For all of you reading this comment: Congrats for the progress toward your goals and the life you want , searching help and information is always the first step!
This is the first time I’ve ever heard exposure therapy explained throughly like this and I realized that I have just re-traumatized myself every time I hastily tried to jump into the deep end first with my fears instead of gradually building up to it. This video might end up being super helpful! Thanks so much!
"Avoidance locks your brain into this cycle of increasing anxiety and then it also prevents you from learning that the things you fear aren't as dangerous as you think." ❤
And 50 years later I still haven’t been able to “go with the horrific out of body experience “! Perhaps if I liked THC (pot) my mind would have enjoyed the trip. I have never enjoyed feeling outside of my body!!
@@ruthmarland835 Have you looked into Ketamine treatments? Maybe they're legal where you are. There are many choices when it comes to using chemicals to help make our belief systems and associations more flexible among other things. The Divine Assembly is a "religion" that has legal protections for it's sincere and safe sacrament takers. Psilocybin is the sacrament, so to say. Breath work can be powerful, also. I wish you luck in your journey. 💜
You are so awesome! I've been a therapist for nearly 25 years and I still enjoy your work and recommend your wonderful videos and lessons for homework and to grow clinicians. You have a gift my friend! Thank you!!
As someone who's been doing exposure therapy and CBT for about 7 months now to overcome panic disorder and agoraphobia, i have to say this video is fantastic.
Algebra is problem solving. Specifically, it is the art of redefining elements of a problem with symbols in order to dissect it, rearrange it into consumable bites/steps and work the problem until you have a solution. X = Face your fears. The rest of the equation is what you bring to the table. Solve for X
It would be taught in the same way. Gradually, with repetition, and against progressively more difficult challenges. Same way we're prepared to learn algebra.
I see this so often with my patients with vertigo, the more they avoid activities that make them dizzy, the more fearful and anxious they become that they are going to have an episode of vertigo. In physical therapy we call them habituation exercises, repeating something over and over to teach the brain that it doesn't need to feel dizzy when performing them.
Wow, this video is such a refreshing take on managing anxiety! It's not about quick fixes or shortcuts, but about embracing a scientifically-backed approach-exposure therapy. The step-by-step guide to facing fears is incredibly empowering. It's reassuring to know that overcoming anxiety is a skill we can all develop with patience and practice. Looking forward to implementing these strategies myself. Thanks for sharing such valuable insights!
Hello, me too! Many dangers associated with road usage. A few things which have helped a lot. My cousin drives trucks. Driving processes. Cab drill when starting driving, making the habit of checking mirrors frequently, having a rubbish bag in the car and cleaning up at traffic lights. Always keeping a four car distance, beneficial discursive thinking like mantras eg: this is possible!, when holding the steering wheel clutching tightly then relaxing in order to feel the hands and arms. First aid training and carrying a first aid kit. Sometimes thinking about driving is worse than driving. I set the intention when I get on the road to be a friend to all road users.
That's where Defensive Driving techniques can come in handy. They can really help you feel more empowered and confident behind the wheel. There are articles, videos, and in-person lessons. You can do it!
You have such a cool, likable personality. I watch your videos for the awesome information AND for your friendly, warm delivery! You're a beacon of hope, my friend. Keep up the great work!
This is one of your best/ most useful videos ever. Thank you, especially for sharing your own specific example with climbing. I have a lot of money fears, which are trickier to ladder but I’ve been taking surfing and diving classes (I’m 41) to help condition my nervous system to fear. I’m teaching myself to feel fear and say “wow, This is exciting!” and keep moving forward (historically, fear paralyzed me/I’d freeze, physically or emotionally or both).
I have a fear of driving, not sure where it came from. I didn't have a bad experience. I have driven for many months at a time when I lived in a smaller city, but struggle now with driving in a larger city since I moved here 5 years ago. Your example really resonated with me. Although you mentioned that climbing is safe, like driving, it does have some (although unlikely) risks. I think I could apply your example to my own fear.
Your story of climbing is my story of driving. I thought I was getting a grip on agaraphobia and now am starting to have anxiety and panic attacks just taking the kids to school when last year I was driving 100 plus miles to trips and back (with some anxiety) but did the DARE response while doing it. Having four kids and between all the mess the last few years, my opportunity to stretch myself in exposure has ent been that often which is why I think now my brain is trying to sabatoge me back into the anxiety loop just driving down the street!
This is awesome I have faced so many times that i couldn't represent myself or talk with somebody who has higher english skills than me, but with this method, im going to face that fear and overcome it this is my zero day for overcome my fear Thank you so much for your very informative video ❤
Love to see you actively implementing your advice. Apart from really concrete examples of how to break down a fear, it provides amazing examples of positive self talk - something I believe many of us here sorely lack. In my head, I struggle to come up with confidently reassuring encouragement. It just sounds fake to me lol. But this video helps so very much. Peace and self love to anyone reading this ❤
Emma your content is my “walking buddy”… the insights you have on anger/anxiety/panic and now 5 steps to start exposure therapy. I will be doing this and look forward to connecting - maybe in a Podcast - in the future. Let me build a bit of an audience so there is something in it for you too.
Great video! As a certified mountain guide with a masters in psychology I can attest to everything she says. Fear is a great motivator so I try to use it to our advantage, hence lots of exposure therapy while building skills. Love the hierarchy idea. Soloing is how I deal with my own anxiety and skill development... and empathy😬 Congrats on dealing with your fear of falling
This is quite inspiring. Many things that cause us anxiety aren't actually dangerous, even though our bodies may respond like it is. What you're doing can actually be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing or make a mistake on your climb, but I'm happy that you persevere and that you're able to overcome your fears of doing it with exposure therapy work. It's still a great example of how exposure therapy can help us with any types of anxiety.
