Therapy, explained
Exposure therapy
TherapiesEpisode 36 minNovember 5, 2025

Exposure therapy

Avoidance keeps fear alive. Facing a feared thing in small, planned steps teaches the nervous system that the alarm is louder than the danger.

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About this episode

Have you ever avoided giving a presentation, talking to someone new, or anything else just because it made you anxious? In this episode, let's delve into Exposure Therapy, which helps us face the things we fear!

Key takeaways

  1. 1

    Fear ladders break a big fear into rungs you can climb one at a time.

  2. 2

    Staying in the situation until anxiety falls is where the learning happens.

  3. 3

    Relief from avoiding feels good for a minute and costs you for years.

Try this tonight

Write a five-rung ladder for one thing you avoid, from easiest to hardest. Do the bottom rung this week.

Journal prompt

“What is one thing I avoid, and what has avoiding it quietly cost me?”

Write about it

Framework from this episode

Emotions15 min

The fear ladder

Break a fear into rungs and climb one at a time.

Use it when

You are avoiding something that matters because of anxiety.

  1. 1Name the feared situation at the top of the ladder.
  2. 2Write four easier versions below it, from mildly uncomfortable upward.
  3. 3Do the bottom rung and stay until the anxiety drops by half.
  4. 4Repeat until it feels boring, then climb one rung.
  5. 5Keep a log of what you predicted versus what happened.
Ep 3: Exposure therapyMarcus Reid

Previous · Episode 2

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)

Next · Episode 4

Psychodynamic therapy