HOW TO OVERCOME A PHOBIA IN 10 EFFECTIVE STEPS - ARTE - 2025

Overcoming a phobia that prevents achieving goals in life or having a good quality of life is very important. If it is allowed to pass, it can increase its intensity and be more difficult to treat.

It may be that at some point in your life you have felt a great fear of a certain object or situation and that this fear has made it difficult or prevented you from carrying out activities that at that moment you wanted.

For example, it may be that your fear of heights prevented you from riding the Ferris wheel, that the fear of insects prevented you from having a pleasant day in the field or that your fear of needles prevented you from donating blood.

Remember that if you do not treat the problem it may lead to more serious ones such as depression, addiction, family problems, work problems, anxiety attacks, panic attacks…

If the phobia you suffer from is less serious, you can overcome it with the steps that I will explain below.

My advice is that any type of phobia should be treated, since a fear that at first may seem insignificant, over time can grow into a disabling phobia.

Before explaining how to overcome a phobia I will explain what a phobia is and what its symptoms are. This will indirectly help to control and overcome it.

What is a phobia?

A phobia is an anxiety disorder that consists of a feeling of intense, disproportionate and persistent fear in the presence or anticipation of an object, animal or situation that poses little or no real danger to the affected person.

The person who suffers from a phobia is aware of their situation, that is, they know that their fear is excessive and irrational, that it has no logic, but even so they cannot avoid feeling that intense fear when they encounter the feared object or situation.

The severity of phobias can vary, that is, in some people it generates a slight uneasiness while in others the emotional reaction is of such intensity that it generates a great feeling of fear, anxiety attacks and even panic attacks.

These emotional reactions can be triggered by the presence or the mere imagination of what is feared.

For this reason, people who suffer from a phobic disorder try to avoid what scares them at all costs, but when this is not possible and they have to face what they fear, they do so with great fear, discomfort and anxiety.

Types of phobias

People can develop phobias towards anything and towards any situation, so if I began to list all the types of existing phobias I would never end, which is why I am going to mention a few.

There are certain phobias that are more common than others among the population, such as:

• Acrophobia: fear of heights.
• Aerophobia: fear of flying by plane.
• Agoraphobia: fear of open spaces.
• Arachnophobia: fear of spiders.
• Astraphobia: fear of storms.
• Cynophobia: fear of dogs.
• Claustrophobia: fear of closed spaces.
• Dysmorphophobia: fear of physical deformity.
• Entomophobia: fear of insects.
• Social phobia: fear of social situations and interactions.
• Glossophobia: fear of speaking in public.
• Hematophobia: fear of blood.
• Nyctophobia: fear of the dark.
• Nosophobia: fear of getting sick.
• Ophidiophobia: fear of snakes.
• Trypanophobia: fear of needles and injections.
• Etc.

There are also many other types of less common and more striking phobias than the previous ones, such as:

• Anthropophobia: fear of people.
• Autophobia: fear of being alone.
• Carcinophobia: fear of having cancer.
• Catagelphobia: fear of being ridiculed.
• Cleithrophobia: fear of being locked up.
• Coulrophobia: fear of clowns.
• Dentophobia: fear of going to the dentist.
• Emetophobia: fear of vomiting.
• Spectrophobia: fear of specters and ghosts.
• Misophobia: fear of dirt and germs.
• Necrophobia: fear of death.
• Pyrophobia: fear of fire.
• Taphophobia: fear of being buried alive.
• Etc.

What happens when the person encounters what they fear?

As I have said before, the person feels a lot of fear, intense fear, anxiety attacks and, sometimes, panic attacks. To all these reactions are added:

• Acceleration of the heart rate.
• Uncontrol.
• Desire to flee.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Screams.
• Crying
• Stomach ache.
• Affraid to die.
• Catastrophic thoughts.
• Rigidity.
• Feeling short of breath
• Feeling of tightness in the chest.
• Dry mouth
• Excessive sweating
• Tremors
• Etc.

