Researchers Ward and Wegner (1) tell us that mind-blanking involves a lack of conscious awareness. This phenomenon occurs when attention and perception stop working together. In other words, attention is not grabbing any 'inputs' (e.g., external sounds, bodily sensations) for your conscious awareness to do something with.
Your mind is nowhere, rather than 'elsewhere' (as in the case of mind-wandering).
My mind went blank
Many researchers argue that mind-blanking is a common mental state, albeit tricky to measure. Attention is one of many thinking or neurocognitive abilities. Examples of other skills include concentration, memory, problem-solving, and mental control. Mind blanking is associated with specific brain regions (Broca's area, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex; 2).
In other words, mind blanking is a normal neurocognitive phenomenon.
Mind blanking can occur spontaneously (without clear reason) or when the brain is overloaded. In either case, performance is not necessarily affected in an adverse way (1).
In other words, mind blanking doesn’t have to be disastrous. However, our poll (see below) reveals that 52% of people can’t pick when mind blanking will occur. This uncertainty can create a degree of anxiety around this problem. However, we have a four-step strategy to help.
Work performance shocks
In some (but not all) cases, people start to question their abilities if mind blanking increases. A new, damaging narrative may even emerge. For example:
I’m not up to this job
I’m going to get found out
I am an imposter
Behaviour changes often occur in an attempt to compensate for perceived incompetence. You might over-prepare, start saying yes too often, or fail to delegate appropriately.
However, you can do something about this problem.
We can see how this scenario can be particularly problematic in performance environments like the workplace. Thankfully, there are techniques to address the mind blanking problem.
An extra strategy
A common psychological factor in mind blanking is negative self-talk about abilities. People hold all kinds of negative beliefs about their skills. Here are some examples:
‘I am a poor problem-solver’
‘I can’t think under pressure’
‘I’m not creative’
‘My colleagues are more talented’
These thoughts switch the brain into threat mode and mind blanking results. People incorrectly interpret a blank mind as evidence of skill deficits, rather than realising these thoughts have simply blocked access to these skills.
To get around this vicious cycle, as yourself:
‘How would I advise a friend/colleague in this situation ?’
Taking a scenario ‘out of your own body’ can neutralise negative self-talk. Once you have given this fictional person some advice, you can apply it to yourself.
Alternatively, you can learn more about thinking distortions that impair performance and wellbeing.
References
(1) Ward, A. F., & Wegner, D. M. (2013). Mind-blanking: When the mind goes away. Frontiers of Psychology, 4, 650.
(2) Kawagoe et al. (2019). The neural correlates of "mind blanking": When the mind goes away. Human Brain Mapping, 40(17), 4934-4940.
(3) Lukasik, K. M et al. (2019). The relationship of anxiety and stress with working memory performance in a large non-depressed sample. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00004
(4) Angelidis A, Solis E, Lautenbach F, van der Does W, Putman P (2019) I’m going to fail! Acute cognitive performance anxiety increases threat-interference and impairs WM performance. PLoS ONE 14(2): e0210824. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210824
(5) Adan A. (2012). Cognitive performance and dehydration. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 31(2), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2012.10720011
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) article mentioned in the video: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2200511119
