Overcome anxiety with Mental Rehearsal

Mental rehearsal is a powerful tool for managing anxiety by imagining stressful events and practising calm responses. Break the situation into parts and visualise how you want to think and feel at each stage. Feeling anxious? Try mental rehearsal. [21.1.25.]

Key points:

• Mental (or behavioural) rehearsal is usually used by athletes or performers who want to improve performance and lessen anxiety and nervousness.

• It’s a form of visualisation to imagine positive and successful results. Seeing yourself succeed, builds urgency and motivation to overcome obstacles. This helps with emotional regulation, and staying calm when anxious or negative thoughts occur.

• Breaking down the parts into manageable steps allows you to anticipate potential problems, and find positive ways to deal with them.

Mental Rehearsal for anxiety, worry or overwhelm

By engaging all the senses (see, hear, smell, taste, touch) you can make the experience real in your mind, letting yourself embody strength —knowing you can handle challenges with ease and flexibility.

• Reduces Anxiety: Practicing calming responses ahead of time helps lower stress during real events.

• Enhances Focus: Breaking situations into steps helps you concentrate on easy actions.

• Reinforces Positive Outcomes: Seeing yourself succeed in your mind increases optimism and motivation.

Steps to Mental Rehearsal

1. Identify the Situation: Choose a scenario you feel anxious about and want to prepare for.

2. Break it Down: Divide the situation into three or four manageable steps to rehearse mentally.

3. Visualize Effectively: Use internal visualisation (seeing through your own eyes to refine movements) and external visualisation (viewing yourself from the outside to make strategic adjustments).

4. Reflect and Improve: After mentally rehearsing, journal your thoughts:

   • What went well?

   • What didn’t go as planned, and what would you change?

   • How will you celebrate your progress?

⚡️By practising these techniques, you can prepare for challenges with calm confidence, focus on positive outcomes, and have effective ways to deal with setbacks.

3 types of Mental Rehearsal

1. Routine Rehearsal: Concentrate on a daily ritual you’d like to improve.

   For example: I imagine waking up at 6 am excited to start the day: the alarm has a pleasant tone, my clothes are ready, and my routine flows effortlessly—shower, change, makeup. A treat awaits in the kitchen: coffee ready and a candle to light for prayer. Creating small joys keeps the momentum going.

2. Focus Experience: This includes deep work that requires concentration and limiting distractions.

   For example: I imagine writing a blog, phone on silent, upbeat music playing, and finishing with a proud smile as I hit “publish.”

3. Stress management: This allows us to anticipate when worry, overwhelm and stress occur, having healthier coping strategies and ways to respond more mindfully.

   For example: When I miss a deadline, I shift from negative thoughts like "I failed" to a calming breath and a sip of tea, asking, "What's one thing I can do now?"

Note: Create mental flexibility

Create vivid, sensory-rich images that engage your sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Use deep breaths and movement to keep stress at bay. Acknowledge difficult thoughts of overwhelm but don’t believe in their negative stories.

Mental flexibility allows you to return to the desired successful result you want. Build urgency and momentum, using treats and positive affirmations to get you through any obstacle. Remember, you’ve got this!

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