Treatment
If you were to have a phobia that doesn’t really impact your life that much, it’s probably not a big concern. On the other hand if you have a phobia that disturbs your everyday life you should seek help. But in fact only a small amount of people will seek help and guidance. If you have had a phobia or fear for at least six months or more you should consider seeking help. When it comes to treating phobias, self-help strategies and therapy can both be good and helpful it really depends on what phobia you have.
Face your fears, one step at a time:
When you have a phobia it would be normal to avoid your fear, but in this case you should try and face your fear, this is the key. When avoiding your fear it will give you an automatic sense of relief but this will only be a short term solution that will not show you that your fear is not as overwhelming as you think it is. As a result, the phobia becomes increasingly scarier and more daunting to you and your mind.
Exposure, gradually and repeatedly facing your fears:
One of the most effective thing to do is keep on facing your fear but in a controlled, safe environment. During this process you will learn how to deal with the anxiety. Through the experiences you will most likely start overcoming your phobia; the phobia will start to begin to lose its power.
Climbing up the “fear ladder”:
If you have tried the exposure system in the past and it didn’t work, you may have started with something too overwhelming to handle. It’s very important to start with a situation that you can handle, and then work your way up from there to build your confidence and coping skills as you move up the “fear ladder,” as they call it. You should make a list of what you fear starting with something mild to scary. Phobia suffers will usually work their way until they get up to the top. This will take a while; you need to make sure that you could be in a safe environment that is controlled. Working your way up the ladder means starting with the first step (e.g., looking at pictures of dogs if you had a phobia of dogs) and don’t stop looking until you start to feel more comfortable looking at it. If at all possible, stay in the situation long enough for your anxiety to decrease. A tip would be to do this for as long as possible so you get used to it. A good way to start is to go through therapy for a while.
If you were to have a phobia that doesn’t really impact your life that much, it’s probably not a big concern. On the other hand if you have a phobia that disturbs your everyday life you should seek help. But in fact only a small amount of people will seek help and guidance. If you have had a phobia or fear for at least six months or more you should consider seeking help. When it comes to treating phobias, self-help strategies and therapy can both be good and helpful it really depends on what phobia you have.
Face your fears, one step at a time:
When you have a phobia it would be normal to avoid your fear, but in this case you should try and face your fear, this is the key. When avoiding your fear it will give you an automatic sense of relief but this will only be a short term solution that will not show you that your fear is not as overwhelming as you think it is. As a result, the phobia becomes increasingly scarier and more daunting to you and your mind.
Exposure, gradually and repeatedly facing your fears:
One of the most effective thing to do is keep on facing your fear but in a controlled, safe environment. During this process you will learn how to deal with the anxiety. Through the experiences you will most likely start overcoming your phobia; the phobia will start to begin to lose its power.
Climbing up the “fear ladder”:
If you have tried the exposure system in the past and it didn’t work, you may have started with something too overwhelming to handle. It’s very important to start with a situation that you can handle, and then work your way up from there to build your confidence and coping skills as you move up the “fear ladder,” as they call it. You should make a list of what you fear starting with something mild to scary. Phobia suffers will usually work their way until they get up to the top. This will take a while; you need to make sure that you could be in a safe environment that is controlled. Working your way up the ladder means starting with the first step (e.g., looking at pictures of dogs if you had a phobia of dogs) and don’t stop looking until you start to feel more comfortable looking at it. If at all possible, stay in the situation long enough for your anxiety to decrease. A tip would be to do this for as long as possible so you get used to it. A good way to start is to go through therapy for a while.