Working with fears and phobias requires a lot of work by both the psychologist and the client. Every human mental system has mechanisms for managing fears; they are based both on general principles and individual ones. Just like the nervous system. What is suitable for one person is completely unacceptable for another. Therefore, joint and sometimes unique methods of solving existing problems and difficulties appear in the work. Sometimes assistance is built in two directions. Invitro and invivo are concepts that refer to various research methods in medicine. One is internal and the other is external environment. Invitro (in vitro - as in glass) follows the path of imagination, where the client meets his fears “face to face” in a specialist’s office, imagining what scares him. The protective properties of fear in a safe environment are presented and discussed. This technique is safer when a psychologist is nearby, but the person himself can carry it out independently. You need to imagine in a calm environment an imaginary plot of the situation that you are afraid of. You need to close your eyes, relax as much as possible and scroll through all the pictures in your head. How the situation develops, what emotions you experience, what your physical reaction is. Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10. Then describe out loud, in detail, everything that happened to you. What was the pulse, heartbeat, what were the thoughts, the reaction of the body. This situation needs to be imagined 2-3 times. Each time, speaking out loud and rating it on an anxiety scale. The degree of intensity of fear should decrease by the third time. Invivo (in vivo in the living) - we test fear in natural conditions! Let's check in practice, what if? With social anxiety, people are afraid of each other. The “attack on shame” technique helps - when done in public, on the street, or where there are people. Something that might be considered ridiculous. Dress in provocative clothes, something bright and funny. Shout something loudly, read poetry. Look at people's reactions. People, in principle, react not to you, but to the situation, appearance. This does not apply to you as an individual at all. The law of “acceptability” applies and nothing more. It is very useful to check your thoughts and beliefs for realism. Identify “automatic thoughts” in yourself, those that prevent you from perceiving reality adequately and experiencing fear and anxiety. Thoughts that disable you. And they bring suffering. How can I explain to myself that millions of people fly on airplanes, ride the subway, take elevators, go to shopping centers, communicate with each other? They don’t die from this, they don’t forget how to breathe or swallow. No one will personally judge you for a ridiculous outfit, a funny prank; they may laugh or twirl their finger at your temple. Emotions are not at all equal to actions. Emotions have the function of “messengers”. And it’s important to understand what it brings to you? What can it tell? How is it useful? What gives? We have every right to any emotion, if it is not followed by actions that can harm others or ourselves. Then we need to learn the mechanisms of their regulation. What exactly harms us: - avoiding situations of fear and emotions associated with it, unfortunately, does not lead to their weakening. The trigger for, for example, a panic attack can be any seemingly “innocent” stimulus. Or completely, it would seem, for no reason; - alcohol, overeating, psychotropic drugs without the supervision of a doctor; - obsessive thoughts, you need to work with them, with them the threats are exaggerated, fear is overestimated; - criticism and accusations of yourself, especially that you yourself are the source of the problem, and you can’t handle it yourself, everything is possible on your own if you don’t want to go to a specialist; - hiding problems from loved ones, sometimes not wanting to share, burdening you with your fears or anxiety, leads to the accumulation of negative thoughts, emotions and the nervous system cannot cope (dopamine hormones are activated , norepinephrine); It is better not to fight emotions, but to learn to express them in an environmentally friendly way, not to suppress thoughts, but to accept them. You can’t control physiological reactions, they are natural and harmless, but give yourself the opportunity to.