Watched Inside Out 2 this week and loved it ❤️ It reminded me of your anxiety course in many many scenes and I appreciated your channel even more! 😭 Thank you so much for being here and making and sharing your awesome videos! ❤️
I'm having issues driving on the highway, and this video is a reminder that I need to get back to my exposure therapy training. You have a new follower Thanks very much!!!!
Rock climbing is an individual sport. A "competition" (see progress/growth) and development with ones self/personal abilities. Fitting analogy for the work of well being and mental health
I’m actively working on my anxiety around my dogs getting dirty, but this is tough to control or break into small steps to experience and grow used to. Specifically, our grass being ripped up down the mud, and then they’ll get so I can’t let them out. How do I break this down? Anyone else with extreme anxiety and anger around dirt/yard destroyed and their dogs? Thank you. Emma, if you’re reading this, I’ll be signing up for your course. You have helped me far more than my therapist. ❤️
That was very helpful, Emma. I am trying to support my daughter, 28, who has autism and communication difficulties to manage a couple of specific fears and phobias that greatly limit her life. I have heard of exposure therapy but you clarified many points about how to approach a desensitisation programme. It was much more meaningful to see your personal practical example. Thank you - also your climbing is impressive! That is an amazing climbing wall. I wish you lots of rewarding new climbing adventures.
I am so glad i found your channel. I have been struggling with OCD and internal rationalizing over and over. Your techniques, especially the 6-pack, has helped me tremendously. I always was going for the worst possible scenario. I have been working to change my thinking. Just tonight a family member made a comment that would normally have made me spiral into a rationalizing cycle. After a brief moment of trigger, my brain automatically went into the mode of not believing the over generalized comment this person made. It is true that with time and practice, you stop going to the worst scenario, or at the very least you instantly come up with many reasons why what they said isnt true. I cant control another person's opinion, i can only control my response to knowing thats all it is....an opinion. This is the first time ive been able to control my panic that quickly. Thank you so so much.
I fell into anxiety and eventually depression when i went to boarding school, i went from A student to lowest of low i really suffered and the brainfog makes it almost impossible to read and register data into my brain and therefore affecting remembering the data. I have a reading phobia now, i havent read anything in forever, i avoid jobs or anything to do with reading as this causes me to be in that loop of trying to read which causes me immense anxiety which makes the inability even worse. I'll try my best to read even half a page now, even though i have ptsd from the failures in school, i have ptsd to do anything almost
you are very inspirational Emma, thank you for those videos. I have watched the channel for a long time and can honestly say the skills you teach are invaluable!
I don't have a motivation other than not looking weak for being cowardly. I attempted to do this with my fear of public speaking which is severe. I started by just attending a toastmasters meeting with the intent of just watching other people speak. This alone is a big step and caused a great deal of discomfort and physical symptoms. When I entered, I stated that I was just there to observe which they said was ok. Those assurances were quickly overridden when I was repeatedly asked to get up and speak. Each time triggering me more until I was past the point where I could even speak but just short of full paralysis.
That`s proof that exposure therapy works. I have a few friends who climb and I have seen them fall often enough that it stirrs absolutely nothing in me.
The shear fact that she knew she could not be hurt discounts the "hero" status. A term which is overused and dilutes the courageous efforts of our fire fighters, police and war hero's. When you do something you know might actually kill you and still do it...that's heroism.
@@grantadamson3478 I disagree. To me, the definition of heroism is when you are afraid of a thing and you do the thing anyway. Actual threat of death is beside the point. Yes, she prefaced her experience by saying that she was safe, but she was still scared to fall. There is a difference between “knowing” you are safe and “feeling” threatened. Emma acted heroically because she felt scared and she practiced falling anyway.
@@tiller6750 "Definitions of heroism. the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle)" You can choose any definition you like. I prefer to use the correct one. I know people who have served in the military and have had people killed beside them fighting for their country. Those are heroes. Someone rock climbing in a controlled environment no matter how scared "they feel" is not a hero just brave, perhaps. For you, a rock climber can be put in the same category as a war hero. Your choice, but the disrespect to our real hero's is axiomatic. Perhaps you have never been fortunate enough to meet real heroes and I'll bet you have never been shot at. I also think you might be confused between acting bravely and being a hero. Worth investigating on your part.
@@grantadamson3478 it is obvious that you and I came to this video for different reasons. I came to support Emma and you came to troll. I wish you a happy and productive life.
You have already done a video on my biggest fear. Or the thought of death. I had a therapist have me do Aversion therapy for it. And I jumped into it way too fast. And it caused me to develop other fears around it. I have such a hyper-focus on the Gorey Details now it has caused a lot of problems. There are days where I feel like the torment won't ever end.
Emma! Thank you so so so much for this great video! I totally understand the fear of falling while climbing. Just watching people lead climb used to make me nervous. And recently, I’ve been wanting to know more of the details about effective exposure therapy, and how to do it. Fabulous information! Thank you again!
Tried writing down about bathroom and I've found that if I do things that aren't about bathrooms like painting, cleaning perhaps reading, I don't know then it's 2 whereas doing things to do with bathrooms are 10 to 20! I never thought of that thank you!❤
Emma, I have been dealing with this exact fear of lead climbing. I can second-most routes but once I am on the sharp end my fear and anxiety go up tremendously. I have also thrown myself into facing my fears too quickly, becoming more anxious and hard on myself because I couldn't do it. Small steps are key:) Thank you for this lesson.
This was a very informative video! I believe if I didn't have a bad back that the information would have helped me tremendously, but everything I thought would be a boost for me I was reminded of my back. I so hope that everyone will gain some inner strength from this video. 😊
This is so helpful, thank you! It seems like every second person around me has anxiety these days, so I’m keen to keep learning from you helpful ways to be a good friend and support person to them. And to help me with my own fears! Looking forward to watching the rest of the series.
Some say that sharing or talking about your goals is the worst thing you can do. Dr K has some sound reasoning behind the idea of remaining silent about your goals and retaining the energy required to attain those goals. Talking about them gives up that energy. It has worked for me.
