Tracing Hands will help you get rid of anxiety
Tracing Hands is a simple technique you can do anytime you feel stressed and anxious.
It is extremely effective at lowering the heart rate, controlling your physiological state, helping you be more focused, reducing anxiety and stress and lowering blood pressure.
A bonus of Tracing Hands is that you can do it anywhere.
Practice every day, for 3-5 days, before your theory test.Practice at least 2-3 times per day.
On test day you can use it when you arrive at the test centre, either in your car or in the waiting room. You can have your hand on your lap so that no-one knows what you’re doing. Alternatively, you can just ‘imagine’ you are tracing around your hand.
Tracing Hands Steps
- Hold out your left hand with your fingers splayed
- Point the forefinger of your right hand at the bottom of your left thumb
- Move your right forefinger up, towards the tip of your left thumb, to the count of 4
- Pause your right forefinger, at the tip of your left thumb, to the count of 4
- Move your right forefinger down the other side of your left thumb, to the count of 4
- Pause your right forefinger, at the base of your left thumb, to the count of 4
- Now, continue around your hand. Move your right forefinger, upwards on your left forefinger to the count of four
- Pause, to the count of 4
- Continue to trace around your whole hand, moving up a finger to the count of 4, pause at the tip to the count of 4, move down your finger to the count of 4 and for pause at the base to the count of 4
- Repeat all the way back to where you started.
Anchoring will help you feel more confident
- Have you ever heard a song, and suddenly feel a strong emotion like happiness?
- Or seen a view that makes you feel calm?
- Or smelt something that makes you feel excited?
The Steps:
- You’ll float down into your body and imagine you are back there, at the time when you felt confident
- You’ll see what you saw at the time.
- You’ll hear what you heard at the time.
- You’ll really feel the feelings that you felt at the time.
- When you start to feel the feelings, you will press your thumb and middle finger together.
- Hold your fingers together for 3-5 seconds only
- Release your fingers and open your eyes
- Repeat the whole process 3-5 times. The more times you repeat, the stronger the anchor will be
Set up your anchor a few days before your theory test. Fire your anchor as you sit down to take your theory test.