It's Halloween time...Time to Face Your Fears?

Halloween is approaching and it’s one of my absolute favorite holidays. There’s something exciting about scary and spooky things. Though it may be fun to feel fear in these contexts fear can also be an emotion that also can get in the way of most people’s lives. Whether it be some halloween ghoul or the fear of abandonment or even trauma cues that elicit fear in us. When the fear gets to be unhealthy the way fear can negatively affect us can  actually becomes scarier than the fear itself.

So what can we do to help with fear that gets in the way of our functioning?

Working with a therapist trained with Formal or Informal Exposure therapy can help confront you fears and anxieties so you can cope and feel stronger against them. Studies have found that exposure therapy has been helpful for people with severe trauma disorders such as PTSD (APA, 2003). Though it can be frightening to confront difficult anxiety cues there is a strong chance that it will pay off.

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Reference: Exposure Therapy Helps PTSD Victims Overcome Trauma's Debilitating Effects