Oh, I did that unintentionally. I was panicking every time my face got in the water and had problems with swimming. But I really wanted to swim and liked it. So before swim, I was by the edge of the pool just dunking my head and holding it. Then swim with head under but lift it frequently (every stroke) and after some time I just stopped fearing. It worked really well!
Thank you so much for this video! I've been doing exposure therapy with some success, but these steps make so much sense. My biggest struggle right now is being stuck in traffic. I'm trying to find ways to face that fear in steps, but beyond visualization and watching videos, I don't know what else to do. Actually being stuck in traffic is definitely a 10 for me. Any ideas on how to start lower on the chart?
Maybe I should try this for my fear of traveling to Europe (Paris and England )-I’m in my early 60s, and I’m single, and have never left US. I want to go so much, biggest bucket list item for me. Great video.
I had GAD and I've faced fears every day for 1.5 year and now i feel a lot better, but I've become so afraid of getting sick or something serious because the physical symptoms were so damn hard and rather than feeling empowered i feel mostly weak. I guess i need to work on my confidence for this one
The steps of how to accomplish fighting feelings of anxiety are so helpful. Thank you so much for providing this information online. I’ll be starting my steps today. Thank you!
I ‘d like to see how this could apply to a phobia of sudden loud noises. Like Fireworks, gunshots and even balloons popping. Especially when one has hyperacusis. Sound causing pain in the ears. This fear is a tough one to cure.
Thank you for making this episode around fear of heights and rock climbing. I actually started climbing in 2021 as a way to tackle my fear of heights with some success but nowhere near the mastery I want to achieve. I would love it if you posted regular updates on this specific journey, not just the beginning now and the end when you send babelicious. If you could put together a PDF or course focus on tackling fear of heights using rock climbing, that would be super awesome! Excited to see more rock climbing related content from your channel!
Great content, very helpful. I would add that, if you have anxiety, stop all the caffeine. Month ago i stopped drinking tea it meant to be a little break. 3 days after i felt like 10 000 times better, anxiety dropped from 8/10 to maybe 2. It was just tea... Im still having coffee sometimes which i basicly shouldnt. Another huge help was vitamin b6 and b12. We are all diffrent, but for me giving up on tea and getting vitamin b was life changing. I also couldnt sleep, everything was making me angry as hell, and now its gone! Im sleeping so much better.
It must depend on the reason to do something. My doctor was saying 'you can do this' as she wrote a prescription for a self injected medication. I was definitely not good with injections. So I steel myself and open the needle and uncap the point and realise that i cant do it, recap it and go to bed. All night I'm trying to figure out who I can get to do it for me. Next morning I give myself a stern talking to and do it. I was so amazed that it didnt hurt and proud that I did it. By the end of the course I felt a kind of loss at not having to do it any more. Then covid happened and we needed all those vaccinations and it was a breeze.
This was very helpful thank you. I have a fear of heights and elevators. Face your fears they said. So one time years ago a friend and I went up to the 51 st floor of a building to have lunch on our break from work. I made it to the top, couldn’t eat much because I was so anxious knowing I had to go down again. Told myself I could do this. Positive thoughts. I ended up pacing in the elevator followed by screaming and banging on the door and feeling nauseous. I ran out of the elevator to get some air and calm down. My friend didn’t understand and was shocked at my behaviour. Baby steps right. It takes time and from your wisdom I now know I should have started repetition on lower rise floors repetitively.
hello emma I love your content it’s absolutely so much educational I really wish you can give examples of how people with academic performance / test anxiety could act to fix it
You are amazing. As a teen, I learned to climb up 50 ft, using rope and saddle, in a arboriculture class. It got more difficult to be able to start a chainsaw while up in a tree. As a larger person, though, I quickly learned this was not something I wanted to do, however, because gravity does not favor the heavy body. My body was not a good tree climbing body. Sometimes the parameters of fear are built on reality. A person, for example, afraid of an abusive boss, or parent, should be afraid of them, because further exposure is truly harmful. Maybe this overlaps with good boundary management and better use of your time and energy. At every point in your life, you have to make your best judgement, on your capability and learning. You have to say yes to being afraid, say, of electing a dictator to not vote for one. You are quite right on so much in your videos, when you are afraid of rejection, after being rejected, over and over, there is an inside learning going on about how cruel the world can be to people with perception obstacles from this kind of learning. Others don't have the patience to work around your problems. You may not be the best one to speak about social anxiety, though. The socially anxious usually do not choose to become therapists. I noticed that motherhood does recalibrate your fears, I handled snakes in a museum as a 12 year old volunteer, and I understood their value in the ecology keeping down the rodent population, but while moving a woodpile with my young children, the sight of a copperhead put me into a fight or flight state that not only kept me awake all night, but with a shovel, this ecologically aware person dispatched the snake faster than you can say Jack Robinson.
Identify your fear. Then, write a “fear ladder” to expose yourself to your fear gradually (8:36). Repeat over and over again until your fear decreases (16:55).
I fear being wrongfully charged with a crime again. Even though I wasn't convicted of the charge this time, the devastation it has caused in my life is unbearable. I wake up every morning wishing I was in heaven. 💔 Thank you for your videos, they are helpful and are part of the reason I'm still getting out of bed every day.
I have been watching your videos a lot and they have been helpful! But I would like to know if you are speaking from experience or reading up on these things. Have you personally struggled with anxiety/depression/ocd in the past? Have you overcame it and do you believe it’s possible to truly overcome? I hope that is okay to ask. Thank you such beautiful videos ❤️
its supposed tô be unconfortable but what youre saying means that your exposure is too high on the list.Dont be ashamed to start with the most Basic,dummy level.What i like to think is, imagine that you re teaching a really scared stubborn and lazy child😂 thats your limbic brain
I've been following your vidoes for past couple of months and tbh, they've immensely helped me to get out of my suffering and going ahead in life ❤.I've one humble request, can you make a video on how to get out of such habits which we 've been practised for so long that it becomes very difficult to quit .
