Phobias are a pain, both figuratively and literally in some cases. A little fear can sometimes spiral out of control and completely take over your life, which is a problem if it’s something you need to be in regular contact with like needles. One of the longest-employed therapies for phobias is gradual exposure, in which someone with a phobia is exposed to it in a safe, controlled environment where it can’t harm them. While gradual exposure can work, it usually takes years of therapy to show concrete results. One team of scientists, however, may have devised a surprisingly simple way to speed up that process.
Researchers from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School have been running tests on people with arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. The tests are similar to regular exposure therapy, albeit with pictures of spiders instead of real ones, but one with notable change: the pictures are flashed in front of the subject relative to their own heartbeat. Three trials were performed, one where the pictures were directly synced to the heartbeat, one where pictures were shown opposite of heartbeats, and one where pictures were shown randomly. Of the three trials, subjects reported that their fears were lessened the most when synced to their heartbeat.
The team hasn’t quite figured out why this occurs yet, but the results are definitely promising for the future of exposure therapy.
