Exposure is a fancy word for “facing your fears.” As you face your fears, you will slowly get used to them. Science has shown us that facing your fears is the most important thing you can do to feel less anxious, so it will be the biggest part of LUNA.
Exposure works because it helps you:
- Learn that what you are afraid of probably won’t happen
- Or if it does happen, that you can handle it
- Believe in yourself, and learn how to handle stress
- Snd live your life the way you want!
Don’t worry - you will not start with your biggest fear right away. You would not expect an astronaut to go to space on their first day – they need to train! You will also be training, using what we call mission plans. Mission plans help you to face your fears slowly, bit by bit. A mission plan has many activities in it: the first one is the least scary, and the last one is the scariest.
Let’s look at Neil’s mission plan to face his fear of the dark (or download a PDF version):
| Step |
Anxiety Rating 0-10 OR Easy - Medium - Hard |
Reward / Brave Bucks |
| Neil is in a dark room with his mom for 2 minutes (during the day). |
1 |
10 extra minutes of screen time |
| Neil is in a dark room with his mom for 2 minutes (at night). |
2 |
Choosing breakfast |
| Neil is by himself in a room with his nightlight on for 2-3 minutes (during the day). |
3 |
Choosing a board game for family game night |
| Neil is by himself in a room with his nightlight on for 2-3 minutes (at night). |
5 |
Choosing a toy to bring in the car on the way to school |
| Neil will stay in bed for 10 minutes with his mom sitting in a chair outside his room that he can see from his bed. If he does not fall asleep in that time, his mom will return to his bedside (like usual). His nightlight is on. |
7 |
Screen time on the
drive to school |
| Neil will stay in bed for 10 minutes with his mom sitting in a chair outside his room that he cannot see. If he does not fall asleep in that time, his mom will move the chair where it is visible. His nightlight is on. |
8 |
Neil can bring his dog on the drive to and from school |
| Neil will stay in bed for 10 minutes with his mom in a different part of the house. If he does not fall asleep in that time, his mom will move closer to his room. His nightlight is on. |
9 |
Day trip to NASA and a souvenier
|
