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.