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Reviewed By: Melinda Ratini,
SOURCES: 2009 Medical Reference from Medstar Television. Thomas Fernsler, DEd, University of Delaware, Newark. Robert Simons, PhD, University of Delaware, Newark.
© 1999-2011 Medstar Television
Do you fear crawly…creepy…pointy? Or maybe it's thirteen that gives you the willies!
Most people who are triskaidekaphobic, which is fear of the number 13, will point to the time of the Last Supper and the crucifixion of Christ as the beginnings of this superstition.
As phobias go, triskaidekaphobia (TRISS cuh DECK uh PHOE bee uh) is pretty rare.
I have never in 35 years seen a patient with that particular phobia.
But Doctor Simons (SY munz) has helped many people regain control of lives imprisoned by more mainstream phobias.
People that have phobias avoid anything to do with, you know, the phobic object or situation or environment.
Whether you can't cross a bridge or handle a snake, the way to shake the phobia can be scary, too.
You've got to do the exposure. You've gotta get, you've gotta stop people from avoiding the situation and you've gotta expose people to successes.
That's right... Expose yourself to the thing you dread. Which means not spending time in a therapist's office.
You're not going to get better in the office. If you could get better in the office, you would have gotten better already.
As for foiling a phobia, the doctor says gradual steps work.
And if it's done that way with real behavioral, homeworky kinds of things, people get better.
It's a hands-on way to transform a debilitating phobia into a manageable fear. For WebMD, I'm Damon Meharg.
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