Exposure Therapy for Anxiety

You might be asking “What is exposure therapy?   Exposure therapy is used to help you face and work through your fears instead of avoiding them.  Imagine what you are most afraid of in life.  This could be a certain situation, activity, object or person.  Most of us  do everything we can to avoid the things we fear.  This is because we believe that the farther away we are the safer we feel.

Even though in moments we are able to avoid our fears, it is impossible to completely separate ourselves from things that make us panic.  In this blog I will describe the positive outcomes of exposure therapy, how it works and the types of anxiety it can be used for.  All of this in hopes of helping you discover if exposure therapy could be right for you?

Positive Effects

Exposure therapy can be very challenging.  As you start to reveal yourself to the thing you are most afraid of, it causes you to feel uncomfortable and anxious.  But exposure therapy is all about helping you be comfortable with being uncomfortable.  Some positive effects you will see from exposure therapy is an increased self-confidence to face your fears, an increased ability to cope.  You can also take the power away from that which you previously feared because you have faced it.  The realization that it won’t hurt you or you won’t hurt it settles in and you have more peace.  This can happen quickly or over time depending on the depth of what you are dealing with.

How Exposure Therapy Works

There are four different types and three different paces that can be used for exposure therapy.

Types

1. In Vivo exposure: when you are exposed to your fear in real life.

• Example: Someone who is afraid of snakes would be asked to hold a snake

1. Imaginal exposure: when you are exposed to your fear by thinking about it in detail with your therapist guiding you.

• Example: Asked to describe and imagine driving a car after getting in a bad car accident

1. Virtual reality exposure: This is using life-like technology to face your fears. It can be used when it is not realistic to use In-vivo exposure.

• Example: If someone is afraid of heights

1. Interoceptive exposure therapy: this is used for fears that have to do with physical sensations

• Example: Dizziness, getting spinned around in a chair

Paces

1. Graded: you gradually get exposed to the thing you are afraid of. Could start with looking at a picture of something and then move on to holding the object.
2. Flooding: you get exposed to the greatest amount of your fear all at once. This is if you are having to face what you are afraid of on a daily basis.
3. Systematic desensitization: this is exposing you to your fears and will also teach you relaxation techniques.

Types of Anxiety

Exposure therapy can be used for many different types of anxiety. Some popular disorders that it has been successful in treating are phobias, panic disorders, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and separation anxiety.

Next Step

If you or someone you love is being affected by anxiety and are looking for ways to help them overcome them then we are here to help.  At New Vision Counseling and Consulting we have a team of therapists who are trained and will compassionately walk with you through these fears.  You can reach us at (405) 921-7776 or go to our website at NewVisionCounseling.org to learn more about how we can best help you.