Understandings from Research
What has been found in research in the last 40 years is that people can learn to overcome their fears through exposure and other behavioural techniques. Exposure can be a very effective way of dealing with anxiety, in the long run. It means that you face up to or expose yourself to those situations, which made you anxious and which you have been avoiding, perhaps for a very long time. The aim is to learn that you can, in fact, cope with these difficult situations and that they are in fact not dangerous.
What is Exposure
Exposure involves entering situation which provoke anxiety and remaining in the situation long enough for the anxiety to subside. It is like re training your mind and body to relearn that the situation will not cause you any harm.
Guidelines for exposure
Graded
Exposure is best applied usually in a graded way. This gives the individual greater control over their treatment. Ensuring the exposure is graded s involves making a list of situations which you find difficult, ranging from "extremely difficult" to "a little difficult", and arrange them in order from most to least difficult. Then start at the least difficult end and go into that situation, more than once, until you feel you can cope with it and the anxiety which arises, then work your way up the list. However some people and sometimes for very specific problems it can be quicker to tackle the most difficult situations first. Your therapist is in the best position to advise you regarding this.
Exposure does however need to be for as long as possible to the situation which provokes anxiety. In general one hour is better than two half hour sessions. the exposure is also best repeated. Once is rarely enough and a general rule of thumb is to carry out the exposure at least once daily until the situation hasn't bothered you for at least one week.
Exposure should therefore be:
- Graded
- Prolonged
- Repeated
