#exposure-therapy

#exposure-therapy

When someone has had an experience or series of experiences wherein they were powerless, that sense of helplessness can get stamped onto their perceptions. Psychologists have known this for decades. As early as 1967, an experiment subjected dogs to repeated shocks in such a way that the dogs could not predict when they would be shocked (Overmier and Seligman, 1967). Over time, the creatures simply accepted the shocks and became docile.

Let's assume you're afraid of spiders. You see a behavioral psychologist, and you tell her that you want to overcome your fear of spiders (arachnophobia). The psychologist will guide you through a series of steps, where in each step, you will have increasing exposure to your fear until you learn to live with it or overcome it.