Posted by Dinah on December 20, 2005, at 21:53:44
In reply to Re: emotional encapsulation » Dinah, posted by alexandra_k2 on December 20, 2005, at 19:19:41
I think what I mean by fear is fear that the object will somehow harm you in some way. My guess is that certain objects can cause unpleasant hyperarousal because of associations, and if there's fear of anything it's the fear of the hyperarousal. The fear of fear.
So then you need to change the association that causes the hyperarousal. Which you can't really do too effectively with rational explanations.
For example, I once had a dog who had an irrational fear of towels. Now it's probably true that there had been someone in that dog's life that had given the dog a reason to fear towels, but by that point it was the towel itself that aroused the dog, even if there was no risk that the towel would hurt the dog.
If I remember correctly, we changed the association of towels to one of treats being given when towels were around. Eventually the dog didn't run away from them, and probably we totally messed with that poor dog's mind by introducing all sorts of ambivilance and contradictory feelings about towels. But we meant well.
I can't quite figure out how that would work with people. If I had to go past someone throwing up to get my paycheck, I'm pretty sure I'd quit. And grow to hate money.
And vomit contamination isn't the sort that can be cleaned with disinfectants. It never occurred to me that it could. It's more like vomit spirit.
poster:Dinah
thread:590579
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20051216/msgs/590853.html