Locomotoring

Exposure therapy suggests that if you are afraid of spiders, then to get over that fear, spend more time with them! For instance, if I were afraid of spiders, I might photograph spider webs covered by morning dew. I think that exposure therapy works by rightsizing your expectation of the outcome. An anxious brain tends to catastrophize, but in real life, outcomes are not extreme. As you gather experiences through exposure, you rebuild brain circuitry and eventually, you start to lean towards the common outcomes.

If exposure therapy had worked on its own, my travel anxiety would not have existed for decades. I am moderately well trod and have been traveling since I was a kid. It is only recently that I have turned a corner and it has felt like a switch instead of a long winded effort. To see where Schrödinger’s cat fits in, stay tuned…