I am a probationer with the Feds and as a condition of my probation I am required to take a polygraph. I was told beforehand that it would be about my past. There were things about my past that I was afraid they might ask about and so I was very nervous. 

I came to this website along with others and learned about the inaccuracy of the tests. I learned about the countermeasures and I practiced them prior to my test.

The day of the test came and this is what happened. The first part of the test was a written test. There were prepared questions about my history. The question I wanted to avoid was on the test. I hoped that the countermeasures I had learned would work.

Next, the examiner (an extremely nice ex-police officer) interviewed me based on my answers to the written part of the test. From that he formulated the questions he would ask during the exam. He explained that there would be no tricks. He would ask the questions that he said he would in the order that he said he would. He explained the reason for this was that a surprise might trigger a false response. 

The way the polygraph works is that it measures your reaction to the question that you know is coming. That is the important thing. Your nervousness about this question will manifest itself in physiological reactions. That is the trick. 

I read here about the countermeasures and how to use them. The next thing he did was strap me to the machine. He then said he wanted me to write down a number from 21-25. I wrote down 24. (Btw, I also read about this part here somewhere) He then asked me if I wrote down 20. Since he said 21-25 then saying no was obviously the truth. Then he started asking 21, 22... I kept saying in my mind 23. and when he got to 23, I used the countermeasures. I bit my tongue and squeezed my sphincter muscles and said no. Then relaxed as he went to 24 and 25.
 
Then the test began. He had 5 questions for me. I had learned how to meditate (it's really quite easy-mostly it involves concentrating on your breathing and nothing else). We went through the 5 questions and he wanted me to do another and then another. Halfway through the 2nd time I developed my own countermeasure that may be useful to you. I started saying a Rosary. For those of you that don't know what that is, it's a very long Catholic prayer consisting of saying the Hail Mary many times. I already knew that the answers to all the questions were no and so I kept repeating the Hail Mary in my mind and until I heard his voice stop at which point I said no. 

This helped me to concentrate on the prayer as opposed to the question that I was fearful of and therefore answer no to a question that really should have been a yes. He told me when it was over that I had passed and even I was amazed that it had worked. Then, I asked him what number did I write down because he told me he had never gotten that wrong, he said 23. 

Use my story, and read the other stories. Learn the countermeasures. Learn to occupy your mind with something else. Something repetitive like a prayer or a short song. Not a long one-you want one that you can "sing" in your head over and over. Good luck!