Hi Emma, I absolutely love your videos. I really understand exposure therapy, but what if your fear is losing someone? This could be either someone exiting your life from a relationship or a death... it seems like exposure therapy would not work for this. What are your thoughts, or do you already have a video on this? Thank you!
Biggest fear the bathroom; can't move and it's where a very nasty incident took place. I've tried painting it, putting other things in it like washing and boxes to use up the space and still use it and I wash when I can but I have to steel myself to do it and get out as quickly as I can; this with the door open. I'm trying now to alter it again using plants but it isn't working. The memory is still in there no matter what I do.
I have really strong emetophobia, of course I can take the small steps by looking at videos but I’m unsure how to face the fear daily… I think that’s quite unhealthy as well isn’t it? Plus I can’t really control how nauseous I get, to take „little steps“, are there any tips? But thank you very much for the video :)
Can you do a video on a good therapist vs. a lousy therapist? I almost lost my wife to someone who labeled me a Narcissist. I have never met the person.
Interesting, turning anxiety into excitement. I used to think that exposure therapy involves deconditioning of fear by practising some relaxation technique during the exposure.
I don't know if you can answer this or not, but what is the difference between a clinically defined fear of something and just really not liking something to it's core? For me, it's people. I work with people, I go to the store function through life, but I don't like being around people other than my wife and my close friend really. I'll speak in front of a group of people, I've performed, and been fine, but the concept of going out in the crowd, well, I don't like it even though I have done it... Also, good on you for your progress on the wall.
Fear depression and anxiety long standing all of them have just taken their toll and now I'm just doing my time until I can get out of this world. I am on my own completely except for Godand I feel cut off from him but I keep praying always desperate begging but trying to establish a relationship and hope he will help me to make a shred of progress so I can help myself. There are no words for the insane dysfunctional situation I am in and I'm 61. I just want it to be over. I'm not going to unalive myself btw.
I have a severe bug phobia, especially bugs that fly and sting. It has progressively gotten worse each summer. I am a smoker and I need to go outside for cigarettes and it is terrifying when I do that in the summertime, I wear layers of clothes, a hood that is tied up tightly on my head, and gloves, I am scared to even look around. I also think that Im developing OCD alongside dystopia because I make sure I don't smell of anything that the hornets are wasps will find intriguing, and I wear the color white because I read that bugs are not threatened by the color white. I also live in a basement where there is a lot of bugs as well. I cannot stand still inside or outside, I am constantly switching from one foot to the other so nothing crawls on me. My anxiety lessons when it is cloudy or raining out, or when somebody is with me outside. I don't know how to deal with this, this is obviously interfering in my daily life, my quality of life is drastically diminished. I also suffer from depression and other anxiety disorders, physical pain as well. This makes things so much worse. I believe that I am in hell. I have tried therapy over and over again to no avail. I think I've been on every medication there is, antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, nothing seems to help anything I suffer with. I have no idea of the purpose of my existence.
I don’t have any solutions as I’m currently struggling with similar issues. My only suggestion would be to take action to at least make your living space more comfortable whether that be spraying insecticide, sealing cracks/holes, setting traps, spreading essential oils that deter bugs, etc. Make sure to try and get enough sleep bc lack of sleep makes everything so much worse for mental illness. Stay strong.
Thanks, Emma for sharing these techniques. However, I’m not sure if they are effective for my fear of flying. I have a severe fear of aircraft. How can I gradually get exposure to overcome this phobia? I feel nearly dying when the aircraft hit turbulence not to mention heavy turbulence...How can I overcome the fear? It really haunts me.
What if one can't find what matters more than the fear... Suffering from cptsd, fear/survival has been my only motivation all my life, including identifying and getting therapy to treat cptsd. How to override this? Finding something that matters more than comfort?
![ลองสุ่มไอโฟน 990 โกงมั้ย? [ โกงมั้ยครับ ep.101 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfsWe0j492k/mqdefault.jpg)
For all of you reading this comment: Congrats for the progress toward your goals and the life you want , searching help and information is always the first step!
This is the first time I’ve ever heard exposure therapy explained throughly like this and I realized that I have just re-traumatized myself every time I hastily tried to jump into the deep end first with my fears instead of gradually building up to it. This video might end up being super helpful! Thanks so much!
"Avoidance locks your brain into this cycle of increasing anxiety and then it also prevents you from learning that the things you fear aren't as dangerous as you think."
❤
And 50 years later I still haven’t been able to “go with the horrific out of body experience “! Perhaps if I liked THC (pot) my mind would have enjoyed the trip. I have never enjoyed feeling outside of my body!!
@@ruthmarland835 Have you looked into Ketamine treatments? Maybe they're legal where you are. There are many choices when it comes to using chemicals to help make our belief systems and associations more flexible among other things.
The Divine Assembly is a "religion" that has legal protections for it's sincere and safe sacrament takers.
Psilocybin is the sacrament, so to say.
Breath work can be powerful, also.
I wish you luck in your journey. 💜
@@ruthmarland835 I would recommend Magic mushrooms (micro dose?) Or maybe Ketamine.
Lots of luck to you! 🍀
You are so awesome! I've been a therapist for nearly 25 years and I still enjoy your work and recommend your wonderful videos and lessons for homework and to grow clinicians. You have a gift my friend! Thank you!!
As someone who's been doing exposure therapy and CBT for about 7 months now to overcome panic disorder and agoraphobia, i have to say this video is fantastic.
Wish they taught this in school, rather we are taught algebra which I have never used, but this I need every day.
I think they should add this to curriculum.
Algebra is problem solving. Specifically, it is the art of redefining elements of a problem with symbols in order to dissect it, rearrange it into consumable bites/steps and work the problem until you have a solution. X = Face your fears. The rest of the equation is what you bring to the table. Solve for X
Wise comment.
