[Miss Laura]

Has anyone done it? What's it like?

It's to help with my social and general anxieties. I'm starting it next year

[Skeezyks]

I haven't done exposure therapy. However here's a link to DocJohn's description of it in PC's archives:

What is Exposure Therapy?

Family therapist, Kati Morton, has a video on her YouTube channel on the subject of exposure therapy. Here's a link to that video in case you haven't already seen it:

[Pookyl]

Originally Posted by Miss Laura

Has anyone done it? What's it like?

It's to help with my social and general anxieties. I'm starting it next year

I’ve done it (actually it’s an ongoing thing) and I’ve found it to be one of the most useful types of therapy.

As an example even though I live close to the city centre I struggle to get on the train for the trip into the city which is 3 train stops duration.

So:
Week 1 homework: sit at the train station away from people and just let the trains go by
Week 2 homework: get on the train. Get off at the next train stop and catch train home.
Repeat week 2 until doing it no longer makes you feel sick.
Week 3 homework: get on train. Get off after one extra train stop.
Repeat and repeat again.

I have high anxiety levels about an awful lot of things. Exposure therapy really has enabled me to do some normal things. It’s also given me hope that one day I might have a normal life.

I don't think I did a very formal form of exposure therapy, but in the past I had a period when I experienced agoraphobia and certain specific phobias (like fear of choking on red meat and fear of going into my basement). All of these fears required exposure practice. My therapist (a great psychologist) gave me direction on what to do for the exposure. It took some time, but I did overcome all of these fears for the most part. There's definitely reason for optimism.

[99fairies]

I have anxiety leaving my house. But after many therapy appointments I started exposure therapy. I can now walk around town, take my kids to school, and drive, which I haven't done in over a year. I still have a lot of anxiety doing these things, but I push through and do it anyway. I just decided to face my fears and not let them control my life.