Picture this.
You’re halfway through an SAT practice test.
You get stuck on one question.
And suddenly your brain starts saying:
“You’re behind!”
“You’re going to run out of time!”
“You’re blowing it!”
“You’re never getting into your dream school!”
The strange part?
It often isn’t just what your brain is saying…
It’s how fast it’s saying it.
According to therapist and NLP expert Steve Andreas, the speed of your inner voice can have a huge impact on how anxious you feel.
The good news?
Just like you can turn down the volume of your inner critic, you can also experiment with changing its speed.
Your Inner Voice Has a “Playback Speed”
Think about watching a movie.
You can watch it at normal speed.
You can speed it up to 2x.
Or slow it down to half speed.
Even though the movie is exactly the same, it feels completely different.
Your inner voice works in a similar way.
Many students with SAT anxiety don’t just have negative thoughts…
They have fast negative thoughts.
Their brain races from one scary idea to the next before they even have a chance to think clearly.
Fast Thoughts Create Fast Feelings
Imagine saying this sentence in your mind:
“I need to finish this section.”
First, say it at your normal pace.
Now imagine saying it really, really fast.
Now imagine saying it so slowly that each word takes a couple of seconds.
Did it feel different?
For many people, it does.
Steve Andreas observed that when our internal voice speeds up, our body often becomes more alert, tense, and anxious.
Why?
Because in real life, fast speech often goes along with emergencies.
Think about someone shouting:
“COME ON! HURRY! LET’S GO!”
Your brain has learned that fast usually means something important—or even dangerous—is happening.
So when your own thoughts race, your body may react as if you’re in danger…even when you’re just sitting at your desk solving SAT problems.
Here’s the Cool Part
Your brain doesn’t always realize the danger is imaginary.
It’s simply responding to the pattern.
That’s why changing the speed of your inner voice can sometimes change how the thought feels.
The words may stay exactly the same.
But your emotional response can become much calmer.
Try This During SAT Prep
The next time your brain says something like:
“You’re going to fail this test.”
Don’t argue with it.
Instead…
Slow it way down.
Imagine every word taking two or three seconds.
Almost like a giant sleepy sloth is saying it.
Or like someone is talking in extreme slow motion.
You might even imagine each word floating through the air before the next one arrives.
It may sound completely ridiculous.
That’s actually part of the point.
Many people notice that the sentence becomes harder to take seriously.
Instead of sounding threatening, it starts sounding…kind of silly.
What If Your Brain Already Talks Slowly?
Steve Andreas pointed out something interesting.
Most anxious people have a very fast inner voice.
But not everyone does.
A few people actually experience the opposite.
The important lesson isn’t that everyone should slow their inner voice down.
It’s that you can experiment.
Try speeding it up.
Try slowing it down.
Notice what happens.
You’re becoming curious about how your own mind works.
You Don’t Have to Fight Your Thoughts
One of the biggest myths about anxiety is that you have to “win an argument” with your thoughts.
Sometimes that works.
Sometimes it doesn’t.
Steve Andreas suggested another approach.
Instead of changing the content of the thought, try changing how your brain presents it.
The speed.
The volume.
The location.
The tone.
These small changes can completely change your experience.
You’re not forcing yourself to “think positive.”
You’re simply changing how your mind delivers the message.
A Word of Encouragement
If your brain races during SAT practice, there’s nothing wrong with you.
Your mind is doing what minds sometimes do under pressure.
The great news is that you don’t have to stay stuck with the default settings.
Just like you can lower the volume on your phone…
You can experiment with changing the speed of your inner voice.
Sometimes, slowing things down gives your brain enough space to remember something important:
You know more than you think.
You’ve prepared.
And one question doesn’t decide your future.
Want to Learn More?
The ideas in this article come from the work of Steve Andreas, one of the pioneers in studying how the structure of our internal experiences affects the way we feel. If you find these techniques interesting, check out his excellent book, Transforming Negative Self-Talk, where he explores these methods in much greater detail.
Final Thoughts
The next time your inner critic starts racing during SAT prep, don’t panic.
Pause.
Take a breath.
And ask yourself one simple question:
“What would happen if I slowed this voice way down?”
You might be surprised by how much calmer your mind becomes.
And when your mind is calmer…
It’s much easier to do the thing you came here to do:
Crush the SAT.