It would be taught in the same way. Gradually, with repetition, and against progressively more difficult challenges. Same way we're prepared to learn algebra.
We try but until someone is ready to learn they won’t pay attention, just like when they are being taught Algebra, etc.
I see this so often with my patients with vertigo, the more they avoid activities that make them dizzy, the more fearful and anxious they become that they are going to have an episode of vertigo. In physical therapy we call them habituation exercises, repeating something over and over to teach the brain that it doesn't need to feel dizzy when performing them.
Nice point that avoidance causes more fear.
Wow, this video is such a refreshing take on managing anxiety! It's not about quick fixes or shortcuts, but about embracing a scientifically-backed approach-exposure therapy. The step-by-step guide to facing fears is incredibly empowering. It's reassuring to know that overcoming anxiety is a skill we can all develop with patience and practice. Looking forward to implementing these strategies myself. Thanks for sharing such valuable insights!
You are a treasure for the world, exactly when i needed it. God bless Emma.
I've been suffering from OCD and driving is one of my fears I have been avoiding. It's really hard because it also involves the safety of others.
I feel this, this is also my main issue.
Hello, me too! Many dangers associated with road usage. A few things which have helped a lot. My cousin drives trucks. Driving processes. Cab drill when starting driving, making the habit of checking mirrors frequently, having a rubbish bag in the car and cleaning up at traffic lights. Always keeping a four car distance, beneficial discursive thinking like mantras eg: this is possible!, when holding the steering wheel clutching tightly then relaxing in order to feel the hands and arms. First aid training and carrying a first aid kit. Sometimes thinking about driving is worse than driving. I set the intention when I get on the road to be a friend to all road users.
I also struggled with this in the past, taking short drives up and down my street and eventually driving around town helped a lot. You got this!
That's where Defensive Driving techniques can come in handy. They can really help you feel more empowered and confident behind the wheel. There are articles, videos, and in-person lessons. You can do it!
Thank you guys, I appreciate your insightful help!
You have such a cool, likable personality. I watch your videos for the awesome information AND for your friendly, warm delivery! You're a beacon of hope, my friend. Keep up the great work!
This is one of your best/ most useful videos ever. Thank you, especially for sharing your own specific example with climbing. I have a lot of money fears, which are trickier to ladder but I’ve been taking surfing and diving classes (I’m 41) to help condition my nervous system to fear. I’m teaching myself to feel fear and say “wow, This is exciting!” and keep moving forward (historically, fear paralyzed me/I’d freeze, physically or emotionally or both).
Those examples you showed of yourself climbing those steps really encouraged me to learn and get pass my fears.
I have a fear of driving, not sure where it came from. I didn't have a bad experience. I have driven for many months at a time when I lived in a smaller city, but struggle now with driving in a larger city since I moved here 5 years ago. Your example really resonated with me. Although you mentioned that climbing is safe, like driving, it does have some (although unlikely) risks. I think I could apply your example to my own fear.
Your story of climbing is my story of driving. I thought I was getting a grip on agaraphobia and now am starting to have anxiety and panic attacks just taking the kids to school when last year I was driving 100 plus miles to trips and back (with some anxiety) but did the DARE response while doing it. Having four kids and between all the mess the last few years, my opportunity to stretch myself in exposure has ent been that often which is why I think now my brain is trying to sabatoge me back into the anxiety loop just driving down the street!
I can relate. I hope you are able to sleep. Lack of sleep and not being able to relax really made things worse, for me.
Hang in there!
💙
Same here! If u find a solution plsxshare here😢
This is awesome
I have faced so many times that i couldn't represent myself or talk with somebody who has higher english skills than me, but with this method, im going to face that fear and overcome it this is my zero day for overcome my fear
Thank you so much for your very informative video ❤
Love to see you actively implementing your advice. Apart from really concrete examples of how to break down a fear, it provides amazing examples of positive self talk - something I believe many of us here sorely lack. In my head, I struggle to come up with confidently reassuring encouragement. It just sounds fake to me lol. But this video helps so very much. Peace and self love to anyone reading this ❤
Emma your content is my “walking buddy”… the insights you have on anger/anxiety/panic and now 5 steps to start exposure therapy. I will be doing this and look forward to connecting - maybe in a Podcast - in the future. Let me build a bit of an audience so there is something in it for you too.
Great video! As a certified mountain guide with a masters in psychology I can attest to everything she says. Fear is a great motivator so I try to use it to our advantage, hence lots of exposure therapy while building skills. Love the hierarchy idea. Soloing is how I deal with my own anxiety and skill development... and empathy😬 Congrats on dealing with your fear of falling
This is quite inspiring. Many things that cause us anxiety aren't actually dangerous, even though our bodies may respond like it is. What you're doing can actually be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing or make a mistake on your climb, but I'm happy that you persevere and that you're able to overcome your fears of doing it with exposure therapy work. It's still a great example of how exposure therapy can help us with any types of anxiety.
Wow!! Thank you. I've bookmarked this video so that I can watch it again and again.
Watched Inside Out 2 this week and loved it ❤️ It reminded me of your anxiety course in many many scenes and I appreciated your channel even more! 😭 Thank you so much for being here and making and sharing your awesome videos! ❤️
I'm having issues driving on the highway, and this video is a reminder that I need to get back to my exposure therapy training. You have a new follower
Thanks very much!!!!
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO 😢❤
Wow Emma, the personal work you did for this video is awesome! The message of it is so true and so important!!
Rock climbing is an individual sport. A "competition" (see progress/growth) and development with ones self/personal abilities. Fitting analogy for the work of well being and mental health
I’m actively working on my anxiety around my dogs getting dirty, but this is tough to control or break into small steps to experience and grow used to. Specifically, our grass being ripped up down the mud, and then they’ll get so I can’t let them out. How do I break this down? Anyone else with extreme anxiety and anger around dirt/yard destroyed and their dogs? Thank you. Emma, if you’re reading this, I’ll be signing up for your course. You have helped me far more than my therapist. ❤️
That was very helpful, Emma. I am trying to support my daughter, 28, who has autism and communication difficulties to manage a couple of specific fears and phobias that greatly limit her life. I have heard of exposure therapy but you clarified many points about how to approach a desensitisation programme. It was much more meaningful to see your personal practical example. Thank you - also your climbing is impressive! That is an amazing climbing wall. I wish you lots of rewarding new climbing adventures.
