Well now, that sounds interestin' Dude. Good luck with that.
Shrinklady

It's part of the therapy I'm doing.. trying to get over my wasp-phobia (there should be a name for that one!). last week we bought some honey! I think my T was a bit surprised when I suggested we go grocery shopping. But, hey, i keep her on her toes!

Dude

I've always been curious about In Vivo Exposure therapy... how does one determine the worth... like.... for instance... this is not picking on your trip or phobia or issue dude.. just a good example for me... .I don't like bee's.. im not phobic.. but I'm sure not going to a bee farm... lol..... honey isn't an issue.. as long as it's in a jar in the supermarket... lol.... there are bee's outside... sometimes... i won't melt if i see one....

What happens if you see one Dude?

How does one decide when it's necessary to extinguish a phobia/fear through 'In Vivo' exposure therapy? I don't know if any of you watch the show Monk.. but makes me think of him.. he has like hundreds of fears/phobias... it would be impossible to extinguish them all.... so I assume you would choose by what's the most functionally impairing that you encounter often, right?

I have a big fear... sorta phobia I would think. I can't believe I'm admitting this here but I have issues with Cleavers.. I don't even like spelling words that look like it.. such as clever..... Yes, it's directly related to my trauma.. yes, it causes flashbacks.. but not full one ones.. but def. get the very visual images.. but they re more in the background movie reel of my mind (does that make sense?)... it's more body sensation and background film than foreground presence. I can't stand them on TV.. not even in cartoon form but forget real form... I love to cook.. and i love food network but when I see one or mroe of those.... I have problems.. some shows worse than others.. When my last therapist Holly was working with me on my PTSD Trauma processing crap, she did exposure type work with me and she would bring sutff up like tha tbut it wasnt really direct.. it ws more... indirect.. ... neways... I just i magine some therapist thinking in vivo approach might be a good idea..... but is it really? how would you know? If i were going tio be a chef? sure... sorry my writing just went awry.. im nervous! ...

Anyways.. I hope that I'm trying to say makes sense and I can get some feedback here.

Butterfly Warrior

I would think that is a 'phobia' gets in the way of everyday life then it's something worth looking at. For example, in the summer time people often like to eat outdoor. This year I did ok (mostly) with that, but in the past I would refuse to do it in case a bee/wasp came around. I would make any excuse possible to NOT eat outside 9such as it was too hot, the sun was in my eyes etc). Same with gardening, if I saw a wasp/bee I would go inside and lock all the doors and windows so it wouldn't be able to come in. Some times I wouldn't go outside all day because I 'heard' a wasp! I think these extreme behaviours have gotten in the way of 'life' for me.

By the way, the 'bee farm' trip is coming up on tuesday morning! I'm rather anxious. I'm not sure if I can actually get as far as the far without flipping out. We've decided to let the T drive us there (ok, is that pushing the boundaries a bit? but it's also the safest way to do it) Last week we went on a 'field trip' to the grocery store where we bought a jar of honey with a bee on it! Usually I buy the 'noname' yellow carton without pics. on it but wanted to push myself a bit.

- dude

Have you opened the honey with the bee on it???

Good fortune with the trip.. seems quite a leap from the jar to the farm.... you feel ready for that jump?

Iz