One thing repeated in all the prep materials I've
come across so far is a piece of pat advice: Don't get too stressed
out. "Anxiety" neared #1 in the Top Ten Reasons People Don't Pass
The Test list at a recent AATBS workshop. One of that company's CDs
has a guided imagery--picture your resistance to the test as a ball
in your chest; now bring it up and blow it out. (Go ahead, this
will keep.)
Like you, probably, I had no hours in the day as it was. Now
adding all this time studying (plus, ridiculously, blogging) has
neatly removed most fun/calming/soothing/anxiety-reducing activity
from each day. Didn't even get to my regular commute-easing
political blogs last week (strong recs: Left, Right and Center;
Slate Gabfest; The Bugle), instead dutifully filling my automotive
hour with company prep discs and The Social Work
Podcast. Helpful, but not exactly a lot of laffs.
What has worked in the past? Me, I like baths. Mindful
ones--noticing the dry and the wet, the sloshing sounds, the drip
of water traveling down the tile, etc. And here's why I got started
with that: I read some Jon Kabat-Zinn, used his meditation CDs.
Mindfulness. All good, all recommended for slowing down the day
here in test-prep time and, since this will all be over some day,
for those balmy LCSW days in the future. Can't hurt. (Titles go to
amazon.com):
Wherever You Go, There You Are (Jon Kabat-Zinn)
Guided Mindfulness Meditation (Jon Kabat-Zinn)
,
Other Mindfulness Stuff at Amazon
This is good self-care and works with clients, too. Five stars
on the non-existent Social Work Test Prep Blog rating scale. Do
check them out.
UPDATE: Just launched--a "Social Work
Test Prep Book Store." Prep books are here.
Relaxation books and CDs
here.
