Tip
1: Face your fears, one step at a time
- Exposure: Gradually and repeatedly facing your fears
With each exposure, you’ll feel more confident and
in control
Climbing up the “fear ladder”
Facing
a fear of dogs: A sample fear ladder
Step
1: Look at pictures of dogs.
Step
2: Watch a video with dogs in it.
Step
3: Look at a dog through a window.
Step
4: Stand across the street from a dog on a belt.
Step
5: Stand 10 feet away from a dog on a belt
Step
6: Stand five feet away from a dog on a belt
Step
7: Stand beside a dog on a belt.
Step
8: Choice a small dog that someone is holding.
Step
9: Choice a larger dog on a belt.
Step
10: Choice a larger dog off belt.
- Make a list
Make
a list of the frightening situations related to your phobia
- Build your fear ladder
Arrange
the items on your list from the least scary to the most scary
- Work your way up the ladder
Start
with the first step. Don’t move on until you start to feel more comfortable
doing it. If at all possible, stay in the situation long enough for your
anxiety to decrease. The longer you expose yourself to the thing you’re afraid
of, the more you’ll get used to it and the less anxious you’ll feel when you
face it the next time. If the situation itself is short (for example, crossing
a bridge), do it over and over again until your anxiety starts to decrease.
Once you’ve done a step on several separate occasions without feeling too much
anxiety, you can move on to the next step. If a step is too hard, break it down
into smaller steps or go slower.
- Practice
It’s important to practice regularly. The more
often you practice, the quicker your progress will be. However, don’t hurry. Go
at a pace that you can manage without feeling overwhelmed. And remember you
will feel uncomfortable and anxious as you face your fears, but the feelings
are only temporary. If you stick with it, the anxiety will fade. Your fears
won’t hurt you.
