You can frequently cure them with pills and a truly slight bit of effort!
Propranolol, a beta blocker that has been in use since the 60s mostly for blood pressure control, has few notable negative side effects, but it has the absolutely -lovely- side effect of blocking fear signals from the amygdala if you have the stones to expose yourself to your triggers while taking it. This exposure coupled with a totally not over-reacting nervous system, can mostly or totally cure phobias.
I watched a documentary about it, where they used it solely in conjunction with exposure therapy (not constantly taking the med), and they had amazing results on common fears like spiders and heights. I realized I had an old prescription, and went “well fuck, why not try to cure my social anxiety? That’s basically a phobia, anyway!” And so I started taking it again instead of the med I was on for blood pressure. The effect happens at doses too low to be noticeable if you don’t need the pressure reduction, but it also works when you have blood pressure doses.
Anyway after about a month of taking it and living life as normal I realized yep, it worked. I don’t panic about going out anymore.
So hey, if you have an irrational fear of something, talk to your doctor.
Here is a probably biased bit of info about it and how it works (it was the best I could find without doing tons of digging for the specific study on phobias, which used 40mg), direct from the people who make it.
Can confirm. I was given it to help with a medication known for spiking anxiety during the initial doses. Not only did my anxiety not increase, I was better able to do things I was usually reluctant to do because of stress or anxiety. It’s like I just didn’t care as much.
The major downside for me was lower blood pressure than normal, so I got dizzy easily if I stood up too fast.
Fun fact about phobias!
You can frequently cure them with pills and a truly slight bit of effort!
Propranolol, a beta blocker that has been in use since the 60s mostly for blood pressure control, has few notable negative side effects, but it has the absolutely -lovely- side effect of blocking fear signals from the amygdala if you have the stones to expose yourself to your triggers while taking it. This exposure coupled with a totally not over-reacting nervous system, can mostly or totally cure phobias.
I watched a documentary about it, where they used it solely in conjunction with exposure therapy (not constantly taking the med), and they had amazing results on common fears like spiders and heights. I realized I had an old prescription, and went “well fuck, why not try to cure my social anxiety? That’s basically a phobia, anyway!” And so I started taking it again instead of the med I was on for blood pressure. The effect happens at doses too low to be noticeable if you don’t need the pressure reduction, but it also works when you have blood pressure doses.
Anyway after about a month of taking it and living life as normal I realized yep, it worked. I don’t panic about going out anymore.
So hey, if you have an irrational fear of something, talk to your doctor.
Here is a probably biased bit of info about it and how it works (it was the best I could find without doing tons of digging for the specific study on phobias, which used 40mg), direct from the people who make it.
https://propranolol.com/propranolol-for-anxiety/
Can confirm. I was given it to help with a medication known for spiking anxiety during the initial doses. Not only did my anxiety not increase, I was better able to do things I was usually reluctant to do because of stress or anxiety. It’s like I just didn’t care as much.
The major downside for me was lower blood pressure than normal, so I got dizzy easily if I stood up too fast.