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How to begin with Exposure homework

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How to begin with Exposure homework

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11226

Hi Katarina108,

Congrats on getting as far along in the program as you have. Great work! Davit has offered some great suggestions and I love how he is very focused on solutions. I encourage you to consider looking for solutions as a way to combat the anxiety you are experiencing.

Also, Dr. Farvolden has given a great response to a similar questions. Check out the Ask the Expert section for more info. The question titled CBT I think will be most helpful to you.

Keep us updated on how you are doing.

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

How well does your partner share your anxiety. Is there a possibility your partner would get up early too so you can still have that time together. Relationships all have compromise. Some unfortunately are one sided even though both contribute equally. Have you talked about if this time change happens? Your not keeping the anxiety to your self are you? Better to remove the trigger than have to live with it.

Davit.

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2

If I start working one hour earlier, it would mean I would not be able to see my partner in the morning, as we have such different working hours. Meaning, as of now, we do not see eachother much due to our schedules, so this one hour in the morning is actually when we can catch up a lot. If I start working earlier, we would not be able to do that, so we would see eachother even less. Which scares me that our relationship would weaken. This thought causes my anxieties. So I guess I should expose myself to it, to release anxiety, or how does this work?

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

Here could be a problem because you have to separate reality from anxiety. Having to get up early could be reality and difficulty doing it real. Still there would be anxiety. Have you tried getting up early to find if it is a real concern. You can use the extra hour in meditation.

Davit

9 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2

Hello,

I am currently in the part of the program where I need to expose myself to events that would usually cause panic attacks. You gave an example of if you are afraid of dogs and similar.

The problem I have with this is that while I am uncomfortable with some situations, for example, I don't like snakes, they do not cause panic attacks. All my anxieties are connected to my thought about "what would happen if it would happen". For example, there is currently a discussion at work that we may start working earlier, which for me would cause a lot of stress and inconvenience as I am afraid (panicking) I would see my partner less and less as a result of this.

So, my question is, how should I handle this with my “exposure work”?

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How to begin with Exposure homework