Creative Imagination 2

This tool allows you to rehearse an event or thought in your mind so that you are better prepared to deal with it when it occurs.

Identify an upcoming event or challenge. Picture other people there, what you do, what you say, and how you react to challenges you know are likely to arise. Mentally practice your feelings and actions to increase your confidence. Identify and address gaps in your plan.

You can also use creative imagination to save thoughts for later. Take stressful thoughts out of your present mind to reduce anxiety and help you feel calmer. Try these techniques:

*  Imagine your stressful thoughts in a fishbowl or behind thick glass. You can see the thought floating around but you cannot touch it or hear anything that is going on behind the glass.

*  Imagine your thought is in a bubble floating away in the wind. The bubble dances in the breeze and eventually blows away.

*  Imagine your thoughts are a baseball. Then imagine whacking that ball high into the sky, far away.

*  Imagine your worries falling into the depths of the ocean.

*  Imagine putting your ideas on a shelf to think about later.

Make it Real

Write your worries on an index card and put them in a shoebox. Put the box on a shelf, in the back of the closet, or in a drawer.

Say this: “I can retrieve these thoughts later, but now it is time to sleep.”