Treating Anxiety With Systematic Desensitization
Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioral therapy used in the field of psychology to help patients successfully conquer phobias and other anxiety disorders. Pioneered by a South African psychiatrist named Joseph Wolpe, this type of therapy treats a patient by gradually exposing him to what he fears. The idea behind this therapy is that the more a patient exposes to his feared object, the more able he becomes to tackle the cause of anxiety and find out how to deal with his feelings.
Systematic desensitization in anxiety treatment is also called “graduated exposure therapy”. Quite understandably, patients must first be trained to calm down and manage their fear before they are actually exposed to the feared object or situation. Once the coping skills have been taught, the patient will then utilize them to respond towards the feared object and try to triumph over tough feelings including anxiety.
As you can imagine, almost all phobia patients have been deliberately trying to avoid the sources of their fears, such as spiders, dogs, snakes or situations like being in a confined space, amongst crowds or in high places. This purposeful escape, however, does not help them conquer their anxieties, and they eventually feel the need to deal with the root cause of their problems.
There are also a group of patients who have tried distraction methods to cope with their anxiety. Distraction methods, as its name may suggest, mostly involve trying addictive behaviors such as drinking alcohol, smoking, or even taking drugs. Traditional medications can be also be used to treat the phobic type of anxiety, but they actually slow down the patients’ minds in order to adjust its exaggerated reaction to the stimuli.
The key to treating anxiety with systematic desensitization is to gradually, rather than quickly, expose the patients to the phobic objects. By being slowly forced to confront what they fear, most patients are able to turn from reconciling, tolerating, to finally accepting the object. If this technique is applied too quickly or without any precaution to the patients, the result can be dangerous or even traumatic.
In anxiety treatment, systematic desensitization is often used along side with some other techniques. These include relaxation methods such as breathing techniques, or reinforcing positive thoughts. Another effective technique is called cognitive reappraisal. In this technique, the patient is required to imagine what will happen when his feared object is right in front of him. After the actual exposure, the patient is asked to compare his overstated imagination against his actual reaction during the exposure. This has proven to produce an astoundingly serene effect on the patient.
Despite its sensitive nature, systematic desensitization is a very safe method for anxiety treatment when applied with professional care. Instead of deliberately avoiding the source of fear, anxiety patients now have an option to shoot straight into the root of their problems. company.
Related posts:
- How to Stop Anxiety and Panic Attacks If you suffer from an anxiety or panic disorder, the most important thing you will want to do is figure...
- Anxiety Attack Treatment It is normal to become frustrated when searching for anxiety attack treatment. A lot of people do not want to...
- Does Your Neighbor Have Social Anxiety Disorder Have you ever known anyone with a social anxiety disorder? Chances are good that if they didn’t tell you that...
- The Root of All Anxiety Attacks is Fear Fear and fear alone is what brings about an anxiety attack. Maybe you are afraid of closed spaces or...
- How to cure anxiety Anxiety is characterized by feelings of apprehension and fear, and can be accompanied by physical symptoms, such as increased heart...
- 4 Natural Products That Can Help You Deal With Anxiety Okay, so you suffer with sever panic or anxiety attacks do you? Well here are some things that will help...
- Can Panic Away Really Stop Anxiety Attacks From Filling Your Life With Fear? If you’ve experienced a panic attack, you know how devastating they can be. You know they can be a vicious...
- Tips on How to Cure Anxiety Attacks Anxiety is not a comfortable or amiable emotion. Everyone has experienced anxiety, in some points of their lives, like before...
- Are you tired of anxiety ruling your life You are not the only one in your street who is suffering with anxiety, sure I don’t know the exact...
- The Truth About Treating Bleeding Hemorrhoids Effectively There are a lot of individuals who have spent a lot of time and taken pricey trips to their general...