Ever noticed how anxiety makes your mind go blank when you forget names or facts or even what you were about to say? Well, it is because, in those situations, your “survival mode” is initiated.
Generally, when we’re anxious, our body experiences higher levels of these brain hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. They’re known to stimulate our ‘threat center’ called the amygdala. Moreover, these hormones shut down our ‘memory center,’ i.e., prefrontal and our ‘focus center’ i.e., hippocampus. In short, our brain is merely trying to ‘keep us safe’ rather than store and This is why you can forget information that you otherwise recognize during an exam, presentation, or when under stress for any reason; you don’t lack the knowledge since you recognize what you need for the situation, you’re just stressed.
The good news? Well, in most cases, when anxiety has overtaken you, normal memory abilities quickly kick in again. Techniques of deep relaxation, grounding, and reducing mental pressure help quickly return a thinking mind from a “survival” state.
Have you ever gone blank during a stressful moment, even though you knew the answer?
This is the reason behind why it is recommended to get 4-5 hours of sleep before an exam so that your brain is well rested and you don’t “blank out” during the paper.
Absolutely—stress has definitely made my mind go blank even when I knew the answer. Once I calm my breathing and ground myself, it’s amazing how quickly clarity comes back.