I had put on while studying!!!

All those bribes had added up and I really need to lose these kilos before my Graduation!

Lorraine, BSc Hons Psychology “

” I approached Alan as I suffered exam stress.

Prior to my consultation I had previously walked out of exams due to stress. This was despite having prepared properly. After my consultation I passed every exam.

When I felt myself getting stressed I could hear Alan’s voice and the positive suggestions he made to me.

I would recommend Alan to anyone who needs to eliminate exam stress…… James………………”

“Hi Alan,

When I first went to your clinic I was in very poor mental health.

However the course my psychological state greatly improved and I was able to successfully complete the first year of a masters degree at university.

Your support, encouragement and genuine attitude have allowed me to develop a much more positive self-image and I now look forward to the future with hope.

Thanks for being a good friend,

Christina”

“I got up.

I went to the exam centre.

I chose my questions.

I answered them.

I went home.

No problems, no worries, nothing to get worked up about, in fact everything normal.Is this the same person who was so nervous that in previous exams she could not control her pencil, and her writing shot off all over the page.

The same person who was so frightened that even thinking of the course work made her so ill she had to attend the doctor!I can’t believe the change in myself-thank you for all you have done.”

“Dear Mr Gilchrist, just a note to let you know that the fast track hypnosis sessions plus the CD worked marvels- beyond what I’d hoped for.

After having sat two parts of a five-part Irish Language “a Level “, may I just say, I can’t wait for the remainder of the exam.

NO NERVES were experienced on entering the centre nor during the exams. Also, the subject material came back just as I needed it !.

Many thanks again ,yours Faithfully Darragh”

“Alan, This is an update as promised, which I know is probably destined for your waiting room…so I will tell your clients my story, which will hopefully help them.

I began to suffer palpitations, nausea, dizziness and headaches. I also began to have panic attacks, which were prompted by a feeling of what Alan refers to as “impending doom” before entering certain situations.

I thought I was going mad. I did not know it at the time, but I was under immense pressure: I was in my final year at university, I had noisy neighbours and had suffered a bereavement.

My symptoms began to prevent me from doing an everyday thing, such as attending lectures. I did not suffer from claustrophobia, but I felt that if I entered a class I would need to escape. This feeling spread to other situations. and also affected my working and social life.

I tried everything. I visited my doctor and a counsellor, who were both understanding, but could not help me with my immediate situation.

Soon after, I thought of hypnotherapy. I found Alan’s advertisement and when I spoke to him, he told me I had a fear of losing control. Now after five sessions and following all of Alan’s instructions, I feel much better. I have been to move on with my life without feeling the same intensity of fear.

I sat an exam last week, and am now looking into classes in order to understand the stress and how to cope with it. Sitting an exam and attending class would have been unthinkable as little as two months ago.

So thank you, Alan, for giving me back the courage to take control of my life. To the person who is reading this now, just remember all is not lost.

With Alan’s help, you can do it!. And Alan- ” I hope I never see you again”!!

Best wishes, Martina.

“I want to convey a feeling, so, imagine it is an ordinary day.

You get up. You go to the shop for some bread. You go in. You choose a loaf. There are no queues so you pay for it without any problems. Then you go home. No problems, no worries, nothing to get worked up about, everything normal.

Now hold on to that calm, normal feeling and project it into my situation.

I got up. I went to the exam centre. I chose my questions. I answered them. I went home.

Is this the same person who was so nervous that in previous exams she could not control he pencil and her writing shot off all over the page, leaving a mark like someone telling a lie on a lie detector machine?

The same person whose hands shook so much that she unintentionally flung her pencil case and contents off the desk and onto the floor, disturbing everyone else?

Yes, it’s the same one – but not since you taught me how to hypnotise myself.

Some things that I did not tell you about in the sessions (because I did not think of them as being important) were:
Any time that I went for a job interview I took ill. Even filling in an application form would leave me in so much pain I would have to abandon the effort. Because of this, I was on homoeopathic medicine.

It helped but gave me a cough that would not go away so the doctor gave me an inhaler. I am now so calm that I do not need either the inhaler or the medicine.

I used to get worked up when things went wrong in the office. Everything seemed the end of the world.

Now I am totally laid back and take upsets in my stride.

I now come across to the management as capable and I’ve been given more responsibility, which doesn’t bother me in the least.

I can’t believe the change in myself but I know it is the self-hypnosis, because I took a fortnights break from it after the exams, and everything began to “slip” so I went back to it.

Thank you very much for all you have done, yours calmly Edith Mc C”