“What if I panic?”
What you can prepare
Choose a familiar way to respond if anxiety builds, and plan how you’ll ask staff for help.
Coming soon
Your MRI feels daunting. You can prepare for what’s ahead.
If you’re worried about panic, tight spaces, or trying again after a difficult scan, start with a plan that makes sense to you.
Understand what to expect. Try practical ways to support yourself. Decide what to discuss with your MRI team.
Preparing for someone you care about? See how you can support them.
Your situation · practical options
What worries you about your MRI?
You don’t have to feel completely calm to begin preparing. Start with the part that feels most relevant to you.
“I don’t think I can stay inside.”
What you can prepare
Explore what feels difficult and, if you want, try a short rehearsal at home at your own pace.
“The equipment around my head worries me.”
What you can prepare
Find out what to ask about the head coil, your position, and the support available at your center.
“I had to stop my last MRI.”
What you can prepare
Look back at the difficult moment, consider what might be different, and prepare a new plan with your team.
“I’m afraid of what they’ll find.”
What you can prepare
Focus your preparation on the scan itself. Questions about results and treatment belong with your clinician.
“I want to help someone I care about.”
What you can prepare
Offer practical support without deciding for them. Help them choose questions to ask the MRI team.
What’s planned
More than a list of tips. A plan for your MRI preparation.
Choose what to try beforehand, what to do if it gets difficult, and what to ask your MRI team.
Your preparation path
Work through practical steps for your situation and the time you have before your appointment.
A Main and Backup technique
Try the written techniques, choose what suits you, and keep an alternative for a difficult moment.
A rehearsal at home
Practice with a timer and, if you choose, an existing MRI sound recording. You control whether to take part.
A plan to discuss with staff
Bring together your choices, questions, and an English staff card to help you explain what you need.
Make room for what works for you
You don’t need to use every exercise. Keep the options that feel useful and leave the rest. Your MRI team’s instructions always come first.
Get a launch notification
At home · at your pace
Try your options before scan day.
Explore the written practices and choose a way to prepare that feels manageable. Every exercise is optional.
Self-hypnosis
Optional guided practices with different levels of direction. You remain free to pause or stop.
Meditations
Ways to work with attention, a familiar place, and thoughts about the sounds of MRI.
Affirmations
Supportive language that leaves room for uncertainty and for asking for help.
Guided preparation and support
Practice Your MRI Ahead of Time, Before Your MRI, and brief support for an anxious moment.
English recordings are in production. The planned guided audio is not available to play in this preview. Music and voice-only options are planned for self-hypnosis, meditations, and affirmations, after the recordings are approved.
Optional home rehearsal
Get familiar with the idea of MRI sounds.
The planned program will include an existing MRI sound recording for practice at home. Your own scan may sound different. Use hearing protection provided by your MRI team and follow their instructions.
Read about the MRI experience →A sound recording is a rehearsal option, not a test you have to pass.
This public preview does not copy or play protected program audio.
Preparation for a real appointment
A plan for the moments that matter.
Prepare for uncertainty, the sounds, lying still, and talking to staff. The aim is to give you practical options, without promising how your scan will go.
Your choices, in one place
Keep a Main technique, a Backup technique, and questions for your MRI team. If you’ve had a difficult attempt before, use that experience to plan what to discuss next.
The program is still being prepared. This prelaunch site does not provide access to the app or downloadable materials.
Get a launch notificationReady for MRI
My plan
- Main technique
- A familiar option I choose
- Backup technique
- Another option if I need it
- For my MRI team
- My questions and how I’ll ask for help
A clear basis · clear limits
Preparation deserves an honest explanation.
Research on individual approaches does not prove that this program will help everyone or guarantee a completed scan.
Knowwhat to ask
Use reliable information
Find practical information from official MRI sources and discuss your own scan with your team.
Choosewhat suits you
Keep the exercises optional
A useful rehearsal can be small. You can adapt a practice, leave it out, or ask for support.
Askfor support
Keep medical decisions with your team
The program does not diagnose, treat claustrophobia, or replace professional care.
A practical sequence
Three steps toward your own plan.
You set the pace. Preparation is something to explore, not another demand.
Start with your situation
Think about the part you’re worried about and the questions you want to ask your team.
