Do you use exposure therapy to cure a phobia or do you use any other methods? I'm thinking about trying to overcome one of my phobias.
How do you overcome a phobia?
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Slow, measured, incremental exposure to the thing which scares you is quite effective.
But interestingly I just saw a documentary on phobias and a doctor somewhere in one of the Scandinavian countries has found a quick workaround. Propranolol. It's used for panic, amongst other things. What she did was take the person and have them experience the fear; fully experience it, to maximum intensity, so that they're pretty much redlining. Then she removes them from the situation, or object, and gives them a Propranolol. About one hour later, she brings them back into the situation and their experience is completely different. "How do you feel?" "I feel fine." "Any fear?" "None whatsoever." And in follow-ups, at significant time intervals, later, they are completely cured.
She explained that the Propranolol blocks the fear response and replaces it with a different feeling, one of calm, neutrality.
Normally I would say this sounds like b. s. and too good to be true, but I saw it myself, and she was legit, this doctor. The patients live normal lives after this.
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I guess you have to learn not to be afraid of it. My ex-fiance used to be scared of water but she went to the river with me one day and had me take pictures of her pouring the water onto her head from the river to prove to herself that there's nothing to be afraid of. A friend of hers was also scared of water so, he took the nick name of water claiming that it'd be silly of him to be afraid of himself! No idea if that actually worked for him.
I used to be scared of weeds because I never knew what poison ivy looked like and was scared to death to touch weird looking weds for fear of getting poison ivy! About 10 years ago, it was all over my neighbor's back yard and some was sprouting in our yard so, I went to dig it out one day and accidentally touched it and found out that I'm not allergic to it so, now, I just yank it out with my bare hands and I'm not afraid of weds, anymore!!
Another thing that got me scared of weeds was a couple episodes of, "Lost In Space" where plants did dangerous things like, the vine that wrapped itself around Don's ankle and tried to pull him underground,. or the huge ones that could make duplicates of anything.
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I've had a mild phobia all my life, with germs... but more than a phobia, it is a fixation with mild OCD tendencies, so I guess is not the same at all however, I did take the same approach to them, and yes, facing it, exposure to it... I have done it for way over two decades and it has helped me to gradually overcome most of it, and being able to somewhat manage it, "negotiate with it" well enough for all these things not to affect me so greatly anymore as it could be when I was a younger child
if you have actual phobias and that's a plural for you, maybe the best idea would be if you can first consult with a therapist, or an specialist because they would have experience with this and with others that have been tried it as well... I think they would be in the best position to help you with it and it could go better than you working on it on your own but, if seeking professional help is not an option, you should still give it a try on your own, I am sure there's many online resources you could find as well
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I had intense fear of heights. The way I overcomed it is when I exposed myself to MORE heights. 😂 I decided to walk everyday in overpass bridge, at first it was so scary to look down. As time goes by, I walked slowly and even pause to look down then observe the vehicles.
I don't fear heights that much now.
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I do use exposure therapy.
I believe the more exposure to something you fear is doing it.
The difference from being brave and coward.
Isn't lack of fear, it's being brave enough to stand up to the fear and do it anyway.
I always believe don't let fear beat you. You beat fear.
It's not easy but it is possible.
Once you begin letting fear win, it becomes a bad habit that is hard to break
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I had a severe phobia of spiders. I would panic and cry and sweat and shake at a mere photograph of a spider. Now, I just kill spiders. I am still nervous, but no more episodes of crying in terror.
When I became a mother, I knew I had to face my fear for the sake of protecting my child and to not cause my child trauma. It didn't happen over night, but I learned to face my fear with a lot of practice over the years.
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Doctors call it exposure therapy. You literally do so in baby steps.
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Face your fears. It took some incentives to convince my necrophobic husband to live with me upstairs in a funeral home.
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I am afraid of heights. I went up in tall buildings and stood by windows and looked down. I went up tothe top of the Empire State Building. I installed light fixtured on one of those scissor jacks. None of these really helped. I still hate heights.
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I’ve been afraid of needles for as long as I can remember. I decided to get my belly button pierced to overcome my fear and it didn’t even help. I read that exposing yourself to the phobia helps.
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Expose of course. Humans like all creatures are made to adapt. So you can adapt to get a phobia but you can also adapt yourself out of one.
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You face it head on take your weakness and make it your strength. Adapt and overcome learned that in the Marines
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Exposure therapy and desensitisation are widely common methods.
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If I expose myself to my phobia then things seem to work out.
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Fear is actually the same as excitement. Just look on the bright side of the fear and take a deep breath and smile!
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By taking a counterphobic measure. There's nothing that quells fear better than facing that fear and surviving.
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To overcome a phobia, you have to do something involving that phobia
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You can try out what you just mentioned and see how that works
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You basically face your fears and just do it , it’s easier each time
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Some phobias are just way to hard yo be overcame lol, but the best way to overcone any is by starting to practice it by an inch per single day.
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you keep exposing yourself to it
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Surround yourself in it!
- 2.6K opinions shared on Other topic.
Slowly get over it
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