Episode 26: ou Didn't Forget It, Your Brain Cut You Off
You knew the material. You studied hard. And then you sat down for the test and your mind went completely blank. That is not you forgetting what you learned. That is your nervous system cutting you off, and in this episode, we talk about exactly why that happens and what you can do about it.
In Episode 26 of The Assessment Alchemist Podcast, Tina Wiles breaks down the freeze response, the often overlooked third branch of fight or flight mode. Your brain performs differently when it senses it is being evaluated, and the threat it is responding to is not the content on the test. It is the test itself. Tina shares a personal story from her own week where she experienced a full freeze while writing a Reddit post about testing, a subject she has taught for 20 years, and the simple shift that unlocked everything instantly.
In this episode you will learn:
- Why freezing during a test is a stress response, not a knowledge problem
- How thinking in your natural voice bypasses the freeze and unlocks what you already know
- How to lower the stakes in your mind to reduce the pressure that triggers the freeze
- A simple reset ritual using nasal breathing and sensory focus to activate your vagus nerve and recenter fast
- Why practicing these tools consistently means they show up automatically when you need them most
Try this today: The next time you freeze on a question, try rephrasing it in plain English, the way you would explain it to a friend or a young child. You will likely know a lot more than you think.
Take the free quiz: Not sure what your test-taking mindset type is? Head to my2tor.com for a free two-minute quiz that gives you personalized insights and strategies based on how you actually show up under pressure.
