Cure for phobias?

[onequestion]

Is there a cure fr phobias? Anything at all, i dont care if it scientifically proven, ill try anyhting. Im sure there isnt but ill take a chance.

[rebgirl420]

I dunno but ive been wondering the same thing. Whenever I google it all I get is people trying to sell me tapes and books

[onequestion]

Same. I've got thi stupid fear of bugs and its really starting to get to me. I know the things are harmless but for some reason i cant stop freaking out every time i see one. I guess its a product of evolution and how bugs carry all kinds of diseases.

[rebgirl420]

yeah its a built in response for safety I suppose. But I know what you mean. Its irational but no matter what you do it doesnt go away.

[onequestion]

Ive got this bug upstairs in my room that i tried to kill but then it spazzed out and ran away and i dont know where it is now so now i cant stay in my room. So now im in the living room being an insomniac. Its funny. I would much rather have to fight a lion with my bare hands than have to face that thing again. Im being completely serious by the way about the lion thing.

[ghosty]

get a bug... in a jar (or have someone else do it), then go in a room where the bug cant run away and hide... let the bug loose, and just deal with it, you might freak out at first and get angry, but just sit there, deal with it, accept it, and you'll start to realize there's no real reason to fear it (unless it's a camel spider, those things are fucking huge and scary)... this just coming from the idea that the best way to overcome fears is to face them

[rebgirl420]

psh im the same way! Theres a centipede that rana cross the wall and when John smacked it it fell and ran....I have slept with a can of raid since. However I wont get the fly swatter b/c I dont wanna get that close to it.....

[stinkyattic]

A good therapist can really help you figure out WHY you have that phobia, and eventually work through it.

[birdgirl73]

According to what they've been teaching us in medical psychology/psychopathology, they believe "treatment" is a more accurate word for what can be done for phobias than "cure." Some of the treatments, however, like cognitive behavioral therapy, including desensitization practices, can be very helpful in decreasing the phobias. The best approaches apparently use a combination of meds, behavioral therapy, and other techniques. I've seen clinical psychologists, particularly one on TV on "Dr. Phil" (it was not Dr. Phil himself but one of his advisors, Dr. Lawlis, who is quite respected in this area of Texas) who say they can do some desensitization practices with phobias that, within an hour or less, can result in near cures. I'm not sure if I believe that or not.

The first step in getting treatment would be to call a psychologist or psychiatrist who works with phobias, OneQ.

[chodelow]

I agree with the desensitization idea.

I had/have a fear of hights, but have slowly forced myself into situations that test my boundries with hights and have slowly become accustom being high....no pun intended.

[onequestion]

That desensitizing stuff isnt really true. Ive seen videos on youtube with these peoplethat fear things like pickles and cotton balls and these tv doctors always just throw shitload of whatever theyre scared of at them. They just end up shitting their pants and nobody ens up any better. And im pretty sure I have it becase bugs carried diseases that would kill and i guess darwin gave me a fear of bugs so I wouldnt die of malaria. I dont need some overpaid psychologist to tell me that or make up some suppressed memory that never really happened to make it seem like he is awesome and meake me pay more. And theres no way im ever going on meds unless i have to.

[dylan]

I believe in facing your fears personally, however the first step is truely wanting to overcome them. IMHO, it is a creature's ability to adapt to, and overcome, it's enviroment that causes evolution. If humans feared water or cold or even eating some of the various foods we eat, we as a species would not be as wide spread or versital.

Not to get into a evolutionary debate, but while it may be a valid reason for a phobia, I don't see it as an excuse to fear.

I hope you overcome your fear of bugs because we humans are capable of anything we put our minds to! :thumbsup:

[huh]

i used to be really afraid of bugs. i still am kinda scared of things like spiders but not nearly as much as when i was younger. the thing that works for me is when you see a bug just get pissed and start hitting it with shit. just change your fear of them into anger against them. That damn bug is in YOUR room, you are BIGGER than it. stomp the shit out of it :P

[onequestion]

that sounds like a good idea huh. Im gonna try that next time. Instead of screaming like a little girl next time im just gonna turn that into the hulk and kill that fucker with a big ass history text book.

