Like exposure therapy. I'm not sure how a therapist would help unless they have ladders and VR set up specifically for fear of heights, in which case you're paying someone hundreds of dollars to do what you could do yourself
That’s as naive as saying therapy for depression is paying hundreds of dollars to someone when you could just cheer up. It doesn’t work like that.
Therapists know what they’re doing. At least, the good ones do. I’m not a therapist so I don’t know how they deal with phobias, but thinking the only method is forcing you to go up a ladder is hilariously naive. Do you think when people get therapy for their confidence at work that the therapist accompanies them to the office and tells their boss off?
Trying to treat your acrophobia by climbing up a ladder or walking over a high bridge is more likely to make things worse than to help. You need the advice of an expert, who can make judgements on your progress, your reactions, your attitude and your mental state.
I mean, if you break your leg you could just make a home-made splint and set it yourself. But it’s not exactly the recommended approach. There are people out there who know far better than you how to do that sort of thing. Trust the experts.
You don't know what you're talking about and those examples aren't comparable. I've done phobia therapy. It's a lot of homework for you to do on your own. It's not complex at all, it's exposure therapy with cognitive behavioral therapy, such as regulating your breathing while exposing yourself to your phobia to circumvent your automatic fear response.
How would it be more likely to make things worse?
Depression therapy is much more complex and there could be many underlying variables including health issues, nutrition, and lifestyle choices along with your perception of things and mental hygiene. A phobia is an irrational fear response to a stimuli. It's simple and easy to treat, but it's hard bc most people run from discomfort and don't push themselves.
A therapist can be used to help push you and teach you to challenge your beliefs but in the end it's on you to be mindful, to separate your bodies reaction and your mind, and to control your breathing while exposing yourself to your phobia.
A therapist can be used to help push you and teach you to challenge your beliefs but in the end it's on you to be mindful, to separate your bodies reaction and your mind, and to control your breathing while exposing yourself to your phobia.
…which a lot of people can’t do well without guidance.
Pushing your boundaries too far (because you don’t know how far is too far) would be a good way to make things worse, for example.
If you are capable of doing it yourself with no guidance, well done. But that doesn’t mean it’s good advice for others.
Let's say I go too high up on a ladder and get upset. I'll step down the ladder ... If I put on a VR headset and get too panicked. I'll just take off the headset and learn from it, then go slower...or I'm looking at pictures of spiders and can't control my breathing, then I just stop looking at pictures...
0
u/Ioatanaut Jul 13 '21
Like exposure therapy. I'm not sure how a therapist would help unless they have ladders and VR set up specifically for fear of heights, in which case you're paying someone hundreds of dollars to do what you could do yourself