How is acrophobia treated?

How is acrophobia treated?

Acrophobia can usually be treated with psychological treatment (psychotherapy) such as exposure therapy, virtual reality exposure therapy and/or cognitive behavioral therapy. Sometimes people need medications that temporarily relieve symptoms of fear and anxiety to cope with fear while they are participating in therapy.

Exposure therapy: Exposure therapy is a common form of psychological treatment used to treat specific phobias. People with phobias usually avoid situations that involve the thing they are afraid of. Because of this, they aren’t able to learn that they can manage their fear when presented with their specific phobia or that their feared outcomes often do not happen. Therapists and psychologists use exposure therapy for people who have a phobia to slowly encourage them to enter situations that cause them anxiety, and to try to stay in that situation so that they can learn to cope.

Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET): Virtual reality exposure therapy is a type of psychological treatment that uses technology to show the person realistic — but fake — situations to help them cope with stressful and anxiety-inducing situations. If you have acrophobia, you may use a virtual reality (VR) headset that will show you simulations of situations that involve heights. This way, you can be exposed to heights in a way that’s completely safe and feels, real but isn’t. Research has shown that virtual reality exposure therapy is effective in treating acrophobia.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT is a form of psychological treatment. Through talking and asking questions, your therapist or psychologist helps you gain a different perspective. As a result, you learn to respond better to and cope with the stress and anxiety you feel when you are exposed to things that cause you fear.