E is for Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy is an effective treatment for overcoming phobias and fears.
Did you know that phobias are an anxiety disorder? It’s very common. Perhaps you know someone who is arachnophobic (scared of spiders) or claustrophobic (scared of small spaces). Or maybe you yourself are a germaphobe. I used to be so terrified of bees that I couldn’t even go outside in the spring/summer beacuse I was so scared. Whenever I heard something buzz past my head, I would flinch, duck, and sometimes start crying. It was horrible and severely limited my ability to participate in activities at summer camp, picnics, etc. But now I don’t even duck when a bee circles me. That’s how powerful exposure therapy can be!
The principle of exposure therapy is to, well, expose you to your fear and teach you to tolerate the anxiety that goes along with it. As usual, it is grossly misrepresented in the media. When doing exposure therapy, you take it slowly and one step at a time rather than being immediately thrust into a terrifying situation in the name of “exposure.” This type of therapy can be used to treat OCD in conjunction with other therapies.
For my exposure therapy to bees, the first step was to start looking at pictures of them. This used to freak me out. I looked at pictures and used deep breathing techniques to keep myself calm. At first it would only be for about 10 seconds at a time. Then I worked up to longer periods of time. I also listened to sounds of bees buzzing, because the sound is what triggered the panic the most. I watched videos of beekeeping and of people handling bees. Then, I started going outside even when I knew bees would be around.
I still have never actually been stung by a bee, but I can be around them now and not panic. It’s honestly night and day from how it used to be. My fiancé is interested in beekeeping in the future, and because of exposure therapy, now I can be supportive of his wish!
Exposure therapy should never be performed by someone who thinks they can “cure” your phobia by pushing you into an uncomfortable situation. That’s not how it works. You can do DIY exposure therapy yourself using the technique I’ve just described, but as always, I am not a psychiatrist, I’m just an anxious person doing her best.