I am so glad i found your channel. I have been struggling with OCD and internal rationalizing over and over. Your techniques, especially the 6-pack, has helped me tremendously. I always was going for the worst possible scenario. I have been working to change my thinking. Just tonight a family member made a comment that would normally have made me spiral into a rationalizing cycle. After a brief moment of trigger, my brain automatically went into the mode of not believing the over generalized comment this person made. It is true that with time and practice, you stop going to the worst scenario, or at the very least you instantly come up with many reasons why what they said isnt true. I cant control another person's opinion, i can only control my response to knowing thats all it is....an opinion. This is the first time ive been able to control my panic that quickly. Thank you so so much.
I fell into anxiety and eventually depression when i went to boarding school, i went from A student to lowest of low i really suffered and the brainfog makes it almost impossible to read and register data into my brain and therefore affecting remembering the data. I have a reading phobia now, i havent read anything in forever, i avoid jobs or anything to do with reading as this causes me to be in that loop of trying to read which causes me immense anxiety which makes the inability even worse. I'll try my best to read even half a page now, even though i have ptsd from the failures in school, i have ptsd to do anything almost
you are very inspirational Emma, thank you for those videos. I have watched the channel for a long time and can honestly say the skills you teach are invaluable!
I don't have a motivation other than not looking weak for being cowardly. I attempted to do this with my fear of public speaking which is severe. I started by just attending a toastmasters meeting with the intent of just watching other people speak. This alone is a big step and caused a great deal of discomfort and physical symptoms. When I entered, I stated that I was just there to observe which they said was ok. Those assurances were quickly overridden when I was repeatedly asked to get up and speak. Each time triggering me more until I was past the point where I could even speak but just short of full paralysis.
Emma, you are such a HERO! It was so scary watching you fall off the wall!
That`s proof that exposure therapy works. I have a few friends who climb and I have seen them fall often enough that it stirrs absolutely nothing in me.
The shear fact that she knew she could not be hurt discounts the "hero" status. A term which is overused and dilutes the courageous efforts of our fire fighters, police and war hero's. When you do something you know might actually kill you and still do it...that's heroism.
@@grantadamson3478 I disagree. To me, the definition of heroism is when you are afraid of a thing and you do the thing anyway. Actual threat of death is beside the point. Yes, she prefaced her experience by saying that she was safe, but she was still scared to fall. There is a difference between “knowing” you are safe and “feeling” threatened. Emma acted heroically because she felt scared and she practiced falling anyway.
@@tiller6750 "Definitions of heroism. the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle)"
You can choose any definition you like. I prefer to use the correct one.
I know people who have served in the military and have had people killed beside them fighting for their country. Those are heroes.
Someone rock climbing in a controlled environment no matter how scared "they feel" is not a hero just brave, perhaps.
For you, a rock climber can be put in the same category as a war hero. Your choice, but the disrespect to our real hero's is axiomatic.
Perhaps you have never been fortunate enough to meet real heroes and I'll bet you have never been shot at.
I also think you might be confused between acting bravely and being a hero. Worth investigating on your part.
@@grantadamson3478 it is obvious that you and I came to this video for different reasons. I came to support Emma and you came to troll. I wish you a happy and productive life.
You have already done a video on my biggest fear. Or the thought of death. I had a therapist have me do Aversion therapy for it. And I jumped into it way too fast. And it caused me to develop other fears around it. I have such a hyper-focus on the Gorey Details now it has caused a lot of problems. There are days where I feel like the torment won't ever end.
Praying for you to feel peace soon!
Emma! Thank you so so so much for this great video! I totally understand the fear of falling while climbing. Just watching people lead climb used to make me nervous. And recently, I’ve been wanting to know more of the details about effective exposure therapy, and how to do it. Fabulous information! Thank you again!
Tried writing down about bathroom and I've found that if I do things that aren't about bathrooms like painting, cleaning perhaps reading, I don't know then it's 2 whereas doing things to do with bathrooms are 10 to 20! I never thought of that thank you!❤
Emma, I have been dealing with this exact fear of lead climbing. I can second-most routes but once I am on the sharp end my fear and anxiety go up tremendously. I have also thrown myself into facing my fears too quickly, becoming more anxious and hard on myself because I couldn't do it. Small steps are key:) Thank you for this lesson.
This was a very informative video! I believe if I didn't have a bad back that the information would have helped me tremendously, but everything I thought would be a boost for me I was reminded of my back. I so hope that everyone will gain some inner strength from this video. 😊
Thank you for being open about your fears in this and for taking us through what looks like to face them.
This is so helpful, thank you! It seems like every second person around me has anxiety these days, so I’m keen to keep learning from you helpful ways to be a good friend and support person to them. And to help me with my own fears! Looking forward to watching the rest of the series.
Thanks for the video, I am working through exposures for agoraphobia and this is very helpful.
Covid definitely increased both my social anxiety and health anxiety 😩 I wonder how you could do exposure therapy for health anxiety.
th-cam.com/video/Zqx692vcQms/w-d-xo.html
Some say that sharing or talking about your goals is the worst thing you can do. Dr K has some sound reasoning behind the idea of remaining silent about your goals and retaining the energy required to attain those goals. Talking about them gives up that energy. It has worked for me.
Oh, I did that unintentionally. I was panicking every time my face got in the water and had problems with swimming. But I really wanted to swim and liked it. So before swim, I was by the edge of the pool just dunking my head and holding it. Then swim with head under but lift it frequently (every stroke) and after some time I just stopped fearing. It worked really well!
