4 tips to manage a specific phobia

Some practical and simple tips to manage a specific phobia.

In this article we want to bring you our knowledge base to help you solve one of the most problematic and anxious reactions, the phobia.ne of the reactions that can generate the most problems and the most anxiety, the phobia of a specific phobia..

Therefore, we are going to begin by making a more detailed and colloquial description of what is meant by specific phobia. The first step, to separate both words to give him his space.

What do we mean by specific phobia?

First of all, the definition of phobia has a direct relation with the rejection, that is to say, something that is not wanted to perceive since it is felt as something threatening.. This rejection can be experienced emotionally in different ways, either from fear (i.e., generating muscular blocking, cold sweats, pulmonary hyperventilation, tachycardia and panic) or from disgust, which instead of blocking mobilizes the muscles, both to flee from that which generates phobia and to eliminate it.

Fear in the case of phobias is a way of manifesting that we are not capable of confronting that which we reject (phobia of dogs, of elevators, of heights, all generate blocking and the symptoms mentioned above). However, in the disgust reaction there is a feeling of "I can and I must face it", although in many cases the behavior is disproportionate (throwing a stone at a dog) and even inhuman in some points.

Secondly, the term "specific" is used to differentiate between anxiety crises. From psychology, we distinguish not only the physiological-emotional reaction that occurs in anxiety, but what generates it.

In the case of a social phobia, anxiety is related to social interaction and the feeling of being judged; in the case of generalized anxiety, as its name suggests, it is as if there were too many "open fronts", suffering constant worries with different day-to-day issues. And so on with the different anxiety disorders. The "specific" phobia indicates that the reaction of rejection is produced by a concrete element, so the therapy is usually focused on a specific element.Therefore, therapy is usually focused on that element.

Tips for dealing with a specific phobia

Below we offer a series of tips to learn how to deal with a specific phobia that generates a feeling of fear and panic.

1. It is as important to move away as it is to move towards it.

A few days ago I lived an experience that defines this concept very well.. I went with him for a walk along the banks of Zaragoza and we decided to sit down in front of the river with beautiful views. After a few minutes, we saw a rat a few meters away and we watched each other, very still, for a few minutes until we both continued with our routine at a safe distance, the rat did its business and we watched the river.

Shortly after, a boy of about 13 years old approached to see some ducks, and when he saw the rat, at a greater distance than us, he was paralyzed, as if the rat could devour him in a thousand pieces. He told us he was afraid of rats and left with his mother. After a few minutes, he returned with his sister, much smaller, because curiosity finally seduced him to observe the creature, from a distance.

And what most caught my attention was a constant movement of coming one step closer, scrutinizing the rat, then moving two steps away and, once he calmed down, he returned to look around again. Finally, he was able to talk about the rat without feeling fear and only a few meters away from it.

This relationship between fear and curiosity is a natural and very healthy way to be cautious and to learn about what we are afraid of..... Learning to observe from a distance is like telling your brain "don't worry, I know how to handle this".

2. Change emotion, fear to curiosity, curiosity to safety.

Subsequent to this behavioral exercise of approaching and walking away, a bit of introspection, away from that phobia-producing element, comes in handy..

Something very common in people who have phobia is that they recognize that it is irrational and that they should not feel that fear. The introspection through meditation exercises, yoga, writing, drawing... can help to contact that emotional part that reason cannot reach.

By doing it this way, it is as if we could retain in our imagination what generates the phobic reaction, to analyze it in detail and contemplate it calmly. If you do this you will see how, almost automatically, this element makes you feel differently, going from fear to other emotions such as calm, security or even admiration, to experience how you can feel calm in front of the phobic reaction. experience how you can feel calm in the face of what you fear..

In the exercise, you will also observe a change, either in what you write, draw, meditate... parallel to this change of sensation.

3. To admire oneself, to know how to stay calm

One of the healthiest learning is based on knowing that we are already able to face what we fear without the need to eliminate it, the real power. I emphasize this "no need to eliminate" since pathological phobia is always directed at an element that is not a real threat, because if it were, the reaction would be justified.If it were, the reaction would be justified.

Moreover, many patients try to solve the phobia "against the tide", i.e. by trying to expose themselves to the element itself without taking the first steps mentioned (going out on a high balcony and exposing the body in a case of vertigo, exposing oneself to many spiders in a virtual reality exercise, forcing oneself to touch a dog in full panic...), and this is not very advisable, since at the end of the exposure, there is no feeling of satisfaction, but of pure and intense anguish, and this only reinforces the phobia. In this way, the brain understands "next time, I will have to generate more fear". Bad move.

Calmness should be the goalThe goal is to find satisfaction as a solution and to follow curiosity as a method.

4. Allow time for coping.

Realistically, in most phobic situations, the experience does not change in one attempt. (at 13 years of age, brain plasticity allows for a lot of learning in a short time, but later on things change). For this reason, it is interesting to get used to follow this same method and check the changes gradually.

The brain can become active again in the form of a phobia of the same element, but if you have solved it before, you will know what to do next.

Do you want therapeutic support?

As we always recommend, if the situation does not change and the suffering is high, it is time to call a psychology professional to solve the problem. If you are interested in contacting our team of psychologists, you can find more information about us on this page.