I have been preparing to give med school and research school entrance exams for the second time and I have not been able to study properly for the past 10 days. When I do start to study I start feeling out of breath, chest pressure and pain shoots up and down my left arm. 

I am too anxious to even eat properly and I have been skipping meals and I am falling asleep at odd times. I am reading novels and watching vids which I don't even remember to distract myself and I know I am running away from my problems and therefore increasing my anxiety which I recognize as one of my unhealthy habits but like every other time I feel powerless and out of control and very afraid. I don’t want to distract myself and lose my chances again but I just can’t focus when I open my books. All the time, at the back of my head I have these nagging thoughts that I would not be able to do it as the exams are very competitive in my country. I also have very unhealthy high expectations of myself. I just don’t want to let my mother down.

I know I am not stupid and I know most of the concepts and I just need to review them but I have no self-confidence whatsoever. Rest of the topics which are left can be completed till the end of May and I will have approximately 1.5 months of time for revision and logically I know it is possible to get good marks but I am very afraid of failing. What will I do if I can’t get into a good uni now?

I am not in contact with other students but the way most of them answer in affirmative when teachers in online classes ask if they have done their assignment makes it seem like they know much more than I do. I have problems completing assignments—I know the concepts but I don’t practice questions—I just procrastinate which I realize is another way of escaping my problems and if I can just complete the questions as well I will definitely have a shot at getting a good uni but the anxiety is making my brain unfocused. It’s like it is frozen in fear. 24/7.

So in the end I guess I just need some tips on how to remove this debilitating anxiety which will definitely increase daily as the exams come closer. What changes should I make in my lifestyle?

Maybe I should talk to a psychologist