I am very claustrophobic too. For my MRIs I found it helps if I close my eyes outside the room, so I don’t ever see the machine. I also request the larger diameter tubes. I still don’t look so I can imagine them bigger than they maybe are. Keep my eyes closed while they put on the ‘mask’ on and tuck padding around my head and send me in. Make sure they have the lights on before they move you into the tube, once they were off and I had to have them pull me out, then send me back in after they were on. The dark made me feel panicky. Warm blankets help relax you. They take me out with my eyes still closed and I don’t open them until I am out of the room. So in two or three MRIs I have never actually seen how narrow the tube actually is. In my mind it is large and open like a CT machine. Prefer it that way! I also joined a couple facebook groups, one for brain anuerysm survivors and one for unruptured brain anuerysms support. I lived with mine for a year before treating, mine was borderline size, 8mm, and for me reading about the good and bad helped me decide what to do. I realized others might not want to read about others’ experiences, but if you are an info gatherer there are lots of stories to read. I have been coiled and stented and was almost 100% back to normal after a couple weeks. Hope as time passes your stress diminishes. Such a scary thing to know it is sitting inside your head.