A fear of spiders is called “arachnophobia”, fear of going to the dentist is called “dentophobia”, fear of public speaking is called “glossophobia”… Unfortunately, there’s no universally accepted word for being scared of an HSC subject, (maybe “HSC-subject-o-phobia”?), but that doesn’t make this feeling any less real.
Many students have that ONE subject that sends them spiralling in dread. Or maybe, they sat a really bad exam for that subject and now they’re mildly traumatised. This then leads to procrastination and oftentimes, severe test anxiety, causing them to do badly again in the next exam - the cycle keeps going!
It’s a pretty common struggle amongst HSC students. For example, a Project student recently shared this in our anonymous Slack discussion forum - #hsc-and-beyond.
I am kinda in a slump where I get scared to study some subjects which has caused me to neglect them. This has made me fall behind and it’s really overwhelming. It feels like I have post-trauma from that subject. Do you know how I can get out of this slump?
Sound like you? We’ve interviewed a few experienced tutors here at Project Academy, who not only found themselves in the same slump, but managed to crawl their way back out. Keep reading to learn their tips and tricks for overcoming the fear of studying any HSC subject!
Clearly define your fears
Rishabh Jain — Ex-Project Tutor \
This falls under a concept called “fear-setting”, which is basically a fancy way of saying “systematically acknowledge and address your fears” - simple but surprisingly under-utilised.
Fear-setting came from a guy named Tim Ferris, who struggled with depression, and the thing that got him out of it and into success was clearly defining his fears. To do this, he split the problem into 3 stages.
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Define - what was he actually scared of? What’s the worst case?
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Prevent - what could be done to decrease the likelihood of this happening?
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Repair - if it did happen, what could be done to fix it?
For example:
Image from Mindful Ambition
Why does this work? According to Charles Kettering (Head of Research at the famous General Motors back in the early 1900s), “A problem stated is a problem half solved”.
Now, you don’t have to do it the EXACT way Tim does. The point is, you need to break down your fear, and figure out what the actionable items are. For example, if you’re scared of starting your English essay, your internal monologue during fear setting might be:
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What am I scared about? Well, I have no bloody clue how to answer the essay question.
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Why don’t I know? Well, it’s because I don’t really understand the book we read in class.
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Okay, where would I be able to find an explanation for the key points of the book? Probably from my classmates, teachers, Sparknotes, maybe YouTube.
This gives you more clarity on what you need to do to stop your worst fears from coming true, and off you go!
Get started and then build momentum
Kevin Lu — Maths & Physics Staff
Overcoming fear of a subject starts with feeling like you are getting work done, and building momentum.
Keep chipping away at this subject - do textbook exercises to strengthen your fundamentals, ask your teacher questions, ask your friends for help, little things like that. It takes a lot of consistent effort, and you have to sort of trust the process. You might not see the results instantly, but remember that you ARE improving. Even if you don’t feel like there is an improvement, just remember it builds up over time. One day you’ll look back and think “Oh wow, I kind of get it now”, so don’t be too hard on yourself!
Give up on perfection
Sid Kannegal-Narayanan - Head of 2/3U Maths
Fear of a subject is a cycle, and it goes a little something like this:
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You learn a concept for the first time (e.g., DNA replication in Biology). It doesn’t quite click the way you wish it did. It makes you feel dumb.
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You start to worry if there’s something wrong with you. Gary (the guy next to you in class) seemed to pick it up just fine. Will people think less of you for not understanding this as well as them?
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You get home and actively avoid revisiting the concepts, because every time you think about it, you feel dumb. Instead, you study concepts that you already understand, to feel confident and validated.
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You fall stagnant. You didn’t get it the first time, and you still don’t get it 3 days later. Now you’re learning another concept related to DNA replication, and you don’t get that either.
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The cycle repeats.
The entire cycle I mentioned above hinges on a core part of our nature - we want to be ‘perfect’. We want to do everything flawlessly, efficiently, gracefully - but the truth of the matter is that we probably can’t (especially when we are learning something for the first time).
When you moderate that desire to be ‘perfect’ - when you treat it as a goal, rather than a requirement - you will begin to find that making mistakes becomes a less shameful thing to do. In fact, mistakes are a key part of the process - they will teach you a lot more than your successes do. I find this especially true for Maths, which is not abstract in whether something is right or wrong.
When you practice a lot, you’ll improve. The more you improve, the less afraid you’ll be. And so ironically, you will get closer to ‘perfection’ by abandoning the need for it. The concept of perfection is illusive like that.
Fake it ‘til you make it
Sid Kannegal-Narayanan - Head of 2/3U Maths
Another crucial step in defeating fear is to embody confidence (even if you don’t feel its completely warranted)! The following quote by Henry Ford really helped me understand the importance of this:
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.”
Put bluntly, miracles don’t happen. For example, if you keep telling yourself that you’re incapable of writing a good essay, you’ve ingrained that into your core beliefs, and you won’t magically produce a 20/20 essay.
Say if you’re scared of Maths. When you take a Maths exam, everyone has the same tools (the formulas, tricks, techniques you have learned). To utilise these tools, you need to convince yourself that you are capable of using them. What does that look like? Even if you have no clue what to do, your goal should always be to at least attempt every question. Blindly do the question with a bit of false confidence, and it would still be better than leaving it blank out of fear.
Conclusion
And that’s it! We hope you found this article helpful.
Remember, you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out and ask for help from your friends, your teachers, or your tutor. The more you rely on your support network, the less overwhelming this becomes.
Until next time :)
