What are the treatments for cacophobia?

What are the treatments for cacophobia?

People with mild cacophobia may not need treatment. But if the fear causes physical symptoms or affects your life, you should talk to a healthcare provider.

Possible treatments for cacophobia include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT is structured psychotherapy that can help a person understand and control thoughts and emotions. This talk therapy can help people unlearn negative thoughts that happen when they think about or encounter ugliness. One type of CBT is dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). With DBT, a therapist asks the person to think about something ugly and then half-smile. Over time, this may change the emotions associated with perceived ugliness.
• Exposure therapy: Exposure therapy, sometimes called desensitization, helps people confront their fears. The therapy exposes a person to things they fear — gradually, over time, in a controlled environment. Exposure therapy starts with something less scary, like a picture of something mildly ugly. Through increased exposure, people can learn to manage cacophobia.
• Hypnotherapy: Hypnotherapy can put a person in a trance-like but focused state. A person under hypnosis is more open to suggestions and change. A hypnotist may be able to convince a hypnotized person that something they thought was ugly is not. Or perhaps the hypnotist can convince the person that ugliness is not to be feared.
• Medications: Antianxiety medications can lessen anxiety and its symptoms. The drugs are not a cure for cacophobia. But they can help people face certain situations when necessary.