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Anxiety Exposure Ladder

mental_health · hard · 20-45 minutes per exposure, 3-5x per week

What is Anxiety Exposure Ladder?

The gold standard treatment for anxiety: gradually face feared situations in a structured hierarchy, starting with the least scary. Each exposure teaches your nervous system that the feared outcome doesn't happen. More effective than medication long-term.

Is there evidence for it?

EVIDENCEstrong

How do you do Anxiety Exposure Ladder?

  1. 1.List everything you avoid because of anxiety, from mildly uncomfortable to terrifying
  2. 2.Rate each item 0-10 on fear level and arrange them in a ladder from lowest to highest
  3. 3.Start with a 3-4 level item. Stay in the situation until your anxiety naturally drops (usually 20-45 minutes)
  4. 4.Repeat the same exposure 3-5 times until it feels boring, then move up the ladder
  5. 5.Key rule: NEVER escape mid-exposure — this reinforces the fear. If you must leave, wait until anxiety drops first

How long does it take?

20-45 minutes per exposure, 3-5x per week.

Is it hard to start?

hard.

Source: CBT exposure therapy, David Barlow (Unified Protocol), NICE Guidelines
anxiety · mental_health · emotional · confidence
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