Many children and adolescents deal with test anxiety that can be overwhelming and lead to a whole host of problems, not to mention diminished performance on test day. At San Diego Neurofeedback in La Mesa, California, dedicated neurofeedback therapist and educational psychologist Linda Nerenberg, MS, LEP, BCN, knows that it’s possible to overcome test anxiety and increase performance on test day with the right strategies and tools. Neurofeedback is a great way to reduce anxiety and improve mental control, clarity, cognition, calmness, and mindfulness. Help your child overcome test anxiety and call San Diego Neurofeedback or book online.

Test Anxiety Q & A

What is test anxiety?

Test anxiety is anxiety that’s associated with an upcoming test. When thinking about the test or when the day of the test comes, feelings of anxiety, nervousness, unease, and worry can be overwhelming.

How do I know if I’m experiencing test anxiety?

It’s normal to feel a mild nervousness just before a test, but for many people, the anxiety is more intense and can interfere with daily life and performance and concentration on test day.

Test anxiety is essentially a form of performance anxiety — a feeling someone has in a situation where performance really matters or where there is pressure on them to perform well.

Test anxiety can also spur physical symptoms, such as headache, stomachache, shakiness, sweatiness, nausea, weakness, and a fast heartbeat. Test anxiety is more than just being preoccupied with something else on your mind.

How can neurofeedback help with test anxiety?

Neurofeedback helps you or your child retrain the brain for lasting anxiety treatment and better emotional and mood control in the future.

Neurofeedback involves the direct training of your brain activity. Linda places electrodes on your scalp and a special computer extracts important information about your brain wave frequencies while you play a video game on a computer screen.

The information is shown back to you through the video game that reflects your brain wave activity. While you play the game, you work to change your brain activity level as part of the game, focusing on promoting certain beneficial frequencies. Over time, you can reshape brain activity to allow you or your child reduce test anxiety and have a more controlled, calm, and positive response in the future.

Neurofeedback therapy usually requires about 20-40 sessions that typically take place twice a week. Each session takes around 30 minutes.

What are the benefits for neurofeedback for test anxiety?

Linda provides neurofeedback due to the many benefits, such as:

  • Sharpening the mind and improving cognition and focus
  • Improving test performance
  • Quickening reactions and thought processes
  • Boosting memory capacity
  • Regulating mood

Neurofeedback is a convenient and effective in-office treatment.

Linda might also recommend healthy lifestyle changes to relieve anxiety and improve brain function, such as exercise, stress management, and a nutrient-dense diet.

Linda focuses on all types of test anxiety, including high school, middle school, and college. From minor quizzes and tests to large entrance exams, such as SATs, LSATs, and MCATs, visit San Diego Neurofeedback for quality support.