When a fear is irrational, life-limiting, and triggers excessive avoidance behaviors, it may rise to the level of a clinically diagnosable phobia that requires treatment to prevent it from disrupting your life. With the right combination of treatment, however, you can face—and overcome—your biggest fears.
Exposure therapy helps break the fear-avoidance cycle by exposing and desensitizing you to the source of your fear in a safe therapeutic environment.
A specific phobia is an intense and irrational fear of a specified object or situation, such as spiders or needles.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps people learn how to identify and change the destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on their behavior and emotions.