Psychology for Dummies (81 page)

Getting in good with germs

A good example of flooding (see the “Exposure-based therapies” section in this chapter) comes from treating people with germ phobias. Let’s say that I was afraid of germs and catching diseases from trashcans. I managed to fill my entire apartment with garbage because I was too afraid to touch the trash in order to take it out. It was getting pretty rank in there, and my landlord was threatening to evict me. Luckily, I found a good behavior therapist in the neighborhood, and he agreed to help me.

When I met the therapist, he told me that he was going to do the therapy in my apartment. I thought that was pretty cool. When the therapist showed up, he explained that he was going to cure me of my germs-from-trash phobia. He pointed out a pile of trash and told me to jump in it. “Say what?” I said. “You heard me,” he replied, “jump in it!” The rest is history. I jumped in the pile of trash and began to roll around. After my garbage swim session, the therapist refused to let me take a shower until the next day. I complied, and I no longer fear trash.

Keep in mind that this is not a true story, and it’s a pretty extreme example of flooding, but it’s not that far from the truth. Therapists who use flooding ask their patients to completely expose themselves to the things they fear the most. Believe it or not, it actually works!

Peale is so positive

Norman Vincent Peale’s
The Power of Positive Thinking
(Ballantine Books) is now one of the most famous self-help books on the market. Peale’s basic idea is that positive thinking produces positive results in people’s lives. Peale is not the only person who believes that our thoughts play such a central role in the production and maintenance of behavior.

More than pessimism

Certain mental disorders (see Chapter 16) are the consequence of distorting reality through biased thinking. If I lost my job, it would be natural to think, “I need to find another job.” But I would be distorting reality if I thought, “I’m never going to find a new job.” This kind of pessimistic thinking is bound to produce a stronger than usual negative emotional reaction. There’s a world of difference between “I need a new job” and “I will never get another job.”

Depressing thoughts

One of the best-known applications of cognitive therapy comes from Aaron Beck’s
Cognitive Therapy of Depression
. Beck proposes that depressive symptoms, such as a sad mood and a lack of motivation, are the result of cognitive distortions based on three very specific beliefs that the patient holds about himself, the world, and the future. Beck called these beliefs
depressogenic assumptions,
and they exist in a
cognitive triad.
The cognitive triad of individuals suffering from depression consists of the following basic beliefs:

I am inadequate, deserted and abandoned, and worthless.

The world is an unfair and harsh place. There’s nothing in it for me.

There is no hope for the future. My current troubles will never go away.

These beliefs interfere with reasonable and healthy adaptation and information processing concerning events in the patient’s life. The challenge for both the patient and therapist is to come up with ways to identify, challenge, and alter these beliefs in order to reduce their impact on the patient’s emotions and motivations.