Exposure Therapy Doesnât Work That Way
I occasionally encounter well-meaning people who, upon hearing of my anxiety disorder, take it upon themselves to âhelp me face my fears.â They know a little bit about exposure therapy, so they figure that if they just tell me âYou can do it! Itâll be fine!â and throw me into the anxiety-provoking situation, I will conquer my fear.
In case it wasnât clear from the title, that doesnât work. At all. Ever. Do not do this to someone. Real exposure therapy is done gradually and with a trained professional. There is always, always the option to say no/stop without getting in trouble. If the anxious person doesnât have a way out of the situation, itâs not exposure therapy. Itâs throwing someone into the deep end without a life jacket.
read it then read it again
