Exposure Therapy
A New Perspective
If you’re serious about overcoming your anxiety, there are two essential aspects of it that you must address. The first is changing how you think about your anxiety. What I mean by this is that you must get a new perspective in order to react differently when it grabs you. If you were taking a 2-part course on “Managing Anxiety”, the thinking part would be “Anxiety 101”.
What I mean by thinking differently about anxiety is not getting “freaked out” by the uncomfortable symptoms because you’d be able to identify them accurately. So, instead of thinking – – “I can’t catch my breath and my heart’s pounding! I’m having a heart attack!” – – You’d know to tell yourself, “I’m short of breath and my heart’s beating faster. . . I’m obviously anxious right now.”
Why You Do
Exposure Therapy
The paradox of anxiety is that it keeps reoccurring the more you try to resist it.
The way to correct this is by going toward the source of your anxiety and tolerating the scary thoughts and physical sensations until they subside. This process is called exposure therapy, and doing it the right way has proven VERY effective in overcoming anxiety.
Of course, there are other ways to manage your anxiety, like taking Xanax or Propranolol to cope with a scary situation. I’m not criticizing you if you do this. It just won’t help you recover in the long run. Most people who contact me for treatment of their anxiety don’t want to use medication.
Exposure Therapy
A Different Reaction
The other essential element of overcoming anxiety – – “Anxiety 202” – – is learning to react differently to it – – probably the opposite of what you’ve been doing. This second, essential task is called exposure.
What does exposure mean? It means facing, (versus avoiding), something you’re afraid of. In other words, intentionally going toward the situation that provokes fear, which is, understandably, the last thing you want to do. “You’re recommending that I purposely make myself anxious?!,” Yes, you have that right. Here’s why.
An Example of
Exposure Therapy
Think of exposure this way: if your little girl fell off her bicycle and was scared to ride it again, what would you encourage her to do? You’d explain to her why it’s important to get right back on the bicycle and ride again. And you’d be right! You’d be prescribing exposure therapy.
Of course, you probably wouldn’t pressure your child to get back on the bike without preparing her. So first, you’d probably explain why getting back on the bicycle is the best thing she can do to get over her fear.
Then, you might tell her you’ll hold on to the seat while she tries it again. Next, you might encourage her to just ride to the stop sign and back. In other words, you’d show her how to gradually expose herself to riding the bicycle so she can learn – – in manageable steps – – that it is not something to fear.
You would also prepare her to manage her anxiety by explaining that she will be afraid – – at first – – but that she can handle it. And – – the more she rides – – the less fearful she’ll be.
That’s exposure therapy!
How To Get Started
Contact Me Today
I offer a free phone consultation to discuss your situation, answer your questions and tell you how I would approach treating your problem.