How to overcome phobias in reality and in dreams

Each of us has some kind of irrational fears that can ruin our mood: fear of spiders, dogs, fires, clowns - there are a great many phobias. To get rid of fear, you can use different methods, for example, gradually draw closer to the object of the phobia, and more recently, scientists have found that you can fight your fears even in a dream.

It is much easier to acquire fear than to get rid of it. For example, you once saw a person drowning, and all your life do not come close to the water, or in childhood you were bitten by a neighbor's dog, and now you are afraid of even the smallest dogs. Not fatal, but very unpleasant.

So, if you have some kind of phobia, it is quite possible to get rid of it on your own, and for this you can use different techniques, both proven and new.

Approaching the object

Typically, this method is used to relieve the effects of severe stress and rid a person of irrational fears. The essence of the method is that the patient slowly approaches the object of his fear.

For example, if he is afraid of spiders, he is first shown images of spiders in a calm environment, then they show a spider in a jar, from which he cannot get out. When a patient gets used to a spider in a jar, they put a spider on his arm with a thick glove, and when this does not make him afraid, on his bare hand.

In principle, this way you can get rid of any phobia: first the images, then the gradual addiction, and you're done. But recently, scientists have identified another method that can change the accepted techniques: getting rid of fear during sleep.

Dream of fear

A study on conquering fear in sleep was conducted by neurologist Jay Gottfried. The participants in the experiment were shown two portraits of strangers. During the display of the portraits, the participants were shocked with a weak electrical shock, so that, in the end, just showing the portrait was enough to make them feel afraid.

In addition to showing the portraits, the scientists accompanied each of them with a certain scent: during the showing of one portrait, it smelled of a rose, during the second - of lemon. So the participants developed a habit of being afraid not only of portraits, but also of these smells.

After that, the participants were to sleep in the laboratory. During the deep sleep phase, the scientists spread the smell of a rose in the room, but the participants in the experiment were not told this.

Upon awakening, the scientists re-checked the participants' reactions to the portraits, and it turned out that the fear reaction to the portrait, which smelled of a rose, completely disappeared, while the fear in relation to the "lemon" portrait remained.

Sleep and memory

Scientists believe that sleep plays a key role in retaining memories, and during sleep, the brain decides which events of the day to remember and which to forget.

After the experiment, scientists suggested that during sleep there is a period in which memory seems to be rebooted, erasing all unnecessary emotions about a particular subject.

But how can we use this in real life, because not all our fears are associated with smells? You can try to combine the two methods, the established and the new, into one.

Closeness and sleep

You've probably noticed that facts from reality often penetrate a dream, and if something has impressed you the day before, it will most likely penetrate into the subconscious and dream.

So, to induce a dream with the desired pictures, you can apply the visualization technique. Before going to bed, you need to look at information on the topic of fear - pictures, videos, read the information and delve into the topic. This method is mixed with exposure techniques, when a person approaches the object of his fear.

You do not necessarily remember your dreams, but the participants in the experiment also did not remember what they smelled during sleep, nevertheless, their fear of the portrait disappeared. Have you ever noticed that after you get enough sleep, your mood improves, and yesterday's emotional problems recede into the background or do not seem to be problems anymore?

So, if you dream about an object of fears, there is a chance that a “reset” of emotions will occur in the brain, and the phobia will disappear.

If you have your own ways of dealing with phobias and petty fears, please share in the comments.