Best ways to treat phobias?

[RosieBelle]

Hi to you all
Does anyone know the best way of treating phobias? I'm aware of exposure therapy, but wondered if there's other methods you could recommend. My anxiety stems around a fear of choking, swallowing, throat sensations...
I can still eat normally most of the time, but it seems to keep coming back I just want to get rid of it!
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks and a very merry new year to you!

[Sam Winter]

Honestly as you know i haven't 100% tackled mine but what has helped me cope so far while get help is i've accepted the sensations i have(this might not apply to you but i have silent reflux and a lot of globus so i get sensations that make me want to gag sometimes) everytime i'm about to eat i just tell myself that if i take small bite fulls and chew it well i'll be okay! if i find myself still panicking afterwards i'll just tell myself that if it was going to kill me or be food stuck it would of killed me hours ago x i understand your struggles though as my come back a lot, i managed to shake mine quite well until i got silent reflux, then it came back with a huge passion lol x

[RosieBelle]

Ah yeah I've heard that just accepting the anxiety and sensations and just letting them wash over your head is the way to go, but it's hard to do isn't it. I'm really glad that you're doing well with it!
I do get these weird throat sensations, like my throat's tight and full which is annoying me. It's like I will be glad that I've managed to eat a meal with little anxiety but then I start to panic about the feelings in my throat.
Aww it's so frustrating when it comes back isn't it?!
Thanks so much for your advice Aiden - I will give it a go!

[Sam Winter]

It really is frustrating but I find eating small amounts is the most helpful for me, like my family had a lot of party food and I managed to eat quite a bit because I just told myself that I could swallow three peanut half's whole and I still wouldn't choke so if I chewed it i'll definitely be okay plus your brain doesn't generally let you swallow something until it knows for certain its small enough so choking us quite rare if you chew well, besides we have mre of a chance to eat different things because we chew so well through fear lol I chew a peanut until its none existent the sensations are horrible and can be terrifiing but if you're still breathing like 5 minutes later you can guarantee that you'll be okay x

[RosieBelle]

Oh yeah I'm the same with eating small amounts of food. I've loved having party food for the last 2 nights - it seems easier to eat than when i've got a plateful in front of me.
I thought the same as you Aiden, seeing as we have a fear of choking, we're so careful and aware of eating that we are very unlikely to choke.
I hate seeing things on like tv where someone chokes etc...especially the bloody Daily Mail, they always seem to have articles on people choking. I always worry about seeing something like that and it triggering me.
Anyhow, I hope you had a lush new year! X

[Sam Winter]

Quite a bit of anxiety but it was still pretty good thanks x
and I know the paper always bad stories in it, its worse than google