Hey, guys, welcome to not another anxiety show. I'm your host, Kelly Walker, and today I'll be sharing a short visualization exercise with you that will compliment our last episode

about traveling with anxiety.

So if you're like me, maybe it's been all too easy to run away with all the scary stories

and images of what might go wrong while traveling.

Without even realizing it, I'd often imagine myself getting hot, panicked, and passing out in the security line at the airport, or having some sort of mental breakdown while on the plane, or throwing up while on the plane, or having a heart attack while on the plane. And, you know, the list really goes on and on.

Obviously, these are not super fun stories, and our bodies react to

these stories and images both physiologically and emotionally, the result being that we

usually end up feeling pretty amped up. The idea behind this exercise is to get a little

curious and see what happens when we change the channel.

So next time you catch yourself anticipating all the scary details of an upcoming trip, whatever they might be for you,

deliberately shift your attention and focus to visualizing what the trip would actually look like without fear.

This is your imagination after all, so you can pretty much do whatever you want.

Now, for me, I visualize the whole flying process because that's what's been most challenging.

So I'll start by imagining myself walking into the airport, and I'll feel a rush of dread and think,

oh, God, I hate flying. But then I imagine, what does the process of walking into the airport

actually look like without those fear stories? Well, it normally looks like finding a check-in teller

or, you know, check-in machine these days.

Getting my passport out, checking the bags, and so on.

And next up, after check-in is security.

And just thinking about security, I'll feel a big wash of fear and think, oh, no, what if the line is long? I'm trapped. I'm hot. I'm

uncomfortable. And I acknowledge and honor this fear, these scary thoughts, kind of like, okay,

I see you, I hear you. But then I bring my attention and focus back to what actually happens while in the

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