Are sufferers mentally ill? Not at all. They have learned maladaptive behavior and can unlearn it safely, quickly, affordably. Those people who have phobias, superstitions and maladaptive beliefs cut across all social, economic, emotional and intellectual boundaries. There is no verifiable proof that people who have phobias are superstitious are abnormal in any way, nor do they necessarily carry with them a history of neurotic, maladaptive behavior. They have simply lost control of their minds (they have not lost their minds) and bodily feelings to the extent that they have hindered their ability to handle their actions appropriately. It becomes problematic only if it interferes with their optimum performance in their jobs, relationships or happiness.
Even those with some symptoms should be very cautious about going to a psychiatrist, psychologist or counselor unless he or she is an expert in the field of phobias and anxiety disorders. As it says in KEYING: THE POWER OF POSITIVE FEELINGS: Overcoming Fears, Phobias and Stress, psychotherapy as it is often practiced can be injurious to your mental, emotional and physical health. Psychotherapy is not predictably effective and when it is, the results more often than not do not last.
Why are some therapies considered dangerous? As developed by authors R. Laing, D. Chopra, J. Haley, J. Hillman, G. Wood, T. Szasz, D. Jackson and others, traditional psychotherapy tends to go back into the past, and talk about the problem and hunt for possible “root causes.” This digging into the hurtful past creates physical feelings that are associated with the problem, and they are bad, negative feelings. As Dr. Dossey has said many times, “What you think about you begin to feel, what you feel generates what you do, and what you do creates how you will become.” If you talk about horrible things, you will begin to feel horrible things.
When you practice a part in a play or repeat over and over a piece on the piano, you become more proficient at it. That is called rehearsal, and practice makes permanence. Generally, people have “rehearsed” their phobic feelings so often, and so well, that they do not need any more of it. That is why some therapies can be so detrimental – they only call for more rehearsal.
Pharmacological treatments (that is, drug therapy) also have their drawbacks. Bad side-effects are often exactly the same as the symptoms being treated. When this happens, the practitioner could be treating the side-effects and not the real symptoms.
What does not predictably work?
The following have been found to be controversial treatment modalities:
- Psychotherapy/psychiatry can be dangerous.
- Pharmacological treatment can be dangerous.
- Thinking you are crazy IS dangerous.
- “Trying harder” to just become better can be dangerous.
- Focusing only on the problem doesn’t work… and can also be dangerous.
How can you tell if you have an expert to help you conquer your fear and stress?
Use the same criteria you use for the television repairman. For safety’s sake, it is imperative that the practitioner be a specialist in the field of anxiety disorders, specifically phobias.
A specialist will be able to tell not only what is wrong, but also how he or she is going to treat it, how long it will take (most likely within two or three weeks), and how much it is going to cost. If they cannot tell you those things, they they are not an expert. Do not hire them.
What does work?
Taking the following actions can help get you through any kind of anxiety:
- Do something different – learn to control the mind, body and actions.
- Insist that treatments and techniques are predictable, measurable, brief, easy, safe and affordable – this is the positive approach.
- Have specific treatment goals (making sure they are measurable) and focus beyond the desired results.
- Keying (that is, controlling your feelings) can be used in the present for letting go of past hurts and for the future.
- Refocusing techniques help you control your mind and feelings.
For more information, you can visit the store, call the Stress Management Center/Phobia Institute at (828) 258-1311, or send an e-mail to Dr. Dossey.
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