Andrew Mersmann, CHt's Podia/TAKE IT EASY: a better way through test anxiety
path through woods with footer banner

  • $33

TAKE IT EASY: a better way through test anxiety

  • Course
  • 47 Lessons

You are not lazy.

You are not broken.

And you are definitely not the only smart person whose mind has ever gone completely blank during a test.

"Take It Easy" is a calm, practical, deeply supportive, self-paced program for teens and young adults dealing with test anxiety, academic pressure, performance panic, and 'The Wipeout'—that terrifying moment when everything you know suddenly feels unreachable.

This is not another "study harder" program. This is not knowledge cramming. You already know "the stuff" and you've already done the work.

This is about helping your brain and nervous system work with you instead of against you.

WHO THIS IS FOR

  • students who freeze during tests even when they studied

  • high achievers carrying intense pressure

  • those who spiral before exams and can't sleep the night before

  • students whose minds go blank during SATs, finals, driving tests, AP exams, licensing exams, or classroom quizzes (also the bar exam, LCAT, MCAT, etc.)

  • people who understand the material but can't seem to access it under pressure

  • students who feel physically sick, panicked, shaky, or overwhelmed around testing

  • parents who know their scholar is capable but are watching anxiety get in the way

  • smart people who are exhausted from feeling like every test defines their worth

  • those who have just gotten resigned and used to saying, "I'm bad at tests"

You do not need to become a different person to test better.

You need tools that help your brain feel safe enough to perform.

Contents

MODULE 1: WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?

Understand what test anxiety is doing in your brain and body—and why feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re unprepared. Let’s make what’s happening feel a little less mysterious.

Welcome to "Take It Easy"
How to Use "Take It Easy"
🌊
Meet "The Wipeout"
👁️
What My Brain Says vs. What's Actually True
What Anxiety is Actually Doing
📲
The Knowledge Is Still There
👁️
Before You Call It Anxiety...HALT
👁️
I Can Be Nervous and Ready
Asking for Help is a Skill, Too

The UN-QUIZ QUIZ (no grades here)

Just a few questions to ponder to find where you might find the best starting place in this program.

You can jump around, and each of us is different, so what matters most to you is your own.

The UN-QUIZ QUIZ (no grades here)
Your Results (which just suggest things to notice)

MODULE 2: INTERRUPT THE WIPEOUT

When your mind goes blank, you don’t need a lecture—you need a next step. Here we’ll practice simple ways to interrupt the panic, find your footing, and get back to what you know. One small reset at a time.

🌊
The Wipeout Protocol
👁️
Wipeout Protocol Onesheet
Grounding That Doesn't Feel Ridiculous
👁️
What Do I Need Right Now?
Practice Before You Need It
👁️
Wipeout Wallet Card
📲
Nothing is Gone

MODULE 3: PREPARE FOR ACCESS, NOT EXHAUSTION

Preparing for a test doesn’t have to mean running yourself into the ground. Here, we’ll practice ways to make what you’re learning easier to reach, build a manageable pre-test routine, and leave room to be a human with other things going on.

This module includes hypnosis audio recordings to listen to specifically to support your ease. Use them again and again.

Retrieval is a Skill You Can Master
📍
Mind Map for What Sparks
Just Because You Can Doesn't Always Mean You Should
👁️
Capability vs. Capacity
🎧
Confidence + Calm (HYPNOSIS AUDIO)
🎧
Sleep is Part of Preparation: The Night Before the Test (HYPNOSIS AUDIO)
🎧
(*BONUS HYPNOSIS AUDIO) Sleep Doesn't Need Your Help

MODULE 4: MAKE TEST DAY EASIER

Test day may still have nerves, surprises, and questions that make you squint—but it doesn’t have to run the show.

Here we’ll practice practical ways to settle in, work with the test in front of you, and make the whole experience a little easier.

The Night Before
👁️
Make Test Morning Flow: Pre-pack Your Bag / Backpack
📲
Healthy Reminder for Your Phone: You Already Did the Work
👁️
If You're Testing Somewhere New (Offsite Test Centers)
During the Test: Work the Next Small Thing
🎧
Maybe This is What Ready Feels Like (HYPNOSIS AUDIO)
📲
Phone Reminder: I Can Be Nervous and Ready
📲
Pressure Isn't Proof You're Not Ready

MODULE 5: THE TEST IS OVER...NOW WHAT?

The test may be finished, but your brain might still be taking it, grading it, or rewriting every answer.

Here we’ll practice coming down from test mode, recovering from a rough result, and noticing what worked—so this test can help with the next one without following you home.

🎧
Let It Be Over (HYPNOSIS AUDIO)
Recovery After a Rough Test
👁️
Fact or Story?
👁️
Don't Confuse a Feeling With a Forecast
👁️
The Three Lies Stress Tells You
What Worked This Time?
Your Next Test is Not This Test
Completion / You Know the Way Through
📲
*celebratory phone wallpapers

MODULE 6: FOR THE PERSON SUPPORTING YOU

Welcome. You matter here.

If someone invited you into this module, it’s because you are part of their support team: parent, caregiver, friend, educator, coach, counselor, or one of those rare and excellent humans who shows up without requiring an official title.

You haven’t traveled through the rest of Take It Easy, so here is the heart of what we’ve been practicing: test anxiety can make a capable, prepared person temporarily lose easy access to what they know. The knowledge is still there. Pressure has simply scrambled the map.

Your job is not to fix everything, find the perfect words, or become the household Director of Testing Operations. Often, the greatest help is much quieter: believing in the person without adding pressure, staying steady when their confidence wobbles, and asking what kind of support would actually feel supportive.

You won’t always get it exactly right. Neither will they. That is not a failure of love or effort; that is people being people while something feels hard.

This module offers a few ways to help before, during, and after a test. Take what fits. Talk about it together. And remember: your calm presence may be doing far more good than either of you can see.

What Test Anxiety Is—and Isn't
What Helps a Student Before a Test?
👁️
What Not to Say After a Difficult Result
How to Recognize When Additional Professional Support May Be Helpful
👁️
With You Beside Them