Imaginal exposure - This entails closing your eyes and imagining birds or a situation where you are around birds in vivid detail. In vivo exposure - This type of exposure means facing the fear in real life. In this case, you would actually have to be around birds.
It might be helpful to keep a journal, as writing thoughts down makes you process the information more slowly and thoroughly. Recount your earliest fearful memory of birds. Was there a particular experience that triggered a life-long phobia? Were you always afraid of birds? If not, recall some positive or neutral memories you have of birds, before they became a source of anxiety for you.
That they swoop down from above The way they flutter their wings Their gait when walking on the ground A fear of diseases they might carry The way they approach humans looking for food scraps
Draw a picture of a bird Look at black and white photos of a bird Look at color photos of a bird Watch videos of birds without sound Watch videos of birds with sound Look at birds in the backyard with binoculars Sit outside where birds might be Visit a bird exhibit at the zoo or in a pet shop Take part in a controlled bird petting or feeding exhibit Care for a friend’s pet bird
0-3: At zero, you are completely at ease, and at a three, you feel mild anxiety that is noticeable but in no way affecting your functioning. 4-7: At four, the mild anxiety has started to make you slightly uncomfortable, and at seven, you are quite anxious with the feeling beginning to affect your ability to focus and function in the situation. 8-10: At eight, you are very anxious and cannot concentrate due to the exposure, and at ten, you would be on the verge of—or already having—a panic attack.
Graded exposure - This method is much more common and entails slowly making your way up your hierarchy and advancing only as previous rungs of the ladder lose their ability to produce a fearful response. You will typically advance to the next step of your hierarchy when the current one produces a level on your discomfort scale of zero to three. Flooding - This is when the person starts at the top of the hierarchy with the item to which he or she feels the most discomfort. If you are interested in this method, you should probably do it with the direction of a therapist rather than on your own.
You can find more information on how to stay calm during your exposures at How to Calm Down.
Remember that your hierarchy is unique to you. Your phobia may be such that imaginal exposure produces a zero discomfort scale response, whereas someone else may have to start by imagining a cartoon bird because a real one would produce an eight of their scale.
Contextualize the birds by picturing them on the telephone line outside your house or on your back fence. Imagine yourself in the situation, such as at a park with birds twenty feet away. Picture yourself feeding bread to ducks or geese at a local pond. Finally, imagine yourself actually handling the pet bird of a friend. Keep coming back to the imaginal exposure on your hierarchy until it produces a minimal fear response. If your particular hierarchy has watching a video of a bird placed lower than imagining yourself handling a bird, you can still do it in that order. You don’t have to tackle all of the imaginal exposures first if that’s not how your hierarchy is organized. Ask yourself honestly what order makes the most sense for you.
Drawing birds (first rough drawings and small birds and later detailed pictures of larger birds) Looking at photos of birds (first in black and white and then in color) Listening to recorded birdsong Watching videos of birds (first without sound then with sound) Remember to keep a close inventory of your level on your discomfort scale for each step. Your goal is to reduce it to no more than a three (and hopefully a zero) for each virtual bird exposure.
As you begin acclimating to watching the live bird—registering a zero to three discomfort response—then try opening the window through which you’re looking. [18] X Research source
If you find that you run into snags, remember that you can always amend your hierarchy. For instance, maybe being around your friend’s uncaged parrot no longer bothers you, but the thought of handling the large bird still produces an eight on your discomfort scale. Try having the friend accompany you to a pet store and see about holding a much smaller bird, such as a parakeet.
In addition, a therapist can help you learn cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques, in which you will learn how your thought processes reinforce your fear of birds. By doing this, you can be more aware of your fear-inducing (yet irrational) thoughts, and you can cognitively alter them before they produce the fearful response during exposures. [21] X Research source Research has shown that self-exposure is successful, but that therapist-directed exposure is more successful. One study showed that 63 percent of those who did self-exposure maintained their progress while 80 percent of those who had a therapist maintained their progress. [22] X Research source So if you’ve had difficulty overcoming your fear on your own, then make sure you look into therapist-directed methods.
