It doesn’t matter whether you are scared of flying, whether you cannot be in the same room as a spider or whether you cannot bear the thought of going anywhere near water, phobias can be debilitating. A phobia isn’t merely a dislike; it is a physical and emotional reaction that is so extreme that it has a negative effect on your life. To make your life better and to try and move forward without a phobia limiting you, try one or more of these techniques.
Desensitize
You can do this by yourself or seek professional help, but by desensitizing yourself to your trigger, you can slowly overcome the sheer terror that you encounter. Desensitizing means that you have to slowly expose yourself to more and more of your trigger. If you have a fear of the dentist, consider heading to a dental office that specializes in helping nervous patients. You can start venturing to the dentist simply to sit in the waiting room and take in the smells, the sights and the sounds. The second visit may have you sat in the chair.
The third visit may have you listening to the drill. And the fourth visit could see you having your teeth checked by a dentist. This can help you to build up your confidence. If at any stage you feel like you need to slow down, you can revisit a step before you move forward.
Go All In
The exact opposite of desensitization is the concept of going all in and flooding your senses with your phobia. The notion is that your body and brain will work out that nothing horrific will happen when you are exposed to your trigger. If you are thrown into a panic at the thought of being near water, you might want to leap into a swimming pool, head out on the open seas, or go scuba diving to immerse yourself in your phobia.
If you’re fearful of spiders, you might want to lock yourself in a small room with a couple of the critters, making your body react initially but then calm down as you realize that the world will not end if you spend time with an eight legged creature.
Small, baby steps can make a huge difference in the long run. You can make yourself a little uncomfortable without becoming overwhelmed.
Use A Support Group
Support groups are useful for people who feel like they cannot confront a phobia alone. Some support groups are powerful as they will have visiting speakers who were once in the same boat as you. It can be encouraging when you can talk to a person who was once running for the hills the moment they saw a pigeon like you do now.
If you are fearful of flying, you can meet up with a group of nervous flyers and attend a specialist day run by airlines to help you overcome your phobia. Run by pilots and cabin crew, you will be taken through a number of talks and exercises, before you find yourself taking a short flight. You might not believe it but these days have a ninety eight per cent success rate.
Overcome Phobias
If you are eager to stop your phobia from dictating your life, follow these strategies and enhance your life for the better.
