How to calm down?

But it will lower your stress level after the test.

Such is the inscrutable nature of puppies.

(By the way, what breed?)

puppies require a lot of training and work. go to a shelter and pick the quiet one.

[quote=“S2000magician”]

Hmm, better lower stress level before the test smiley

Clearly. But none of thebelow suggests that it will help you remember how to calculate the number of futures contracts needed to raise the beta of your stock portfolio (or in zxf’s case, how to read an income statement.)

I still maintain that no pharmaceutical can improve your performance on the CFA exam.

Adderall From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Adderall Combination of DextroamphetaminePsychostimulantAmphetaminePsychostimulant Clinical data Trade names Adderall Adderall ER Adderall XR AHFS/Drugs.commonographMedlinePlusa601234Licence dataUS Daily Med:linkPregnancy cat. C (US) Legal statusSchedule I (CA)Schedule II (US) Dependence liability High Routes (Medical) Oral, (Recreational) Oral,Insufflated, Intravenous Identifiers CAS number51-64-9 Yes 300-62-9ATC codeN06BA02 N06BA01PubChemCID 5826DrugBankDB01576ChemSpider13852819 YesKEGGD03740 YesChEBICHEBI:2679 YesChEMBLCHEMBL405 Yes (what is this?)(verify)

Adderall is a psychostimulant medication that contains amphetamine, used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) andnarcolepsy.[1]

Adderall is a combination of four amphetamine salts (racemic amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, racemic amphetamine sulfate,dextroamphetamine saccharide, and dextroamphetamine sulfate). It is a dopamine releasing agent, a norepinephrine releasing agent, and can be mildly serotonergic.[2]

It is available in two formulations: IR (Instant Release) and XR (Extended Release). The immediate release formulation is indicated for use in ADHD and narcolepsy,[3] while the XR formulation is approved for use only with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[2]

Important side effects of therapeutic dextroamphetamine include stunted growth in young people and occasionally a psychotic episode can occur at therapeutic doses during chronic therapy as a treatment emergent side effect.[4] When abused at high doses, the risk of experiencing side effects and the severity of side effects increases. Side effects may include sweating or shaking.

Like other stimulant drugs, such as methamphetamine and cocaine, Adderall directly affects the mesolimbic reward pathway in the brain. Amphetamine salt preparations are considered to have high abuse potential, and it is classified as Schedule II by the US DEA. With the Safe Streets and Communities Act in Canada, Adderall has been reclassified from Schedule III to Schedule I.[5]

People like the OP frustrate me. And I don’t mean this as a mean thing, it just confuses me – probably because I’ve dated girls with anxiety issues. You know every day of your life you become anxious easily. But you ONLY want to attempt to solve that isue with a very stressful event is coming which is almost impossible. You can become “less anxious” but that is only relative to your prior state and not what you should be striving for.

So if after the CFA test pasts and you decide you want to work on a long term solution to it, try this as part of your daily routine: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070

I could cite the scientific studies, but there aren’t many people like me who enjoy reading those things :slight_smile:

Clean your filthy colon!

I use this:http://vimeo.com/9869582

I was sent that link by a guy with serious anxiety issues that takes medication since a child after I told him exams were stressing me out. Its a breathing guide which doctors recommend for people with anxiety issues. I personnally followed the program and I can say that I did feel the benefits.

Its 3 x 5min a day, You breath in when it moves upward, and breathe out when it moves downward. The goal is to practice constant and regular breathing which prevents you from getting overly exited and stressed.

Takes 3 weeks to feel the most benefits.

Hope it helps!

I find adderall helps with my nervousness and anxiety. Although, it turns me into a pyscho bastard at the same time, just not a nervous one.

I don’t get why people who never have experience with something insist so strongly on having an opinion on it.

It’s like the gun debate all over again.

There’s a reason that the word “opinion” often finds the word “informed” preceeding it.

(Arguably, not often enough.)

In one word: Meditation.

Regardless of whether or not you try it out (which I strongly suggest you should…can enhance many areas of your life), you can read the following from a write-up I’m working on as a comprehensive guide to the exams:

"First of all, you have to relax. The ways in which you should use social pressure to motivate you are opposite depending on whether it is months or hours before the exam. Social pressure is a great motivator months before the exam, to force you to read a little bit more or study a little bit harder. Social pressure is a terrible motivator on test day. Most people will really get a kick in the ass to keep studying by thinking about all the people who they will have to tell if they fail, about how much time and money they’ll have to spend taking it again if they fail. But on test day, your attitude must be the opposite or you risk adding unnecessary anxiety and stress to the task at hand. You must convince yourself that it does not matter if you fail; that everyone will understand; that you’ll find plenty of time and money to take the exam again. This is a necessity.

Be confident. You have to be 100% sure of your ability to execute on the exam. This doesn’t mean you won’t get questions wrong; on the contrary, it means that you must bounce back after a question that you struggle with and know that you’re going to blow the next five questions away.

My goal on exam day was to pump myself up. It sounds cheesy, but I kept repeating to myself, “I am a champion.” I would say to myself, “I am Tom Brady and this is my Super Bowl,” or “I am Michael Phelps and this is my Olympics.” And you have to believe it, too. The analogy is actually not far off: we work hard at our craft, we grind it out day after day and then we have a chance to execute, to show what we can do, to make it all worthwhile. Read about some successful competitors and emulate their attitudes. They seize the moments they are given and you should too.

Additionally, while you’re sitting in the exam waiting for the test (visualizing yourself destroying it because you are a champion) you should wear a confident smile. At this point you are trying to relax and be confident, and studies have shown that you can influence your mood by the expression you put on your face. You might look like an idiot, but I didn’t care what I looked like…all I cared about was performance.

