Facing fears and phobiasFacing fears and phobias
All In The Mind
Would you be comfortable with a Huntsman spider crawling on your arm, or a python slithering over your shoulder? Not many of us would, but when this discomfort causes you so much anxiety that it interferes with your daily life – it’s become a phobia. But there is treatment, and virtual reality can assist.
29:06•5 Jan 2020
Facing Fears: How Phobias Take Hold and How Therapy Cuts Them Down to Size
Episode Overview
- Phobias involve intense physical reactions such as racing heart, rapid breathing and a strong urge to flee, going far beyond ordinary fear.
- A fear becomes a phobia when it significantly interferes with daily life or important goals, like travel or relationships.
- Genetic vulnerability, evolution and learned responses from caregivers all play a role in who develops phobias.
- Cognitive behavioural therapy with gradual exposure is presented as the most effective treatment, helping people learn that feared situations are actually safe and manageable.
- Virtual reality and, in some cases, medication can enhance exposure work, but repeated real or realistic experiences are key to lasting change.
“"You can put people in their worst nightmare situations, and if it's a safe place and nothing bad does happen, they'll be fine."”
Ever wondered why a harmless spider can feel more terrifying than oncoming traffic? All In The Mind takes that fear seriously and looks at how it can completely shape a life. Clinical psychologist Corrie Ackland from The Sydney Phobia Clinic talks through what happens in the body when panic hits: "A racing heartbeat and a shallow and quickened breath. Sweaty palms...
and the predominant urge is to run." She explains how everyday fears can harden into phobias that dictate routes you take, trips you avoid and even whether you see loved ones overseas. You’ll hear how virtual reality headsets are used to gently put people in front of their worst fears – from giant pythons to blood tests and bird-filled cages – all while they’re sitting safely in a clinic room.
Corrie explains how repeated, graded exposure can take someone from checking for spiders every time they leave the house to calmly handling a snake in just five sessions. Professor Adam Guastella from the Brain and Mind Centre at Sydney University breaks down why some people develop phobias and others don’t, touching on genetics, biology and learning from family reactions.
He shares that "most phobias don't magically go away" and stresses early treatment, recalling an 80-year-old man who missed promotions, parties and relationships due to social phobia until CBT finally helped him have his first girlfriend. The episode walks through cognitive behavioural therapy step by step, from challenging catastrophic thoughts to exposure work with spiders, heights and confined spaces.
Medication as a "neural enhancer" for therapy is covered briefly, but both guests keep returning to the same message: with the right help and patience, fear can shrink. If anxiety or phobias are quietly calling the shots in your life, this conversation might get you wondering what could change if you stopped running from them.
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