If you search the Internet you will see literally thousands upon thousands of different treatments marketed as a way in which to control and hopefully reduce phobia/anxiety attacks. Once you strip out the bizarre and potentially misleading treatments you are still left with a lot of opportunities to reduce your phobia attacks and anxiety. However, do phobia treatments actually work?
Believe in the treatment
It may sound bizarre, it may sound very straightforward but unless you actually believe in the treatment you are undertaking you have little or no chance of being successful. As we have touched on time and time again, phobias and anxiety are very closely linked to the way in which our brains work and how we think. Therefore, it stands to reason that if we can install a new mindset and a new way of thinking then there is every chance you can beat your phobias and you can beat anxiety. However, you have to believe!
Give it time
We often hear about individuals suffering from mental health conditions who have tried various treatments only to give up and go back to square one. There are situations when a particular treatment may not work for a particular individual but whatever the treatment you need to give it time to work. If you think back to when you first started feeling anxious and were aware of your phobias you will likely appreciate the time it takes for these conditions to reach their dreadful peak. As a consequence, we cannot expect to treat and control phobias and anxiety overnight – it takes time, belief and an ability to look at the wider picture.
Control, control, control
Whether you suffer from phobias or anxiety the underlying fear factor is firmly linked to a fear of losing control (or not being in control). Whether you are driving a car and feel anxious when there is no hard shoulder, you feel concerned in crowds or you have a fear of insects it all boils down to the same situation, a lack of control. Therefore, if you can learn to focus, if you can learn to think positively and control the way your mind is thinking, surely this is a great step forward?
Many mental health issues are based upon the fear of fear itself so one overriding major element of any treatment is to actually identify what you are scared of. The vast majority of phobia and anxiety sufferers are scared of fear itself therefore when they address the fact there is nothing to be scared of, they can start to build their defences and learn to control phobia anxiety. Unfortunately, the vast majority of phobia sufferers will need to learn to live with their phobias for the rest of their lives. However, simple treatments, simple relaxation techniques and a “rewiring of the mind” will ensure that they control their phobias, not their phobias controlling their lives.
Conclusion
You may need to try a number of different phobia/anxiety treatments before you find the one which best suits your personality and your situation. However, whatever treatment you do finally decide to take you will need to believe wholeheartedly in the techniques associated with this treatment. If you don’t believe then what chance have you got of controlling your phobias and your anxiety?
