George recently challenged himself to touch a dirty shirt from the laundry hamper without washing his hands right after. This was a very big deal for George since his fear of germs is intense. This fear often gets in the way of his daily life and stops him from doing things he wants to do. But George was able to overcome part of this fear by doing something he normally avoids. He was able to challenge his anxious thoughts and discover what he was capable of.
Before completing the exposure activity, George thought that if he touched dirty laundry without washing his hands, he might become sick or feel so dirty that he wouldn’t be able to handle it. During the exposure activity, George did feel very uncomfortable, anxious, and even gross. But after waiting a few minutes without washing his hands, George noticed that the activity was not as scary as he thought, and physically, he felt fine! George realized that he had overestimated how bad it would be to touch something dirty without washing his hands. He realized that touching the dirty shirt would likely not make him sick and that the shirt probably wasn’t too dirty to begin with.
As we have seen, exposure activities can help us face our fears and challenge our anxious thoughts. They can also teach us that a little bit of uncertainty is okay. For example, what if something bad did happen while George was doing the exposure? What if harmful germs did get onto George’s hands after touching the dirty shirt? Would those germs make George sick? Maybe, but we can’t ever know for sure. But by challenging his fear, George realized that it’s ok to not know what will happen if he encounters germs, and if he does end up getting sick, it will likely not be so bad. Even though George already sort of knew all of this, experiencing it by taking steps on his plan of action helped him really believe it.
Exposure activities can help you learn new things about your fears. George learned that touching dirty laundry is not as difficult as he thought it would be. It did not make him sick, and even if some germs did pass onto his hand, George realized he would probably be able to handle it. This does not mean your anxieties and fears will immediately go away after you face them. The more exposures you do, the easier it will be to overcome your fears.
For George, the more he’s able to practice touching things that his anxiety tells him are “dirty”, and the more he’s able to practice NOT washing his hands after, the easier it will be for him to overcome his fear of germs.
