Test anxiety is like that unwanted guest who shows up uninvited, makes everything awkward, and refuses to leave. Whether it’s test anxiety over your math quiz or full-blown SAT anxiety, it’s hard to focus when your brain is busy yelling, “This is impossible!” But here’s some good news: there’s a surprisingly simple trick to calm your nerves and help you feel grounded again. It’s called bilateral stimulation, and yes, it works.
Straight out of Melissa Tiers’ The Anti-Anxiety Toolkit, this method is easy, quick, and scientifically backed. Plus, it doesn’t require expensive equipment—just something you can toss or move back and forth. Let’s dig in.
What Is Bilateral Stimulation?
Bilateral stimulation (BLS) is a fancy name for a simple concept: activating both sides of your brain by doing something that crosses the midline of your body. It could be tapping, tossing a ball, or even walking in a rhythmic way. The magic lies in how it encourages your brain to calm down and reorganize those stressful thoughts.
Think of it as your brain’s version of a spa day. When your brain is caught in a loop of anxious thoughts, bilateral stimulation can step in, break the cycle, and spread those stressful feelings thin until they dissolve. What’s left is a clearer mind ready to tackle that next SAT question.
How to Do Bilateral Stimulation
You don’t need a Ph.D. or fancy gadgets to use this technique. Here’s a quick step-by-step:
- Find Something to Toss: Grab a ball, an apple, your car keys—anything that won’t break if you drop it.
- Feel the Anxiety: This might sound counterintuitive, but locate where the anxiety is in your body. Is it a tight chest, a churning stomach? Notice it, then give it a score from 1 to 10.
- Start Tossing: Pass the object back and forth between your hands, making sure to cross the midline of your body. One hand swings out while the other stays in front. Keep it up for about a minute.
- Pause and Check-In: Take a deep breath and notice how you feel. Chances are, that anxiety score has dropped significantly. If it hasn’t completely disappeared, repeat the process.
- Keep It Handy: You can use this technique anytime, anywhere. Whether it’s in the parking lot before your SAT or during a quick break from studying, BLS is portable and practical.
Why Does It Work?
Here’s where it gets sciency (but in a fun way). Anxiety lives in your brain’s emotional network, where certain neural clusters light up like Christmas trees. BLS works by flooding both hemispheres of your brain with electrical impulses and blood flow, essentially diffusing that anxiety cluster. It’s like taking the wind out of a bully’s sails. The bully (your anxiety) just can’t keep its act together when your brain is this balanced.
The beauty of this technique is that it’s fast, effective, and builds on your brain’s natural ability to rewire itself—what experts call neuroplasticity. Every time you interrupt anxiety with BLS, you’re helping your brain create new, calmer pathways. So, not only do you feel better now, but you’re also training your brain to react differently in the future.
When Should You Use BLS?
BLS is a go-to trick for tackling test anxiety, SAT anxiety, or really any kind of nervous tension. Here are some perfect moments to try it:
- Before a Test: Calm those nerves in the parking lot or classroom before the timer starts.
- During Study Sessions: Whenever that “I’ll never get this!” feeling creeps in, take a BLS break to reset.
- In Daily Life: Feeling stressed over something else? BLS isn’t just for tests—it works anytime anxiety sneaks in.
Wrapping It Up
Bilateral stimulation might sound too simple to work, but give it a try, and you’ll see why it’s a favorite technique for handling test anxiety. It’s quick, effective, and doesn’t require any special skills—just a willingness to toss a ball around like you’re playing catch with your brain.
In future posts, we’ll explore even more practical tools like this to help you tackle negative self-talk, anxiety, and stress. So, stay tuned and get ready to stock your mental toolkit with game-changing techniques!