Health & Wellbeing Scared of flying, or maybe you faint at the

CAN YOU DEAL 
WITH A PHOBIA
BY YOURSELF?
Yes – to an extent. “Trying 
to alleviate your own phobia 
involves understanding what 
the root cause is,” explains 
Laura. “When did it start and 
did something happen in your 
life or environment around 
that time that was traumatic 
or difficult for the age of life 
you were at? You could try 
desensitising yourself through 
self-exposure therapy, 
but I would caution this, 
depending on the root
cause and the emotions
that may arise and
overwhelm your system.” 
Here are some ways to work 
on your phobia by yourself:
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Practice mindfulness 
outside of the moments 
when the phobia source is 
present.
“Build up the skills 
to be present in yourself
and calm,” says Richard. 
“When you find yourself in 
situations where you need 
to be calm, you can tap into 
that skill which has been 
established and practised 
away from the phobia.”
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Use your network.
“Ask 
for support from family and 
friends,” says Tess. “Talk 
about your phobia. Talking 
removes the power from
the fears that take up your 
mental space unnecessarily.”
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Think about how you’d 
rather be.
“People with 
phobias often rehearse 
how they will panic in the 
presence of their phobia 
source,” says Richard.
“They make a prediction
of them losing their mind.
We get better with practise 
and things that are more 
familiar are done more 
automatically. Even when 
they say ‘I hope I don’t 
freak out the next time I see 
a clown’ – when you say 
what you don’t want you 
are still thinking about (and 
practising) the problem.”
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Face smaller fears and 
really acknowledge your progress.
“What 
else scares you?” asks Tess. “Can you do 
something that you find less frightening? 
However small, it doesn’t matter. If you
can overcome one small fear, you’re one 
step closer to overcoming your phobia.”
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Change the picture.
“Create a picture of 
the phobia source in a TV in your mind,” says 
Richard. “Make it clear and specific. Then 
when the picture is built up, begin changing 
it. Move the TV screen further away from
you in your imagination, make the picture 
drain of colour, turn down the volume,
have the screen crackle and glitch.”
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Put pen to paper.
“Write down what your 
phobia means to you, why it scares you so 
much, what you are afraid of,” suggests Tess. 
“Writing is a powerful way to get the
tangle of thoughts out of your head
and get a new perspective on things.”