Thank you so much for this video! I've been doing exposure therapy with some success, but these steps make so much sense. My biggest struggle right now is being stuck in traffic. I'm trying to find ways to face that fear in steps, but beyond visualization and watching videos, I don't know what else to do. Actually being stuck in traffic is definitely a 10 for me. Any ideas on how to start lower on the chart?
Maybe I should try this for my fear of traveling to Europe (Paris and England )-I’m in my early 60s, and I’m single, and have never left US. I want to go so much, biggest bucket list item for me. Great video.
I think you should keep your excitement in mind, and aim to make a trip. Good luck!
I had GAD and I've faced fears every day for 1.5 year and now i feel a lot better, but I've become so afraid of getting sick or something serious because the physical symptoms were so damn hard and rather than feeling empowered i feel mostly weak. I guess i need to work on my confidence for this one
The steps of how to accomplish fighting feelings of anxiety are so helpful. Thank you so much for providing this information online. I’ll be starting my steps today.
Thank you!
This is really helpful. You've inspired me to work on my fear of snakes!
Such great advice it's always great to have the reminders about these things .
Eminent consultant , thank you so much for helping us to overcome mentaly related issues.
Excellent video , thank you so much for posting this video
I ‘d like to see how this could apply to a phobia of sudden loud noises. Like Fireworks, gunshots and even balloons popping. Especially when one has hyperacusis. Sound causing pain in the ears. This fear is a tough one to cure.
Thank you for making this episode around fear of heights and rock climbing. I actually started climbing in 2021 as a way to tackle my fear of heights with some success but nowhere near the mastery I want to achieve. I would love it if you posted regular updates on this specific journey, not just the beginning now and the end when you send babelicious. If you could put together a PDF or course focus on tackling fear of heights using rock climbing, that would be super awesome! Excited to see more rock climbing related content from your channel!
Great content, very helpful. I would add that, if you have anxiety, stop all the caffeine. Month ago i stopped drinking tea it meant to be a little break. 3 days after i felt like 10 000 times better, anxiety dropped from 8/10 to maybe 2. It was just tea... Im still having coffee sometimes which i basicly shouldnt. Another huge help was vitamin b6 and b12. We are all diffrent, but for me giving up on tea and getting vitamin b was life changing. I also couldnt sleep, everything was making me angry as hell, and now its gone! Im sleeping so much better.
This is super great and what I needed. Thank you thank you!!
That is such a good illustration of the rock climbing fall.
Thanks for the advice. It aligns with the Bible. Common sense which is missing in many but simple and is accurate.
It must depend on the reason to do something. My doctor was saying 'you can do this' as she wrote a prescription for a self injected medication. I was definitely not good with injections. So I steel myself and open the needle and uncap the point and realise that i cant do it, recap it and go to bed. All night I'm trying to figure out who I can get to do it for me. Next morning I give myself a stern talking to and do it. I was so amazed that it didnt hurt and proud that I did it. By the end of the course I felt a kind of loss at not having to do it any more. Then covid happened and we needed all those vaccinations and it was a breeze.
Anxiety will pass
When? I’m now 61 and have had this since age 12. Please when might that be?
@@ruthmarland835 sorry for my wording, I meant it comes and goes so when it comes it will temporarily pass. For sure though it never truly goes away.
❤ Great information. Thank you. I have kids with anxiety and OCD.
This was very helpful thank you. I have a fear of heights and elevators. Face your fears they said. So one time years ago a friend and I went up to the 51 st floor of a building to have lunch on our break from work. I made it to the top, couldn’t eat much because I was so anxious knowing I had to go down again. Told myself I could do this. Positive thoughts. I ended up pacing in the elevator followed by screaming and banging on the door and feeling nauseous. I ran out of the elevator to get some air and calm down. My friend didn’t understand and was shocked at my behaviour. Baby steps right. It takes time and from your wisdom I now know I should have started repetition on lower rise floors repetitively.
Hi I hope you have been working on this. You can do it. Like you said baby step. 👍🏽💪
Amazing video thank you!!
Very useful. I’m gonna start practicing this approach. Thank you 🙏
Really nice method to rate the fears and to start small 👍
This was so good for me, thank you and good luck on Babe-a-licious 💜
Thank you so much for making this video -- really helpful.
hello emma I love your content it’s absolutely so much educational
I really wish you can give examples of how people with academic performance / test anxiety could act to fix it
You are amazing. As a teen, I learned to climb up 50 ft, using rope and saddle, in a arboriculture class. It got more difficult to be able to start a chainsaw while up in a tree. As a larger person, though, I quickly learned this was not something I wanted to do, however, because gravity does not favor the heavy body. My body was not a good tree climbing body. Sometimes the parameters of fear are built on reality. A person, for example, afraid of an abusive boss, or parent, should be afraid of them, because further exposure is truly harmful. Maybe this overlaps with good boundary management and better use of your time and energy. At every point in your life, you have to make your best judgement, on your capability and learning. You have to say yes to being afraid, say, of electing a dictator to not vote for one. You are quite right on so much in your videos, when you are afraid of rejection, after being rejected, over and over, there is an inside learning going on about how cruel the world can be to people with perception obstacles from this kind of learning. Others don't have the patience to work around your problems. You may not be the best one to speak about social anxiety, though. The socially anxious usually do not choose to become therapists. I noticed that motherhood does recalibrate your fears, I handled snakes in a museum as a 12 year old volunteer, and I understood their value in the ecology keeping down the rodent population, but while moving a woodpile with my young children, the sight of a copperhead put me into a fight or flight state that not only kept me awake all night, but with a shovel, this ecologically aware person dispatched the snake faster than you can say Jack Robinson.
Identify your fear. Then, write a “fear ladder” to expose yourself to your fear gradually (8:36). Repeat over and over again until your fear decreases (16:55).
