How effective is exposure therapy for anxiety?

[Kenneth.M]

I’ve been in therapy for a while and my psychologist recently suggested we try some exposure and response prevention techniques for my anxiety. I’m just not sure how I feel about deliberately putting myself in situations that trigger me, even in a controlled way. The idea of leaning into the discomfort instead of avoiding it seems really counterintuitive.

[HannahC]

I tried exposure and response prevention, or ERP for short, a while back. The whole idea of leaning into the discomfort felt ridiculous at first. We started tiny openings just opening a drawer I fear for a few seconds and breathing through the rush, not trying to fix it. After a couple of weeks the urge to avoid started loosening a bit. Not heroic, just small, awkward moments where the anxiety showed up and I kept going.

[RichardPL]

I did a tiny live drill this week. I walked past a trigger spot for 60 seconds and let the urge pass without reaching for the phone or changing course. I kept a tiny tally of how many times I wondered if I could quit early, and it fell from about 8 to 2 by day 4, then to 0 or 1 by day 5. It didn't fix everything, but the clock felt a little slower.

[David.S]

I keep wondering if the problem is really the triggers or the urge to avoid discomfort itself?

[MichaelL]

Some days I drift away from the plan, zone out, and it feels like nothing happened at all. Then other days I notice the opposite, the room seems louder and I still stay but barely. I am not sure this is progress or just a stubborn routine that wears me down.