One of the most effective therapeutic techniques for a variety of panic issues is exposure therapy (also known as systematic desensitization..) It is particularly helpful for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and phobias.
Working with your therapist, together you create a plan that gradually exposes you to increasing levels of whatever triggers your panic over a period of time. This could be up to a year, depending on your level of fear.
In social anxiety, for example, panic is usually triggered only by social situations. A patient will do a series of “exposures” starting with something very small and basic.
This could be saying “hi” to someone and then walking away. Or it could even be just making eye contact and smiling at somebody you already know.
Then, for the next exposure, the difficulty level will be slightly increased. So, perhaps the task might be to make eye contact and smile, then ask “How are you today?”
This may progress all the way up to starting and maintaining a conversation with a stranger for 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then 15 minutes. It may even eventually progress to flirting with a person you are attracted to or even getting up on stage and delivering a speech to thousands of people.
That’s the power of exposure therapy. It can take you from almost nothing to incredible heights of accomplishment.
The key ingredients are time and feedback.You do the exposure, feel the fear, and maybe you screw up. Then you report that back to the therapist, who helps you feel more confident about repeating the exposure (or moving it up to the next one if you’re successful).
It takes effort, energy, a non-judgmental attitude, and the fortitude to stick with it (even when it feels unbearable) to make these changes. You need to slowly adjust to each level and learn how to deal with the specific problems that arise at each one.
But the rewards are immense!
Here’s an incredibly inspiring video about exposure therapy. It focuses on agoraphobia, but this is the process brought to life:
Did you feel that fear? Even though I’ve never had any problems with elevators or the subway, I felt her fear. I know that feeling. When you blast through it and become the person who says “Are YOU ready?” like she does to the reporter, it’s one of the greatest highs you can experience in your life.
Click here to watch a short video about the ROOT CAUSE of all anxiety.
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