Woww! You have 4 kids?😮! Dang, you are more amazing than I thought before. I request a video about motherhood! 😍🌹
I fear being wrongfully charged with a crime again. Even though I wasn't convicted of the charge this time, the devastation it has caused in my life is unbearable. I wake up every morning wishing I was in heaven. 💔 Thank you for your videos, they are helpful and are part of the reason I'm still getting out of bed every day.
Well done, Emma!
Great video as always. Can't wait for the last 3. Thanks Emma! ❤
I have been watching your videos a lot and they have been helpful! But I would like to know if you are speaking from experience or reading up on these things. Have you personally struggled with anxiety/depression/ocd in the past? Have you overcame it and do you believe it’s possible to truly overcome? I hope that is okay to ask. Thank you such beautiful videos ❤️
I feel physically ill while trying exposure. I feel dizzy, nauseous and fainting. Its exhausting and extremely difficult.
Can you try to start with something on a lower “rung” activity?
I can so feel you. I have performance anxiety and i feel the same
Yes
its supposed tô be unconfortable but what youre saying means that your exposure is too high on the list.Dont be ashamed to start with the most Basic,dummy level.What i like to think is, imagine that you re teaching a really scared stubborn and lazy child😂 thats your limbic brain
@@COLOFIDUTI Obrigada 👍
Thanks for the lesson
I've been following your vidoes for past couple of months and tbh, they've immensely helped me to get out of my suffering and going ahead in life ❤.I've one humble request, can you make a video on how to get out of such habits which we 've been practised for so long that it becomes very difficult to quit .
Hi Emma, I absolutely love your videos. I really understand exposure therapy, but what if your fear is losing someone? This could be either someone exiting your life from a relationship or a death... it seems like exposure therapy would not work for this. What are your thoughts, or do you already have a video on this? Thank you!
Always great to watch Emma
Thanks for this helpful video!
Thanks, Emma.👍
Biggest fear the bathroom; can't move and it's where a very nasty incident took place. I've tried painting it, putting other things in it like washing and boxes to use up the space and still use it and I wash when I can but I have to steel myself to do it and get out as quickly as I can; this with the door open. I'm trying now to alter it again using plants but it isn't working. The memory is still in there no matter what I do.
Way to go! You should be proud. ❤
I have really strong emetophobia, of course I can take the small steps by looking at videos but I’m unsure how to face the fear daily… I think that’s quite unhealthy as well isn’t it? Plus I can’t really control how nauseous I get, to take „little steps“, are there any tips? But thank you very much for the video :)
Can you do a video on a good therapist vs. a lousy therapist? I almost lost my wife to someone who labeled me a Narcissist. I have never met the person.
Interesting, turning anxiety into excitement. I used to think that exposure therapy involves deconditioning of fear by practising some relaxation technique during the exposure.
This was really motivational
Thanks for this video!
You are totally gracefull
I don't know if you can answer this or not, but what is the difference between a clinically defined fear of something and just really not liking something to it's core? For me, it's people. I work with people, I go to the store function through life, but I don't like being around people other than my wife and my close friend really. I'll speak in front of a group of people, I've performed, and been fine, but the concept of going out in the crowd, well, I don't like it even though I have done it... Also, good on you for your progress on the wall.
@@danielpaulson8838yes! I'm an IFNJ and that sounds totally normal to me
Fear depression and anxiety long standing all of them have just taken their toll and now I'm just doing my time until I can get out of this world. I am on my own completely except for Godand I feel cut off from him but I keep praying always desperate begging but trying to establish a relationship and hope he will help me to make a shred of progress so I can help myself. There are no words for the insane dysfunctional situation I am in and I'm 61. I just want it to be over. I'm not going to unalive myself btw.
Hi what if someone is scared of ghosts and paranormal activity. How do they use exposure therapy?
Hello!
Thank you very much!
And bravo!
I have a severe bug phobia, especially bugs that fly and sting. It has progressively gotten worse each summer. I am a smoker and I need to go outside for cigarettes and it is terrifying when I do that in the summertime, I wear layers of clothes, a hood that is tied up tightly on my head, and gloves, I am scared to even look around. I also think that Im developing OCD alongside dystopia because I make sure I don't smell of anything that the hornets are wasps will find intriguing, and I wear the color white because I read that bugs are not threatened by the color white. I also live in a basement where there is a lot of bugs as well. I cannot stand still inside or outside, I am constantly switching from one foot to the other so nothing crawls on me. My anxiety lessons when it is cloudy or raining out, or when somebody is with me outside. I don't know how to deal with this, this is obviously interfering in my daily life, my quality of life is drastically diminished. I also suffer from depression and other anxiety disorders, physical pain as well. This makes things so much worse. I believe that I am in hell. I have tried therapy over and over again to no avail. I think I've been on every medication there is, antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, nothing seems to help anything I suffer with. I have no idea of the purpose of my existence.
I don’t have any solutions as I’m currently struggling with similar issues. My only suggestion would be to take action to at least make your living space more comfortable whether that be spraying insecticide, sealing cracks/holes, setting traps, spreading essential oils that deter bugs, etc. Make sure to try and get enough sleep bc lack of sleep makes everything so much worse for mental illness. Stay strong.
What to do if my phobia is having insomnia....which i do have and i've been taking a pill to sleep to avoid insomnia when i cant sleep....
Thanks, Emma for sharing these techniques. However, I’m not sure if they are effective for my fear of flying. I have a severe fear of aircraft. How can I gradually get exposure to overcome this phobia? I feel nearly dying when the aircraft hit turbulence not to mention heavy turbulence...How can I overcome the fear? It really haunts me.
What if one can't find what matters more than the fear...
Suffering from cptsd, fear/survival has been my only motivation all my life, including identifying and getting therapy to treat cptsd. How to override this? Finding something that matters more than comfort?
I have generalized anxiety based on the weather, temperature, or air quality, then I fear I won’t sleep. I really need help with this. 🙏