For many years psychologists have solved a specific fear very simply, by exposing yourself to it: let a spider crawl on your hand ten times and you will be less afraid of spiders, this idea. But now something strange turns out: exposure to one fear could solve the other too.
Until now it has always been taken for granted that different exposure therapies, as it is called in good English, were needed to treat different fears. But according to the psychologists of Ruhr University in Bochum so this is not necessarily the case. They treated fifty people who were afraid of heights and spiders. Normally they would have been exposed to high altitude on one side and spiders on the other, but now only the fear of spiders was treated. Surprisingly, their fear of heights decreased just as quickly afterward.
Multiple fears
How is it possible? “Fear rarely comes alone,” explains lead researcher Iris Kodzaga. “Patients who have one particular fear often develop another.” The most effective treatment method is exposure, preferably in small steps, so first you look at a spider, then you touch it, and finally you let it crawl on you. By directly confronting people with their fear with the help of a psychologist, they learn to overcome it.
Figures on fear
According to research conducted by the Trimbos Institute between 2019 and 2022, as many as 15% of Dutch adults suffer from an anxiety disorder. This represents almost 2 million people who had one or more anxiety disorders in the twelve months preceding the study. 19.4% of women suffered from it, compared to 11% of men. People over 65 were less likely to be anxious, compared to other age categories. Specific phobias, such as those of spiders or diseases, were the most common, followed by social phobia. The study was also conducted ten years ago. During that time, the number of anxiety disorders increased. For example, the number of people with social phobia increased from 3.8 to 6%.
On the church bell tower
“For a long time, it was believed that if someone had multiple fears, they should also undergo multiple therapies, targeting each specific fear,” Kodzaga says. But it could be different. The researchers measured the fear of spiders and height of the fifty test subjects before and after treatment, focusing on the fear of spiders. Using questionnaires, they asked the subjects themselves what their fears were, but also observed how close they dared to get to spiders, for example, or how high they dared climb a church tower.
The result was clear and evident: both fears diminished. Fear of heights even decreased by an average of 15% after exposure to spiders. “This discovery offers new perspectives for effective treatment of phobias,” says Kodzaga regarding the usefulness of the study. “It could mean rethinking treatment methods and potentially developing more universal treatments.”
Believe in yourself
The question of course is how it is possible for one fear to disappear with another. It doesn’t actually make any sense that looking at spiders is less scary than heights. “The overall effect could result from an increase in self-efficacy as a result of exposure therapy,” the researcher said. “But it may also be that the fear of spiders and the fear of heights have a common basis that we don’t yet know. More research is needed to find out.”
What is self-efficacy?
Self-efficacy is related to self-confidence, but slightly different. It’s more about someone who assumes they can influence their environment in a positive way. Your self-efficacy increases if, for example, you can complete a complicated task or solve a problem. Overcoming your fear is also on this list: If you can stop being afraid of spiders, you might even be able to be less afraid of climbing the church tower.
2024-01-15 14:50:31
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