[MadSativa]

Personaly I think its all in your head and can be broken. I have a phobia of hights so I started jumoing outta planes and climbing things. I still am freaked out of hights but after taking saftey pre cautions i know what to do and for hights you dont look down and grab your berrings first then if you must look down. Its the same with bugs start with little bugs hold em play with em then go to bigger bugs, spiders and snakes same thing start off with non venomus of coars and if you need to work your way through the poisonus snakes then take precutions as well. In some areas of the world people would look at us and be like Pssht spiders...., phsst Hights, their used to scalling trees or mountains with no ropes or anything, or live with predators which can eat em and shit em out before anyone would ever know yet they still live life and swim with the crocadiles, and live next to the tigers. You wont see em doing the shit you see sigfreed and roy doin but they are fearfull yet aware. Some people are afraid to fight even whe some is hurting them or some one around them their are all kinds of phobias. We just have to jump

[birdgirl73]

I agree that phobias can be treated, and Onequestion, you're jumping to an awful lot of conclusions up above mighty quickly. Desensitization, when used properly and under the right circumstances, is very very effective. Don't think that what you've seen on You Tube is what would happen in a clinical setting. It's not. A well-trained psychologist wouldn't begin by throwing bugs at you, and he wouldn't be someone who was going to lead you in the direction of a suppressed memory, either. That's just silly. You also might not want to rule out meds just because you've heard awful stories from others. You're a unique individual with a neurochemistry that might benefit from medicines. Everyone responds differently.

Just don't categorically dismiss the idea of treatment, either therapeutic or medicinal. Both approaches have been very helpful to many people with phobias. At least the ones who want to overcome those phobias. And the first step in doing that is being open-minded about how to make progress toward recovery.

[MadSativa]

bugs do freak me out to especialy when there swarming all over eachother and you cant see anything but more nasty bugs....reminds me of Starship troopers "killem all"

[Labbit]

Emotional Freedom Techniques have a good track record with phobias, and you can learn it for free. Luckily, phobias are one of the easiest things to treat with it, so you probably won't need to seek out someone certified in it.

EFT Provides Impressive Health and Emotional Freedom--New Discovery Often Works Where Nothing Else (http://www.emofree.com/)

[Professor Dan K.]

you could get a pet spider and learn to love him for what he is :greenthumb:

[blowinsmoke]

Ive got this bug upstairs in my room that i tried to kill but then it spazzed out and ran away and i dont know where it is now so now i cant stay in my room. So now im in the living room being an insomniac. Its funny. I would much rather have to fight a lion with my bare hands than have to face that thing again. Im being completely serious by the way about the lion thing.

hahahhaha i agree with this 100%. im more scared of bees then death itself. weird.

[sOcK3y3]

i had nightmares when I was a 1 year and 2 year old of being in space floating and coming to these huge cogs and it was as if I was being forced into this cog, time slowed down during the death of myself and its like a loud noise being pushed into both ears which controlled my movements into the cog, .. sometimes when i see a cog i flashback to those dreams i had.....

funny how the mind works

or maybe jerry springer needs me on his show i dunno :P

[Storm Crow]

My hubby was scared of spiders as a kid. He ended up having to learn a little about them in school. He began reading more about them and somehow he was able to gradually tolerate them. Now at 67, he will scoop them up on a paper and put them outside. (That's SO much of a better reaction than his childhood panic attacks!:D) He still doesn't want them to touch him, but that's a long way from freaking out!

Fear is often based on one thing- lack of knowledge! We fear the unknown. It's that simple. Sometimes, education, combined with slow desensitization is all that is needed to overcome a phobia.

Now fear of some things, rattlesnakes, growling pit bulls, ax murderers, is just plain common sense! It's a pretty basic survival skill to be afraid of such things. Fear of a black widow, is understandable considering it's bite. However, that fear should not send you screaming down the hall. It should just motivate you to take off your shoe and squish the little monster! Fear, resulting in panic, at the sight of a common grass spider, is totally out of proportion!

The problem is not the fear itself, but the level of fear. I work with kids and occasionally, something will frighten one of them. My job then, is to educate and reassure the child. I try to turn what could easily be the seed of a phobia, into a learning experience.

The reaction of an adult to a stimulus (a spider, as an example) often sets how the child will react to that stimulus in the future. If the adult freaks, acts disgusted or displays other strong emotions, the child will often copy that reaction then and in the future. And you know how little kids can sometimes blow things WAY out of proportion??? Well, guess what can happen to that "adopted" reaction!

I hope all of you find your way out of your phobias. A lot of people manage it on their own. If your phobia is really stubborn and you hate it, reread what BirdGirl said. - Granny:hippy:

[Storm Crow]

Couldn't resist- had to add this!

LITANY AGAINST FEAR
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear - From Frank Herbert's Dune Book Series

Granny:hippy:

[Matt the Funk]

Prozac has somehow gotten rid of most of my phobias....I think my phobias were somehow just forgotten and replaced with more general anxiety.