The Stoic HypnotistIt sounds backward, even unhealthy: deliberately picture losing the things you value. But the Stoics practiced exactly this, and modern psychology suggests they were onto something. Done well, briefly imagining misfortune doesn't breed anxiety — it dissolves it.
The practice
Premeditatio malorum means the 'premeditation of adversity.' You spend a quiet moment picturing a setback — a difficulty at work, a hard day, the ordinary losses life brings — not to dwell in dread, but to rehearse meeting it with composure, and then to return to the present and notice what you still have.
He robs present ills of their power who has perceived their coming beforehand.
— Seneca
Why it works
Two reasons. First, we adapt to good things and stop seeing them; briefly imagining their absence makes them vivid again — instant gratitude, no platitudes required. Second, fear shrinks when faced in small, controlled doses. The mind dreads most what it refuses to look at; look at it calmly, and it loses its grip.