Thanks for suggestions friend.
Friend, i will tell you what happened in last prelims (3rd attempt). I knew I had revised hard and need to calm myself in exam as anxiety and fear in exam had cost me previously.
But, if you remember I asked in 2022 post, it took me 2 hrs just to solve 1st round.(never faced such issue in mocks)
What I didn't tell was before prelims I was falling sick quickly but couldn't tell why. Even prelims too, was not well. Thought may be due to exam stress. Turned out it was because of jaundice and some other secondary illness.
Now i have a fear of the past repeating (3 failures)and me having no control over the fear.
I'm someone who suffers a lot from anxiety. Prelims exam still continues to be one of the most anxiety inducing things I've ever done even though I've succeeded in it previously.
There are a lot of things I do to keep myself stable. Some of these might help you too.
1) I try to go through my list of worries and then simulate it, to 'prove to myself' that it's not that serious. For instance, I get migraines and I'm afraid of getting one on the exam day. So I gave a mock once or twice with a migraine. Turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Similarly, I gave mocks sitting in the sunlight without a fan in peak summer; gave one after just 2 hours of sleep etc. If there are specific worries you have, simulate them to assure yourself that you'll be fine.
2) Past failures can haunt you. You need to overcome that. If you haven't done so, please do give the previous three years Prelims tests in exam-mode. It will help you confront your failures and boost your confidence. I've done the same with Mains papers and it definitely helped.
3) Try practicing Meditation for a few minutes, especially breathing exercises, in the coming few days. The point is that with practice, you can calm yourself after just a couple of breaths. In the exam hall, when your heart starts beating faster, take deep breaths. You'll be fine.
4) I've always found that your self talk and body posture affects your feelings. I pretend as if I'm the most confident person in the world on the exam day. I'll keep repeating encouraging phrases to myself. Sometimes even in the exam hall after a few bad questions in a row.
5) In the initial 15 - 20 minutes, I'll go through the paper and solve the easiest questions first. Also UPSC papers are jumbled in sets of 10 questions. So I'll glance through 1,11, 21 etc to see where Polity/Eco starts and then attempt from there. I keep History for the last (in each round, not the paper as a whole). This is because these are my easiest and toughest subjects. All of this boosts confidence initially. Then once I'm settled I can tackle the tougher questions.
6) It's okay to not study much towards the end. In my first attempt, two weeks before the exam, I lost it. Even though I went to the library, I couldn't study at all. Nothing I read went to my mind. It took me about 5 days to recover from the anxiety. The remaining 8-9 days, I studied just 6-8 hours per day. Based on the advice a mentor gave me, I focused more on improving my confidence. On the exam day I was calm as anything and managed to clear comfortably.
All the best for the coming couple of weeks. Focus on anxiety management and confidence building in these last few days more than your studies. It will bear much more fruit. Do well!