People feel a set of very unpleasant emotions, reactions and feelings that push them to avoid what they fear.

10 steps to overcome a phobia

1-Identify your phobia

The first step in overcoming a phobia is to identify the object or situation you fear.

At first this first step may seem easy, but be careful, as there is usually a lot of confusion. For example: the person may believe that they are afraid of elevators when in reality what they are afraid of is being locked up.

Take the time you need to identify your fear, as this step is key to overcoming your phobia.

2-Talk about what you fear

The fact of talking about your fears with other people has many benefits: it helps you identify your phobia, you vent, you receive advice, you feel supported and protected…

If you don't find the support you need in your closest loved ones, look for a therapy or support group in which you feel comfortable and that will help you improve.

3-Create a hierarchy of fears

I'm sure that within your phobia there are different situations that generate more or less anxiety. For example, if you are afraid of dogs, you may have mild anxiety seeing a dog in the distance and serious anxiety touching it.

What you must do is a hierarchy in which all those different situations that generate fear are found, ordered from least to greatest intensity. Ideally, there should be a minimum of ten situations.

At this point what is intended to be achieved is that you break down your fear into smaller fears that are easier for you to face at first.

4-relax

Performing some type of relaxation exercise can help you deal with your phobia.

This exercise can consist of visualizing a pleasant scene, doing some breathing exercise, meditation… the important thing is that the exercise can be practiced at any time and in a discreet way.

Ideally, before exposing yourself to the feared object, perform this exercise, in this way, it will help you reduce your level of activation and it will be easier for you to face it.

5-Visualize

At this point you must take your hierarchy of fears and expose yourself to the different situations in your imagination, visualizing them progressively.

Start with the first one, that is, the one that generates the least anxiety and begins to imagine yourself in that situation. It is normal that at first you feel some anxiety and tension, but do not worry, little by little it will diminish and you will feel how your muscles relax.

When you've been relaxed for a minute while imagining the first situation on your list, take a break and repeat it again. When you see that you hardly feel anxiety, you can move on to the next situation on your list.

This exercise should be done with all the situations in your hierarchy and its objective is to help you, through your imagination, to lower your activation level, in this way, when you go to face your fears in person you will be calmer.

6-Generate positive thoughts

Thoughts have great power when it comes to making you feel one way or another, so if we modify the thoughts that generate anxiety, insecurity, and fear, the chances are that these emotions will change to more positive ones.

I encourage you to write down on paper those thoughts that arise when you think about the feared situation, and that you turn them into more positive thoughts that you can say to yourself when you face your phobia.

For example, the thought "I can't do it" can turn into "little by little and with effort I can get it."

7-expose yourself to your fears

The time has come for you to put into practice everything you learned in the previous steps and face in person the different situations in your hierarchy, that is, your fears.

As before, you should begin to expose yourself to your fears progressively, for the situation that generates the least anxiety. Don't force yourself, there's no rush. A slow and satisfactory exposure is preferable to a rapid and inadequate one.

When you have exposed yourself to one situation several times and notice that anxiety and fear have decreased considerably, move on to the next.

The objective of the exhibition is that you gradually tolerate the feared object and the associated reactions of anxiety and fear disappear.

8-have healthy habits

For any disorder it is very important that your lifestyle habits are healthy.

Exercise regularly, eat healthy, rest enough hours, avoid the consumption of toxins… All of this affects your well-being.

9-Beware of drug use

Many doctors and psychiatrists prescribe anxiolytics and antidepressants to alleviate the symptoms of some phobias.

The consumption of these drugs should only be done under medical supervision, as improper use of them can cause dependence and unwanted consequences.

10-be patient

To overcome a phobia you have to be patient, since they do not disappear immediately, but take time and effort.

Depending on the severity of the phobia, the treatment can last several weeks or months. The important thing is to make an effort and reinforce all the achievements that one is making.

With patience, effort and desire, you will be able to overcome all your fears.

References

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