Confronting Your Fears Through Exposure
155HOW TO CONDUCT EXPOSURE PRACTICES
This section provides suggestions for getting the most out of your exposure practices. 
These include instructions for how to prepare for practices, suggestions to keep in mind 
when planning practices, what to do during a particular practice, and what to do follow -
ing the practice. Some of the most important suggestions are summarized in a checklist 
following this section.
Preparing for Exposure Practices
As much as possible, it’s important to plan your exposure practices in advance. As 
discussed earlier, planning involves making decisions at the beginning of the week about 
particular practices that you intend to try, as well as coming up with backup practices in 
case your original plans don’t work out. It is very likely that planning will involve setting 
aside speciﬁc times during which to practice. You should also have an idea of how a prac -
tice ﬁts in with your short-term and long-term goals. For example, if your long-term goal 
is to be able to give a presentation to a large group of coworkers, practicing speaking to 
smaller groups may be an important step in your plan.
Before beginning any particular practice, we suggest that you make some very spe -
ciﬁc predictions about what might happen during the practice. Once you are aware of 
your anxiety-provoking thoughts and predictions, use the cognitive strategies described 
in chapter 6 to challenge your thoughts. Challenging your anxious thoughts before 
entering into the situation will help you to manage your fear and discomfort.
Importance of Predictability and Control
As we discussed earlier, exposure works better if it is predictable and if you have a 
sense of control over what’s happening in the situation. Therefore, it’s best to start with