Try a manageable practice
Explore the written techniques and optional home rehearsal. Choose a Main and Backup approach.
Bring your questions to the team
Review your plan before the appointment. Ask how to contact staff and what to do if you need to stop.
After a difficult attempt
Had to stop your last MRI? You can prepare differently.
A difficult experience can make the next appointment feel even harder. You don’t need to treat it as a personal failure.
The program has a separate preparation path for trying again. Look at what happened, what you tried, and what you’d like to discuss with the center before another appointment.
There is no promise that a different plan will be enough on its own. Your clinician and MRI team can discuss other options with you.
Read the guide to trying againQuestions for a fresh plan
- 01Where did it become too much?
- 02What felt most difficult?
- 03What did you already try?
- 04What can you discuss with the MRI team?
- 05What would you like to change in your plan?
When someone you care about has an MRI
Support them without taking over.
You might help them write down questions, find the center’s instructions, or ask what kind of support they would like.
You can help them prepare questions while leaving choices with the person having the scan.
Practical support · clear boundaries
Know what the program can — and cannot — offer.
You deserve clear information before deciding what to use.
Information you can check
Medical explanations point to official sources. Your center’s instructions take priority over general information.
Choices you can make
No exercise is compulsory. You can ask for help or stop, even if anxiety is still there.
Limits you can understand
Ready for MRI is preparation and self-support, not diagnosis, treatment, or a guarantee that you’ll complete a scan.
Our purpose
There’s already enough to think about.
An MRI appointment can come with worry about your health as well as the scan itself. Tight spaces, unfamiliar sounds, or a previous difficult experience can add another layer.
Ready for MRI is being designed to bring preparation into a practical sequence: understand what’s ahead, explore your options, and make a plan to discuss with your team.
You decide which parts to use. The aim is to support your preparation while keeping medical decisions where they belong.
Before you decide
Common questions
What to expect from the program, and where your MRI team comes in.
Do I have to stop feeling anxious before I can prepare?
No. You can explore preparation while still feeling anxious. Start with one manageable step, and contact your center if you need more support.
I’ve already tried breathing and music. What is different here?
The program brings information, written techniques, rehearsal, and a personal Main/Backup plan together. It does not assume that one technique suits everyone or promise a different outcome.
Do I have to use self-hypnosis or listen to audio?
No. All practices are optional. English recordings are still in production; they are not available in this preview.
What if I need medication, sedation, or a different scanner?
Discuss those options with your clinician or MRI center before the appointment. The program does not recommend a medicine or replace a clinical assessment.
Can I use my phone during the MRI?
Follow the center’s safety rules. Prepare and review your plan beforehand; do not take a phone or other electronic item into the scan room unless the MRI team explicitly permits it.
What if I had to stop a previous scan?
The planned program will include a preparation path for another attempt. Tell your center what happened, and ask what support or changes may be possible. Read the guide to trying again.
Does the program guarantee I’ll finish the scan?
No. Anxiety may still be present and you may need other support. You keep the right to ask for help or stop, following the method agreed with your MRI team.
How much time should I set aside?
There is no required daily session length. Choose the parts you need and leave time to discuss questions with the center. Ask the center about the total time for your own visit.
What happens when I join the launch list?
We ask for your email and permission to send one launch notification. You confirm through a separate email before joining. There is no newsletter, payment or launch-date promise.
Are recordings or downloads available?
No. English recordings and other materials are still being prepared or awaiting release approval. This site offers information and launch updates, without downloads.
Preparing a conversation with your MRI team
Your safety information
Use the center’s screening process. Tell staff about implants, medical devices, and other information they request.
How to get help
Ask how you’ll communicate and signal if you need staff or want to stop.
Your own instructions
Confirm arrival, food, drink, medication, and any other preparation with your center.
Your MRI team’s instructions always take priority.
Coming soon
Be the first to know when Ready for MRI launches.
We’re preparing a step-by-step program to help people feel better prepared for an upcoming MRI, especially when anxiety or claustrophobia makes the experience difficult.
No launch date is set. Joining the list is optional, and does not reserve access or sign you up for a newsletter.
Coming soon
One step at a time.
Read the preparation guides now, and choose an email notification when the program is ready to launch.