Unlock the Power of Systematic Desensitization

Unlock the power of systematic desensitization. It is a type of behavioral therapy used to treat anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, and a fear of things like snakes or spiders. Nonetheless, the aim of this therapy is to change the way you respond to objects, people, or situations that trigger feelings of fear and anxiety. You will learn coping tools to help you stay relaxed and calm‌.

It’s often difficult to face fears. At the same time, it can be even harder if you have a mental health condition, such as a phobia, anxiety, or panic disorder. Therefore, systematic desensitization can help you overcome your fears at a pace that works for you.

Hence, the goal of this therapy is to help people learn how to remain calm when faced with a situation, object or place that they would normally avoid due to fear.

Not only can systematic desensitization reduce anxiety and symptoms associated with serious mental health conditions, but the principles of this approach can also be utilized by those of us dealing with more common fears. Fears such as a fear of public speaking, flying, dogs or heights.

How Does Desensitization Work?

What to know about systematic desensitization with social anxiety:

You’re a college student with social anxiety. When you think about giving the wrong answer in class or having to ask to use the restroom, you feel sick and your heart races. At any rate, you avoid speaking in class or participating in college activities to avoid embarrassing situations.

When you decide to try systematic desensitization, you determine that talking to someone you don’t know is a level 1 fear. Subsequently, you begin imagining yourself vocally greeting people, practicing deep breathing when you feel anxious, until you can remain calm.

Next, you move on to greeting strangers in real life. After a week of doing this daily, you start to feel more at ease.

Then, you start working on the next fear — making eye contact during conversation. In the same fashion, you work your way through the hierarchy, eventually introducing yourself and nodding along in class. Also, you continue to use deep breathing and muscle relaxation to get through periods of discomfort.

The final level of your fear hierarchy involves sharing in class. It takes a few tries, but eventually you’re able to answer questions in class, though your heart still begins to race once you put your hand up. Then you take a deep breath, release the tension in your muscles, and begin to speak.

What Are the 3 Steps of Systematic Desensitization?

‌Unlock the power of systematic desensitization therapy. This therapy has three main steps. First, you’ll learn ways to relax your muscles. Next, you’ll make a list of your fears and rank them based on how intense your fears are. Lastly, you’ll start exposing yourself to your fear in stages so you get more and more comfortable dealing with it. ‌

Step 1: Deep muscle relaxation techniques. In the first stage of the treatment, people with anxiety and fears are Teaching breathing exercises and muscle relaxation techniques to people. Thus, re laxation techniques are generally these types:

Autogenic relaxation. You repeat words, phrases, or suggestions in your mind that create a feeling of relaxation and calm. Specifically, the repetition in the mind leads to the muscles of your body getting more and more relaxed.

‌Progressive muscle relaxation. You learn to slowly tense and relax each muscle group. At length, you normally start from your toes and work your way up to your neck and head muscles.
‌Visualization. In brief, you imagine a journey to a peaceful and calm situation, place, or setting, like a seashore or a garden. This aids muscle relaxation and feelings of relaxation.

Step 2: Creating a fear hierarchy. In the second stage, you create a list where you write out all your fears and rank them on a scale of 1 to 10. First you list your level-10 fear, which causes you the highest amount of anxiety that you can imagine. Next, you list your level-1 fear, which causes you the least amount of anxiety. Afterwards, you brainstorm the remaining fears and list them in order from 2 to 9.

Once your list is done, you discuss your fears with your therapist and work on exposing yourself to them. Thus, you start from the fear that is the least frightening and work yourself up to your level-10 fear.

Step 3: Working up through the fear scale through exposure. Hence, doing it in two ways accomplishes the process of exposure::

‌In vitro – exposing the patient to imagines of the object of fear in the mind’s eye.
‌In vivo – the patient is actually exposed to the fear.

Meanwhile, a third type of exposure therapy called virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has become popular in recent years. Virtual Reality (VR) technology mimics real-life situations in a computer-generated environment. In a word, virtual reality exposure therapy helps you work through your fears in a safe and controlled place.

What are the Benefits of Desensitization Therapy?

What is systematic desensitization good for when it comes to improving one’s mental and physical health?

In fact, studies suggest that this treatment approach can reduce anxiety symptoms and fear, as well as symptoms tied to chronic stress — such as trouble sleeping, headaches, changes in appetite and muscle tension/pain.

Consequently, one study found that compared to a placebo group, a group of adults with phobias who took part in systematic desensitization treatments. They experienced more significant improvements in behavioral and mental measures including their levels of perceived fear. Thereafter, the treatment groups improved at both post-treatment interviews and at follow-up one month later.

There’s also evidence that various forms of exposure therapy are beneficial for those dealing with symptoms of PTSD.

What are Examples of Desensitization?

Unlock the power of systematic desensitization. Physical desensitizing is something that biologists have long been aware of. Basic training in the armed forces tries to desensitize new recruits to pain. Also, we can desensitize ourselves to the summer heat by turning off the air conditioning, or become desensitized to the cold by walking barefoot in the snow. But using desensitize is more often when talking about negative emotions. By playing video games, parents worry that video games are desensitizng their children. In like manner, soldiers may become desensitized to death on the battlefield. Desensitizing may be natural and desirable under some circumstances, but maybe not so good in others.

Systematic Desensitization vs Exposure Therapy

Unlock the power of systematic desensitization therapy. While systematic desensitization is based on counter conditioning using opposing limitation, exposure therapy uses graded exposure to the stimulus while positively reinforcing tolerance of anxiety, until the anxiety is gradually extinguished (Abramowitz, 1996).

The key difference between systematic desensitization and exposure therapy is that systemic desensitization is a slow graduated process while exposure therapy utilizes more rapid approaches. Hence, the method of conducting the two therapeutic treatment procedures differs. That is, systemic desensitization uses approaches like muscle relaxation, while exposure therapy uses more virtual and interceptive approaches. Moreover, the main limitation of exposure therapy is the shortage of trained experts. On the other hand, during systemic desensitization, the expected result could vary depending on the ability of the individual to imagine the phobia more vividly.

Conclusion

Unlock the power of systematic desensitization therapy. It is a therapy that is evidence-based. When a treatment is evidence-based, it means it’s gone through documented scientific testing and extensive research, and has been shown to be successful. Studies point to the effectiveness of systematic desensitization therapy for anxiety disorders, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder. For example:

‌A combination of anxiety management training and standard exposure (SE) or virtual reality exposure (VRE) treatments was found to be successful in treating 93% of patients who experienced fear of flying. Specifically, all the people who got successful treatment had flown within 6 months after their treatment.

‌Prolonged exposure therapy (systematic desensitization therapy) has been shown to be an effective first-line treatment for veterans and military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder. It also helps with other feelings people may be having such as anger, guilt, depression, and negative health perceptions.