gradual exposure
Slow fear confrontation
Gradual exposure is a therapeutic technique for overcoming fears or anxieties by introducing the feared object or situation in small, manageable steps.
A person afraid of dogs might first look at pictures, then watch dogs from a distance, then be near one, then touch one.
The method builds tolerance incrementally rather than confronting the fear all at once: Her therapist recommended gradual exposure to help with her flight anxiety.
- desensitizationReduced response over time
- thresholdPoint of beginning
- acclimationAdjusting to new conditions
- incrementalProceeding by small additions
- toleranceWillingness to accept difference
habituation · conditioning · systematic · phobia · anxiety · anxiety treatment · fear · baby steps · stepping · step by step · slow · gentle · progressive · therapy · little by little · comfort zone · safe space · acclimatize
- therapy techniquesCBT, play therapy, art therapy, group therapy, behavior modification
- numbing agentslidocaine, benzocaine, novocaine, tetracaine, topical anesthetic
gradual exposureflooding
Overwhelming water accumulation
immersion · prolonged exposure · shock therapy · baptism by fire · cold turkey
gradual exposureimmersion
State of being submerged
baptism by fire · trial by fire · cold turkey · shock treatment · avoidance
gradual, gradually, gradualness, grade, grades, graded, grading, gradient, gradients