Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist.
Exposure therapy has been shown to be beneficial when treating PTSD and many other anxiety disorders. Use this guide to exposure therapeutic intervention to focus on the most effective method of relieving symptoms.
Exposure therapy is an effective treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Exposure therapy is regarded as a behavioral therapy for PTSD. This is due to the fact that exposure therapy focuses on acquired behaviors that individuals participate in (most commonly avoidance) in response to circumstances, thoughts, and memories that are seen as unpleasant or anxiety-provoking. For instance, a survivor of rape may avoid relationships and dating out of concern that she would be attacked again.
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Exposure therapy is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) used to treat anxiety disorders such as PTSD. Exposure therapy aims to assist individuals in confronting and overcoming their phobias. Avoidance is one of the most common behaviors that accompany fear. While avoiding terrifying activities, circumstances, or events may temporarily alleviate your dread, it is likely to make matters worse in the long run.
Exposure therapy is an excellent method for breaking avoidance patterns and restoring quality of life!
It is important to understand that this learned avoidance is useful. When a person goes through a traumatic event, he may start to act in ways to stay away from dangerous situations so that he doesn’t have to go through it again.
Also, avoiding things can make PTSD symptoms last longer or even get worse.
Because a person avoids certain situations, thoughts, or feelings, he doesn’t have the chance to learn that they might not be as dangerous as they seem. Also, when a person avoids thoughts, memories, and emotions, he doesn’t give himself enough time to fully process them.
So, the goal of exposure therapy is to help reduce a person’s fear and anxiety, with the ultimate goal of getting rid of avoidance behavior and improving quality of life. This is done by actively facing what a person is afraid of. By facing the things, thoughts, and feelings they are afraid of, a person can learn that anxiety and fear will go away on their own.
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Exposure therapy involves exposing patients to feared stimuli in order to desensitize them to those stimuli. It’s similar to how an animal learns to fear something by being repeatedly exposed to it. By gradually increasing the intensity of exposure, patients learn to tolerate the stimulus without feeling anxious.
The psychologist creates a safe setting in which you can be “exposed” to the feared and actively avoided stimuli. Controlled exposure to your anxieties involving items, activities, circumstances, or memories in a safe atmosphere teaches you to conquer your fear and reduces your avoidance tendencies. Exposure therapy has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of a variety of conditions, including:
Long-term exposure therapy works through two distinct mechanisms. The first is imaginal exposure, which involves exposing the patient to thoughts, memories, and emotions associated with the traumatic incident. The second method is in vivo exposure, in which the patient is exposed to locations associated with the trauma.
If a person has PTSD symptoms connected to a car crash, the therapist may gradually introduce them to places they had avoided, such as the street where the crash occurred,”
The sessions include discussing the traumatic experience and are taped so that patients can listen to them between sessions. Patients may be assigned homework in which they listen to the recordings or visit the avoided locations while keeping a journal of their feelings. In subsequent sessions, the therapist will review the assigned tasks and invite the patient to revisit the traumatic experience.
The recollections of a traumatic incident are unpleasant and stressful, but once patients begin discussing the trauma in the safety of the therapeutic setting , they understand that these are only memories that can no longer harm them. As they continually recall the traumatic experience, the recollections eventually lose their sting.
This phenomenon, known as habituation, is responsible for the effectiveness of sustained exposure therapy.
Habituation occurs when a person becomes accustomed to a a recurrent stimuli. The body cannot maintain a high degree of stress and anxiety for an extended period of time, so if we continue to discuss the traumatic incident or visit a place that produces distress, the body finally learns how to relax.
The purpose of prolonged exposure is not to eliminate uncomfortable ideas and sensations, but to alter the person’s relationship with and response to them,
It is typical to feel worried or anxious at first beginning lengthy exposure, but it becomes easier to manage these symptoms with time and experience.
In Vivo Exposure Therapy Exposure
Under the guidance of a therapist, in vivo exposure refers to the direct confronting of frightened items, activities, or circumstances. A woman with PTSD who fears the place where she was abused, for instance, may be assisted by her therapist in going there and immediately confronting her concerns (as long as it is safe to do so).
Similarly, a person with social anxiety disorder who is afraid of public speaking may be instructed to tackle these anxieties by giving a speech.
Imaginal Exposure
In imaginal exposure, the client is instructed to visualize frightening circumstances or imagery. Imaginal exposure can assist an individual in confronting frightening ideas and memories directly.
Imaginal exposure may also be employed when confronting a fearful event directly is impossible or unsafe.
For instance, it would be unsafe for a combat veteran with PTSD to immediately confront a combat situation again. Consequently, he may be asked to visualize a terrifying military event he encountered.
Interoceptive Exposure
Initially, interoceptive exposure was intended to treat panic disorder. However, evidence suggests that interoceptive exposure may also be effective in the treatment of PTSD. It is intended to help individuals directly confront dreaded physiological symptoms linked with anxiety, such as a rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath. The therapist may assist with this by having the patient hyperventilate briefly, exercise, breathe through a straw, or hold their breath (in a controlled and safe manner).
Extended Exposure
Extended exposure therapy is a combination of the three techniques listed above. It has been discovered that prolonged exposure is quite effective for PTSD patients. 3 It entails an average of 8 to 15 sessions lasting around 90 minutes each.
The components of prolonged exposure treatment are education on trauma and what you will be doing, learning how to manage your breathing (interoceptive exposure), practicing in the actual world (in vivo exposure), and discussing your trauma (imaginal exposure).
What is avoidance and how does it manifest itself? Avoidance is a coping mechanism characterized by the conscious or unconscious avoidance of specific circumstances, places, or people, which can extend to specific scents and sounds.
People tend to avoid these situations due to the emotional or psychological associations with which they have become attached. If you were involved in a tragic accident, you know that driving past the scene will evoke unpleasant and terrifying memories.
Another illustration concerns army veterans with PTSD. It is commonly documented that they have difficulty shopping at supermarkets. This is due to their training and conditioning to avoid tight, limited locations with blind spots.
Exposure therapy has been extensively examined and is regarded as the most outstanding therapy for PTSD patients since it helps them conquer their fears and process their emotions. The objective of exposure therapy is to aggressively confront a person’s phobias or fears. By exposing oneself to feared circumstances, ideas, and emotions in a safe environment, one might learn to distinguish sensations of fear and anxiety from perceived threats. In essence, what is referred to as “emotional processing” allows them to directly experience that their emotions are real, but they are not in danger.
PTSD sufferers will engage in avoidance behaviors, which will deteriorate over time if left untreated. Sadly, this behavior will continue to have a detrimental impact on their quality of life and cause them extreme distress.
Can a PTSD sufferer use exposure therapy as a self help programme?
Yes, and here are some things to consider it you are planning on this option:
Learn as much as possible about PTSD. Learn about its symptoms, the causes of your disorder, and the origins of your behavior. This will be empowering and develop self awareness.
Create a list of the triggers for your anxiety and PTSD. Start slowly and work your way up with very modest exposures while watching your triggers or spending brief time in places that are triggering.
Find a partner for support. Telling someone about your goals helps you stay on track, and they can provide support in hard situations.
Master relaxation techniques—The goal is to expose yourself to the dreaded situation and maintain self-control long enough for your fear to diminish. Learn to control your breathing, engage your mind with controlled thoughts, and repeat mantras that alleviate nervous sensations.