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The basic principle of exposure therapy is that one will become less fearful of a person, object or event if they are exposed to it frequently and regularly. Essentially, the goal of this intervention is to desensitize the person to the feared stimulus by habituating to it through repeated exposure. For example, if a man has a phobia of rats, the exposure would be to purposely and repeatedly spend time with rats until the man's fear is eliminated or reduced to a manageable level.

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Simply put, exposure therapy helps to reduce anxiety. How does it work?

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First, the client discovers that, by doing exposures, the feared person, object or event almost never causes harm. The person who touches light switches without washing afterward discovers over time that they don’t get sick and die. Those with Social Anxiety learn that people at the grocery store don’t actually respond as if he or she is stupid or ugly. The woman with BDD discovers that people are not pointing at her in disgust. And the man who has fear of rats learns that he doesn’t get bitten.

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The second benefit of exposure interventions is that the individual learns that, if they don’t do their usual compulsive or avoidant behavior, the anxiety almost always decreases all by itself. If the individual who is afraid of germs touches light switches without then washing their hands, they will at first experience some anxiety. But that anxiety eventually goes away – and almost always for a longer period of time than if they had washed their hands. They also discover that the behavior offers only short-term relief. Similarly, if a person with BDD goes out without their usual camouflage of wearing all black, their initial anxiety will decrease over time – again, often for longer than if they had worn all black.

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The third benefit of exposure interventions is by dispelling the notion that even if a feared object or event actually does come in contact with them, it is not necessarily catastrophic. Everyone gets sick sometimes, and everyone is negatively evaluated at some time or another. At the same time, some people do actually experience panic attacks, and rats do occasionally bite. But if these events do occur or contact is made with these objects, they have an opportunity to learn that it isn’t as bad as they thought. 

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The fourth, and perhaps most beneficial reason for using exposures, is that the individual learns that they are capable of tolerating the anxiety that they have avoided for so long. Those suffering with anxiety often spend years with negative feelings and avoidant behaviors in an effort to avoid the aversive effects of anxiety. In truth, the fear of anxiety is the cornerstone of all anxiety-based conditions. When a person does repeated exposures, without responding to the accompanying anxiety with avoidant behaviors, they learn that they are far more able to tolerate this stimuli than they realized. What they thought would be intolerable ended up being much more tolerable after all. Not that ideal an outcome of course, but hardly intolerable.

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People who don’t have high levels of anxiety may have a hard time understanding just how horrifying the idea of exposures can be to an individual who has spent years avoiding the very thing the therapist is asking them to face. But to those with anxiety, this fear can control them and considerably decrease their quality of life. In facing fears head on, clients will learn these four valuable benefits to help change their life from that of anxiety, avoidance, and dread, to one that they can choose to live on their own terms.