*I’m worried…, I hate CF..., I hate my life…, I don’t want to go to the doctor…, I’m afraid …., It’s always horrible at the clinic........

…Such declarations seldom mean exactly what they say! They express an expected discomfort from an upcoming situation, appointment or event. We worry about things because we feel like we’re not fully prepared for them (even if we actually are). ‘Mental Rehearsal’ is a method you can use to prepare yourself to succeed in the real world.

It’s the process of identifying the source of your worries, determining how you can adapt if things go bad, and "practicing" all of your contingency plans in your mind until you feel so prepared that your worrying melts away. It might seem counter-intuitive to attack negative thoughts with more negative thoughts, but it can be effective to fight fire with fire.

In its most basic form, mental rehearsal is a way to convince yourself that you are prepared. Here is how it works.