Ideally, an exposure practice should not end before your fear has decreased to a mild 
or moderate level (such as 20 to 40 on a 0- to 100-point scale). Sometimes, this will take 
a few minutes; other times, it may take several hours. If possible, try to stay in the situa -
tion until you feel more comfortable. However, even if your fear doesn’t decrease within 
a practice, you will still likely beneﬁt from the practice over the long term.
In reality, you may not always have control over when an exposure practice ends. For 
example, if you’re practicing eating lunch with coworkers during a half-hour lunch break, 
you may not have the option of stretching the lunch into two hours just to give your 
anxiety a chance to decrease. If the situation ends before your anxiety has decreased, try 
to practice the same situation again as soon as possible. Continue to repeat the practice 
until it becomes easier. At that point, you can move on to another practice.
Using Exposure Records and Diaries
To get the most out of your exposure practices, we suggest that you use the diaries 
and forms provided in chapters 8 and 9 to monitor your progress.