Deep breathing Progressive muscle relaxation Meditation Listening to soothing music Wrapping yourself in a security blanket Retreating to a “safe place” in your house
For example, least frightening on your list might be listening to a recording of a thunder storm, while the most frightening on your list might be to stand by a window inside of your home and watch a real thunder storm.
For example, if your lowest ranked item was listening to a recording of a thunder storm, then you could start by listening to recordings of storms. This exposes you to the thing you fear (the thunder) without actually putting you in direct contact with it. After you have successfully exposed yourself to one item on your list, you can move on to the next one.
For example, if your coping tool is deep breathing, then make sure that you do some deep breathing as soon as you start to feel any anxiety or fear.
Hypnosis geared towards overcoming the fear of thunder should help you take longer to notice when storms are brewing and to feel calm, rather than panic, at the sound of thunder.
With cognitive-behavioral therapy, you will learn self-affirmations to soothe yourself with during storms and visualization exercises to help calm your panic and fear in the moment.
You can try turning up the volume on the television, listening to music on your headphones, playing an instrument, or making any other sound that will prevent you from hearing the thunder.
If you don’t know when a storm will come, this may cause you to encounter one when you aren’t 100% prepared. This could eventually help you start overcoming your fear of thunder because you’ll get through the fear episode without the safety net of your own home and the memory of that will stick with you.
For example, if you usually use a blanket to cover yourself, try using a smaller blanket that only covers part of your body. Or, if you usually hide in a dark room with the door closed, try leaving the door cracked open. The key is to make some noticeable effort at using less “protection” so that you will see that you survived without when the fear passes.
At first, your friend might just sit inside with you during a storm. But you might try to progress toward watching the storm through the window with your friend or even standing on the porch with your friend while the storm passes.
