For your plan of action to work, you need to practice your exposure activities as much as you can. Try to practice a little bit every day. It might be hard for you to get started, but the more you practice, the easier your activities will become, and you will get closer and closer to accomplishing your goal.
You will start by practicing the first activity in your plan of action with the lowest rating on the anxiety intensity scale. It’s okay to dedicate your first week to practicing only your first activity multiple times if you need to. Sometimes you may need to practice an exposure activity a few times for it to feel easier. Once the activity starts to feel easier, it is time to move on to the next activity in your plan of action. If you would like to plan out when you will complete your exposure activities throughout the week, you can use the Weekly Practice Plan worksheet. On this worksheet, you can write down what activity you plan to accomplish for each day of the week, along with the motivation boosters or points you will receive for completing the activity.
Keep Track of Your Practice
You will also keep track of all the different times you practice an activity using the Plan of Action Activity Log. On the log, you will write what exposure activity you completed and the date it was completed. You will also note your anxiety intensity scale ratings before, during, and after each activity. Lastly, there will be a space for you to reflect on anything new you learned or discovered after completing the activity. You will learn more about reflecting on your exposure activities soon!
Practicing Exposure Activities
You might feel anxious right before you complete an exposure activity, and that's okay! Remind yourself that it will only get easier over time if you keep practicing. If you are feeling too anxious to do some of these activities, you might consider using a coping skill if it helps you face your fears better. Next week, you will learn about a few coping skills you can use.
Some exposure activities have a clear end point. For these activities, you know exactly when the task has been completed. For instance, when Sophia talks to the waiter to order food at a restaurant, she knows exactly when the conversation is over since it has a clear beginning and end point.
For other activities, it can be harder to know how long the activity should last. For example, one of Sophia’s exposure activities is to attend her friend Anna’s birthday party. Since the party could last for a few hours, Sophia may not know how long she needs to stay there. For these activities, try completing the task long enough for your anxiety intensity scale rating to go down, until the task starts to feel easier, or until you feel more confident in your ability to get through it. Exposure is all about learning through doing. If you rush through the exposure too quickly, you might not have the chance to learn as much about your fears or yourself.
After Exposure Activity Practice
Each time you complete an activity, make sure to write it down in your activity log, and then talk with your parent about how it went. Here are some things you can talk about:
- What did you learn about your worry/fear?
- How did your anxiety and feelings change?
- How did you cope with your anxiety?
- What did you do well?
- How do you think the next practice will go?
It is also important to congratulate yourself after completing an activity. You should take some time to feel proud of yourself and enjoy whatever reward you received afterward. Facing your fears can be hard work, so it is important to celebrate your practice and progress.