Finally, one last measure to instill confidence: When the exam is passed out, don’t rush right into it. Leave it on your desk, and take 15 seconds to take a deep breath, smile, and say one last positive affirmation. Set the tone for the next three hours.

DO…NOT…PANIC. This goes along with what I just talked about, but you cannot panic at any point on these exams. There will be stretches of questions which you will not have a clue about or will not seem to be able to get to the right answer. This is expected, and you can’t let this affect your attitude on the rest of the exam. You have to fight for every inch; do not let any part of you give up or start to worry."

OP, you have to take the test with the mental attitude of a competitive golfer: Any golfer knows that the mental game is a HUGE part of how well you play. The key is NOT avoiding having a bad hole…the key is to avoid letting one bad hole ruin the rest of your round. You have to pretend it never happened.

One other thing: change your attitude about running into questions you don’t know how to do. All that means is you’re becoming more and more prepared. Look forward to questions that stump you, that means you’re learning more.

In a similar vein, last September I was a member of a team that represented the US in an equestrian world championship held in Mafra, Portugal, in a sport in which I had never competed. Ever.

Imagine that you’d played some stickball in Brooklyn as a kid, and you learned that you were going to be the starting pitcher in the World Series. That’s how it felt.

I had about 2½ months to learn to jump 1-meter obstacles cross-country; I’d never had any training in jumping. (As a comparison, my teammates probably averaged 30 years’ experience in horseback riding, the team captain having over 50 years’ experience; I had 11 years’.) When I took my first lesson in jumping, I later learned that my trainer went home that night and told her husband, “He’s going to kill himself in Portugal.”

Two-and-a-half months later, on the penultimate day of my training, as we were walking back to the barn, she looked at me and said, “Well . . . now I think you’re not going to kill yourself in Portugal.” (Imagine my relief!)

The only thing that got me to that point was _ attitude _. I had no choice: I had to learn to jump, and I had 2½ months to do it. Our vet told me that that was impossible, that it takes at least 6 months for your muscles to learn everything they need to do. My response: I don’t have 6 months; I have 2½. I simply listened to my trainer and did whatever she said to do. If she said, “Put your leg here,” then I put my leg there. Simple as that.

(By the way, we arrived in Mafra one week before the competition, and the next day we went to the barn to saddle up the horses that we’d rented. I led my horse out of the barn, started to get on, slipped on some loose gravel, and tore my right ACL. Sigh. Six days later I rode almost non-stop for just over 9 hours, torn ligament and all. It didn’t stop me.)

_ Attitude _.

Knowing what to expect on exam day will help you keep calm in the face of obstacles. I agree with the other posters that having a positive attitude is the key to success (assuming you are well-prepared).

Expect the actual exam to be more difficult that the mock exams (especially the Schweser mock exams). The time pressure and exam environment (e.g., large room, ambient temperature, noise, etc.) give you a different atmosphere that taking a mock exam at home.

Use the time pressure to your advantage. If you get stuck on any one question you may not finish the exam. It’s better to guess, make a note of the question, and move on. You can come back to the guessed answer at the end of the session if you have time. Focus on finishing the morning and afternoon sessions so you don’t inadvertantly lose points on questions where you know the response.

Trust your intuition if you are not 100% sure. Don’t spend to much time ruminating. Chances are if you finished the curriculum and prepared well, the right answer is in your brain somewhere! It’s ok to make an educated guess.

Prior to the exam, make sure you:

  1. Get enough sleep!!!

  2. Take a break the day before the exam. Get some exercise, have a nice meal (no alcohol) and go to bed early, You will get more benefit from feeling rested and recharged than you will from midnight formula-cramming.

  3. Visit the exam site so you can scope out traffic, parking and other arrival issues.

  4. Pack up the night before (I check and doublecheck calculators, passport, pencils, exam ticket, etc.)

Bon courage!

Who are you, Chuck Norris? :wink:

Hardly.

(When I walk down the street, Chuck Norris crosses to the other side. wink)

As soon as I’d done it I knew what I’d done: it’s my third torn ACL. It didn’t hurt, and once I was on the horse it didn’t affect my riding at all; the only difference it made was that I couldn’t get on the horse from the ground: no leverage. I had to climb on something first to get on.

The annoying thing is that the next day my horse didn’t pass the vet check – the horses we rented weren’t quite in proper shape for this competition – so I didn’t get to run the obstacle course, the last of the 16 obstacles being a pile of logs about 1.25m (4 feet) high. The vet walked over to me and said, “You’re lame, your horse is lame, you’re done. I’m sorry.”

(When I returned home and talked with my trainer she said that she had no doubt I would have been able to negotiate every obstacle in the course.)

Just out of curiosity, how did you get chosen for a World Championship team for a sport in which you’d never competed? (Not doubting anything, just very curious).

Pure serendipity.

I was consulting in Charlotte, NC at the time and the team training/practices were all being held in Virginia and North Carolina. I was one of 12 people who signed up to try out for the team: 6 regulars, 2 alternates. I figured I had no chance whatsoever. Four months later they had scheduled tryouts, but by that time six of the twelve had dropped out for various reasons; I made the team by default.

The competition has three events: orienteering on horseback, control of gaits, and negotiating an obstacle course. I was unskilled at obstacles, moderately skilled at control of gaits, and quite skilled at orienteering. (In April we spent two days with a French former world champion. He wasn’t impressed with my abilities at control of gaits or obstacles – nor should he have been – but after an hour in the woods he stopped and asked, “Where did you learn to read a map so well?”

“Boy Scouts.”

Interesting.

As you’ve doubtless surmised, the sport (it’s called “TREC”: Techniques de Randonnée Équestre de Compétition) is not well-known in the US. I’m hoping to change that . . . at the risk of never making the team again.