The mind can be an unpredictable thing – especially when we get nervous. Have you ever prepped long and hard for a job interview or performance review, only to find yourself fumbling your words, losing your train of thought and generally freezing up in the moment?

When your brain seems to stop working when you need it most, it can be hugely frustrating and also pretty embarrassing. But while it can feel like you’re the only one whose brain goes on a mini holiday every time you have a stressful conversation at work, it turns out that it’s a pretty common phenomenon.

Francesca O’Connor is career coach and director of Good Shout, a learning and development organisation that offers courses designed to improve communication. According to her, this kind of brain funk is called ‘mental freeze’ and usually strikes when we find ourselves in a stressful situation. We spoke to O’Connor about the psychological reason why we sometimes freeze up and how Good Shout’s quick four-step strategy can help you get your head back in the game.

What is mental freeze and why does it always seem to strike at work?

Mental freeze may be unsettling, but it’s actually a very normal human response to stress. 

“When humans feel threatened, we go into fight, flight or freeze mode – an automatic reaction to danger,” O’Connor says. “These are a set of evolutionary adaptations that helped our chances of survival in dangerous situations. Consciously or unconsciously, we would assess a situation as a threat, which would then trigger an automatic defence of cognitive responses.”

“When we panic, stress hormones fill the front lobes where all our reasoning and thinking happens and we freeze,” she says. “Adrenaline can, in some cases, make a situation worse.”

So when your body interprets a job interview or performance review as a ‘threat’, your body can go into that high-alert fight or flight mode, leaving your brain unable to function calmly and logically. 

“Fight or flight can be excellent for fending for yourself in the wild, less excellent in a meeting or interview – a very normal moment for these feelings of threat to be triggered,” says O’Connor. 

First things first: don’t beat yourself up for freezing up in stressful situations. “It’s completely normal. A mental freeze will feel like an eternity to you, but a millisecond to everyone else in the room,” O’Connor continues. “So don’t worry.”

The BRAG method

If you’re particularly prone to mental freezes in moments of panic, O’Connor recommends going through the BRAG checklist to help calm yourself down and get your brain back to some version of ‘normal’. 

“We have a framework we use at Good Shout to help you when nerves or a mental freeze kick in that leans into the psychology of it,” says O’Connor. “It’s made of four component parts – patterns of four tend to be the most effective way for our brains to memorise things.”

Breathe

When we panic, we sometimes begin to breathe quick, shallow breaths that further signal to the brain that we are stressed. This can in turn lead to even more panic. 

“Taking slow, deep breaths lets the body know it’s safe now,” says O’Connor. “It’s linked to the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the fight or flight response. Exhaling is linked to the parasympathetic nervous system, which influences our body’s ability to relax and calm down, reducing anxiety. Make space to breathe.”

Try taking a few deep breaths before your meeting, interview or presentation. Then, when you feel your brain freezing up, take a moment to have a few deep breaths, extending the inhale and the exhale.

Reframe

After having a few breaths, try to reframe your feelings of panic into something more positive. 

“Feelings of threat and nerves can be reframed. There’s a book we recommend at Good Shout called Fear Hack, written by Hilary Gallo, who talks about this kind of fear we feel every day,” says O’Connor. “He says that the symptoms of being scared or threatened – racing pulse, breath speeding up and shaking – are the same symptoms we get when we feel excited.”

Try to trick yourself into feeling excited about the interview or presentation you’ve prepared. After all, it’s probably a big opportunity.

Alter ego

Another trick to try when mental freeze kicks in is switching on an alter ego. Good Shout recommends using the Batman effect to feel more powerful in stressful situations. You can also try speaking to your alter ego.

“Disassociate yourself with the situation and seek advice from an alter ego,” says O’Connor. “Adopting an alter ego is a form of ‘self-distancing’, which involves taking a step back from our immediate feelings to allow us to view a situation more dispassionately.”

Ask yourself, “What would the supercharged version of you do or say in this situation?”

Gratitude

When mental freeze hits, it can feel like hours are passing and that you are unable to say or do anything. Remember, if you’ve been asked a question or if you’re in the middle of a conversation or speech, you don’t need to plough on. You can take a moment to reground yourself by showing gratitude. 

“For example, try saying, ‘Thanks for challenging me with that question, I hadn’t thought about it that way’ or, ‘That’s a really great question, and one that is important to me,’” says O’Connor. “This is a great technique to create some space and time for you to form your response.”

None of us want to freeze up during important moments at work, but just remember, there’s no need to panic if you do. With a method like BRAG, you can quickly run through a checklist of helpful hacks to help you recentre and refocus. In fact, simply taking a moment to focus on one thing, like breathing or showing gratitude, can help your brain start ‘working’ again as it normally would. So next time you freeze up, don’t be afraid to ‘brag’ a little.

Images: Getty