Exam Stress with Erik Bertrand Larssen

Exams are approaching rapidly. Maybe you have crammed a lot, or maybe you haven’t opened your book yet. Thinking about exams can make your tummy hurt, like a stomach ache. How can you manage this stressful period in the best way? Erik Bertrand Larssen offers some good tips we should all know.

Journalist: Silje Bie Helgesen

Translator: Sofie Palmstrøm

Illustrator: Anne Trætteberg Reitan

Erik Bertrand Larsen has been working with mental coaching for 16 years, and has coached some of Norway and the world’s top athletes. Some who come to mind are Casper Ruud, Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Stig-André Berge. As a former paratrooper, he has made a career that puts him among the best mental coaches. He has also written and published four books about mental coaching.

Nervosity

During the exam period, people can feel nervous. But why?

“Humans tend to experience fear when something feels important. When something is at stake that can bring consequences, fear comes along,” he says.

He explains that humans find it uncomfortable being evaluated and being put in a situation where you can be criticised. This is exactly what happens when you are to take an exam.

“Being evaluated hails from evolution, and we instinctively link fear with the risk of being excluded from a group,” Bertrand Larssen says.

“If I cut off your arm if you couldn’t stay calm during the exam period – would you then manage to stay calm?”

Dealing with Nerves

You should think through what can contribute to an exam period without too much nervosity.

“It is completely doable to go through an exam period with complete calmness, we humans have the capacity for that,” Erik tells us. He has seen many surgeons and athletes under enormous pressure who deal with the situation with both feet well planted on the ground.

Plan and Structure

“Make good preparations, create a good plan where you structure when to do what during the exam period,” he says.

Many people read and rehearse frantically the last few days before an exam, and this is detrimental to both nerves and the amount of knowledge.

“Spend time making a good time plan when there is two to one week left, put up a schedule for your reading. This way, the plan will provide calmness, if you follow it,” Bertrand Larsen explains.

Prioritize the most important chapters, and what is usually asked on previous exams.

He says that students have a tendency to allow themselves to feel nervous, without necessarily being willing to change the behaviour that can crack the code.

“Relatively speaking, this is not a life threateningly dangerous situation, so many will not be challenging themselves into changing their study methods,” he mentions.

**Erik Bertrand Larssen, mental coach.**

Manifestation

“What you say, you manifest. Be conscious of how you talk to yourself”, Erik says.

Drop the negative conversations about exams. He says that you should say out loud that the exams are going to go well, and that you should have full control over the curriculum.

“Many will complain to one another about exams to find some kind of support. Swap out the complaining with – I will handle this, I can do this,” he explains.

The Head and the Body

When you consciously speak positively before and during the exam period, you can visualize the person you want to be. Make a movie in you brain that shows how you want to behave, and how well you do before and during the exams. This way, you train you mind to copy what has been playing in your head beforehand.

The way you move your body is also important.

“If you want safety, you should move with safety. Walk slowly and with confidence, stand with your feet apart and your chest protruding,” he says.

In short, you should prepare with a good time schedule, talk yourself up, manifest and visualize, and walk with confidence in your steps.

“These changes will enhance a good exam period.”

What Do I Do if My Mind Goes Blank?

“First and foremost, don’t think in advance that it can happen. It’s not okay to say words like nervous breakdown, anxiety and brain fog. I don’t use that kind of words, it only stresses the mind,” Erik says.

If you are at your exam and the mind is drained of knowledge, you should take a deep breath and provide the brain with oxygen.

“Recalibrate yourself, get back in your chair and dare to spend some extra time,” he explains.

If your mind goes blank, you can take notes and brainstorm on a piece of paper. If you know the curriculum, it will come back to you.

Twist Tired – Exhausted, to Energy + Positivity

As a student, exams can come right after each other. Maybe all three or four are set to the same week. You can be tired and exhausted after the first test, but the book for the next exam is waiting for you when you get home. How can you pull yourself back up and continue with the week?

“Be so structured that you don’t have to read a lot during this week. It should only be necessary to review the main points,” Bertrand Larssen explains.

If you are not prepared for such a stressful week, Erik has some tips:

“Take a Break”

Do something completely different when you get home. Go for a swim, take a walk, hang out with friends, or go for a run. It’s a bad idea to come home from one exam and go straight to the book. The brain gets a form of rest if it changes focus and disconnects.

He says that it’s important to keep in mind that you are built to handle great pressure, and the brain can manage to stay focused for good length of time.

It’s a Privilege to Learn

“In other countries, women and children don’t get the chance to go to school. In Afghanistan we fought for democracy and for girls to be allowed to go to school. This made it strange coming back to Norway, where students think that learning voluntarily is very hard,” he says.

Erik laughs a little and tells us that entering the work force, with large tasks and projects, can make the exam period seem trivial.