Actually my husbands psychotherapist said that actually you need to go there to be able to acknowledge how bad things can be but that it isn't going to kill you. Sounds simple huh? Let me give you a couple of examples..
My lovely husband had a massive panic attack and almost passed out in Sainsburys causing them to call him an ambulance. Since then even the word Sainsburys or driving it started causing a panic attack.
Just prior to a different panic attack incident my husband had got a take away coffee from one of the coffee places and then within 20 mins he had passed out. So he stopped drinking coffee or anything with sweetners, even smelling coffee shops became too much.
These things sound minor, but actually became debilitating - do you know that it's almost impossible to go out when you can't go near a coffee shop? Anyway his therapist was brilliant setting him tasks - like exposure therapy. So one week he had to just stand outside Sainsburys for 1 minute. Then for 5, then walk through the entrance way etc and with the careful exposure he's now able to go to Sainsburys on his own. Before he did anything they talked it through in therapy sessions and she asked him to explain what the worst thing was - so talking through each symptom - feel sick, want to run, breathing changes, heart races, feel dizzy etc up until passes out. After each symptom she answered "and?" until they get to passing out and she said "So that's the worst that can happen? And it didn't kill you did it?"
The same process for coffee.
It has been a complete game changer for us.
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