The MRI asks for an unusual combination: stillness, loud mechanical noise, an enclosed space, and usually 15 minutes to an hour, and sometimes longer, of your patience. Some people discover claustrophobia they never knew they had. These five practices fit inside the tube, and the radiology team can help with the rest.
1. Prepare your inner plan before you slide in
Decide your plan in advance: a body scan, a remembered walk, or counting if that suits you. Start it the moment you settle, before the noise begins. Having something to do can help.
Try the plan at home first. Lie on your back and walk through a familiar place in your mind, such as your childhood street or a favourite trail, with as much detail as you can, for five minutes. Or notice your body in sections, from the feet upward. If one plan does not work, you can switch to another. Listening to the sounds is also a plan.
2. Treat the noise as rhythm
The knocking and buzzing is loud but patterned. The team will usually offer earplugs or headphones, so take them. Some people find it easier once they stop reading the noise as alarming. You can also listen for the pattern changes between sequences, if that helps.
Ask the radiographer what each sequence will sound like and how long it will last. Knowing that a loud section is going to take four minutes makes it easier to wait out. If you can choose music through the headphones, ask.
3. Try closing your eyes
Closing your eyes may feel helpful to some people, but claustrophobia can continue with eyes closed. Tell the radiographer what support you need. Pick somewhere to be: a beach, a walk, a room you love, detailed, sensory and slow.
Some people find it easier to keep their eyes open and look at the mirror or the ceiling. Others find that a cloth over the eyes helps, if the team agrees. Try different options before you go in, and ask what the scanner allows. You can ask the team to leave the room light on or to put a fan on.
4. Breathe low and slow, and feel the table
Slow exhales plus the solid table under your back are the two anchors that fit in the narrowest tube. If distressed, use the call device and ask the team for support. Follow instructions about stillness and breath holds rather than moving or changing breathing during a scan.
Some scans ask you to hold your breath for a short time. That is the radiographer’s instruction, and you should follow it as they give it. Outside those moments, let the breathing be ordinary and comfortable. Feel the back of your head, shoulder blades and legs resting on the table, and let them be held.
5. Remember the button and the clock
You hold the call button, and the radiographer can hear you. Ask beforehand roughly how long each part runs, since knowing can make it easier. Medication or sedation needs clinical planning.
Hold the button in a relaxed hand, not a clenched one. You are allowed to use it if you need to. If you are worried about time, ask the team to tell you through the speaker when each part has ended or how many are left.
Before the day
Read the instructions you were sent. They may include what to wear, whether to remove metal, and whether you can eat or drink first. Tell the team about any metal in your body (such as surgical clips, a pacemaker or dental work), if you are or may be pregnant, about any allergies, and anything else the form asks about. Ask any questions in advance. If you can, bring someone to the appointment, and ask whether they can stay with you until you go into the room.
If you have been anxious about scans before
Tell the team when you book, and again when you arrive. Some units show you the scanner beforehand, let you sit in it with the machine switched off, or let a friend sit beside you in the room for some scans. Sedation, if you want it, has to be arranged with the clinicians in advance, and you will need someone to take you home. Do not take medication for the scan that has not been agreed with your doctor. After a medicine to help you relax, you should not drive for 24 hours, so plan how you will get home.
Afterwards
Take a moment before getting up. Notice that you did it. Eat, drink and rest if you need to. Results come later, and waiting for them is hard in its own way. Ask the team when and how you will hear.
Tell the team beforehand
If you know you are claustrophobic, say so when booking, not in the room. Options include wider scanners, different positioning for some scans, a friend in the room, or sedation arranged in advance. If panic becomes unmanageable mid-scan, squeeze the ball. You can ask to stop, and the scan can be rescheduled with more support.
Related: tools for the dentist’s chair.
Further reading: 5 Somatic Practices for Lying Still During Treatments. These are optional reading, not a replacement for the safety or care instructions above.
