Are you afraid of consequences (such as “people demanding I interact with them” or “being outside and feeling terrified”), or does the thought of going out directly cause fear? Here are a few tips, most useful for the latter:
Train yourself to flinch toward frightening things. Do everything you’re frightened of but not enough that you can’t do it at all. (e.g. tall buildings, roller coasters, horror movies, buying a newspaper, chatting with a neighbor)
Push through your fear. Each time you jump backwards, curl into a little ball and cling to the bedpost, peel yourself away again and put on a sock, tie a shoe, take one more step toward the door. If this works it’ll desensitize you. If the fear doesn’t let up before you can complete the frightening task, give up; it’s causing damage directly, and neglecting food, drink and sleep during that time makes it worse.
Cut up tasks into subtasks you can handle individually.
Find all the things that alleviate your fear and exploit the fuck out of them. Having a friend with me when I go out works for me.
It’s possible to stop a panic attack but it’ll be twice as bad later.
Meds are often cheaper than therapy—pill-pushers see you for shorter sessions, and they can give you samples. I cannot endorse black-market anxiety medication.
Push through your fear. Each time you jump backwards, curl into a little ball and cling to the bedpost, peel yourself away again and put on a sock, tie a shoe, take one more step toward the door. If this works it’ll desensitize you.
From what I read, it seems that the first step in applying desensitization therapy is to master some kind of relaxation technique. Then you put yourself in a (possibly artificial) situations that cause a manageable level of fear and apply the technique until the fear goes away. Maybe simply clenching your teeth and pushing through the fear works too but I suspect it doesn’t count as desensitization in the sense that the word is used in psychotherapy.
I expect the desensitization effect comes from doing frightening things with no consequences that reinforce the fear, and the relaxation and milder situation serve to make that feasible.
Are you afraid of consequences (such as “people demanding I interact with them” or “being outside and feeling terrified”), or does the thought of going out directly cause fear? Here are a few tips, most useful for the latter:
Train yourself to flinch toward frightening things. Do everything you’re frightened of but not enough that you can’t do it at all. (e.g. tall buildings, roller coasters, horror movies, buying a newspaper, chatting with a neighbor)
Push through your fear. Each time you jump backwards, curl into a little ball and cling to the bedpost, peel yourself away again and put on a sock, tie a shoe, take one more step toward the door. If this works it’ll desensitize you. If the fear doesn’t let up before you can complete the frightening task, give up; it’s causing damage directly, and neglecting food, drink and sleep during that time makes it worse.
Cut up tasks into subtasks you can handle individually.
Find all the things that alleviate your fear and exploit the fuck out of them. Having a friend with me when I go out works for me.
It’s possible to stop a panic attack but it’ll be twice as bad later.
Meds are often cheaper than therapy—pill-pushers see you for shorter sessions, and they can give you samples. I cannot endorse black-market anxiety medication.
From what I read, it seems that the first step in applying desensitization therapy is to master some kind of relaxation technique. Then you put yourself in a (possibly artificial) situations that cause a manageable level of fear and apply the technique until the fear goes away. Maybe simply clenching your teeth and pushing through the fear works too but I suspect it doesn’t count as desensitization in the sense that the word is used in psychotherapy.
I expect the desensitization effect comes from doing frightening things with no consequences that reinforce the fear, and the relaxation and milder situation serve to make that feasible.