Here is a popular breathing technique you could try (if you skip the part where you make a deliberate whooshIng sound, you could even do it during a test and lose less than a minute)
https://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/4-7-8-breathing-stress-relief-techniques
@Lindagaf I had done meditation/deep breathing all through my sophomore year. I tried it dozens and dozens of times and it only worked once. It failed me during the SAT as well. From what I have heard, this isn’t at all uncommon to have to try at meditation for months/years on end before it works. I’m not shooting down the idea of doing it again. It might be good for the long term, but I don’t trust it for the short term. A lot of the things online are either just forcing yourself to keep on practicing in order to get used to it or some form of meditation. Things that weren’t related to that were things I already do (get 7 hours of sleep, balanced diet, etc).
On the EC’s- I have no siblings or elderly family members. All I do is make myself dinner, do laundry, water plants, feed fish, maybe vacuum, and clean my room or bathroom. I don’t touch anything connected to my mom’s bedroom or bathroom because she doesn’t want me to. AT MOST I would say this totals up to 90 minutes a week.
@DadTwoGirls Those Canadian universities are worth taking a look at. Thanks.
Okay another option. Work out. Strong body strong mind. Confidence. Plus it’s an EC.
I think this might take some pressure off of me. Do you all think I would get rejected or waitlisted with my scores right now? I know it is hard to guess what adcoms may think, but if I can go into this knowing this won’t destroy my chances then I think I will feel better. Thank you all for taking the time to reply.
@Ashley19992018 - here’s the link:
https://admissions.msu.edu/apply/freshman/before-you-apply/admission-standards.aspx
I am hearing what sound like excuses. You seem to have a bunch of explanations for things, but I am not hearing you really being open to solutions, temporary or otherwise. If your parents don’t believe anxiety is real, you either have to try things you can do yourself or go the place that is forty minutes away. But you can’t just say “this thing didn’t work, so I am destined to be anxious forever.” Find something your DO trust for the short term and do it, until you can get some kind of therapy. Keep trying,because there IS something out there that can give you some measure of calm. Maybe not a long-term solution, maybe not all you need, but better than doing nothing. You have made a good start by asking for advice here.
As far as deep breathing, you are clearly not doing it correctly. It is not physically possible for your heart to keep rapidly beating when you do it. There are a ton of articles that explain how and why it works. Here is one. http://time.com/4718723/deep-breathing-meditation-calm-anxiety/
As I said, you can achieve the scores you have already achieved, when you do the actual tests. So focus on that.
Regarding ECs, if you spend only 90 minutes a week looking after yourself, then you should be able to find time to do something else. Can you volunteer at a library,hospital,animal shelter, food pantry, church, primary school, and so forth? Can you tutor younger kids? Can you do a service project like collecting used towels and blankets for the local animal shelter? I don’t beleive there are no ECs you can particpate it. Being active will help you focus on something besides being anxious.
You are not an “anxious person.” Ditch the self-imposed label. People aren’t born anxious. It’s up to you to shed the label and find positive ways to be in control of the picture you present of yourself to college admissions. I do believe you will benefit from professional help, but if you can’t get it right now, you have to find other ways to at least cope and be productive. And, as I have said before, if you are well-prepared for the test, you should not be so stressed about it. Keep preparing and aim for,the score you have. You don’t need 1600.