Max is very brave, to have overcome something so fearsome in his life, to work out in his mind that what was terrifying, was not, with a lot of patient help and thinking.

This sounds like a method that if I had to overcome the only phobia I have, that of heights, I could conceivably do so. That I don't need to is just as well with me. I have occasionally tried  different settings which presented themselves to see if I could do that. Most notable and recent was an observation tower with an outside elevator that rose possibly a couple hundred feet; to me, it was about a mile up.

I did not go back, and did not like the ride, though the tower itself wasn't bad, except for the hollow sounding floor.

I think what you did would work for many phobias though, and I recognize how very real they are to those with them, how seemingly impossible to conquer.

Hello, I have a phobia of tornadoes (lilapsophobia).  I thought that maybe I would have to be hypnotized or find a virtual reality machine to overcome my phobia.  Otherwise, how does one face their fears when their feared object is potentially deadly?  I feel that people need to know that not only is this a very real and common phobia, but that it CAN be treated with systematic desensitization.  The most important element, perhaps, is a preparedness plan in written form for how you personally would stay safe in an encounter with a tornado.  This must include proper safety procedures with no panic allowed! If you have everything laid out in front of you, you feel in control even in the face of uncontrollable forces of nature.

I used a list of fear hierarchies ranging in anxiety level from 0-9 included every other situation that reminded me of tornadoes to successfully desensitize myself.  So far almost every situation has been brought down to 3 levels lower than it originally was.  Once you climb about 5 levels on this hierarchy, the higher levels fall inward.  I did not expect this, either.

I have used mainly deep, slow breathing and being held by my spouse while experiencing exposure episodes to implement desensitization.  after a month of this the fear response to my phobic exposure sessions began to be replaced in my subconsious by the relaxation and pleasure feelings.  I could tell this by the lower level of panic I experienced on a daily basis and by the lower level during exposure sessions as well.

For this particular phobia, an exercise I found almost vital was: talking to someone you love or get along with very well about your fears, and writing down your feelings associated with them.  This can be very difficult initially but you will find it an immense relief when you are done.

I am not over my lilapsophobia.  However I know that I have come a long way and that I can indeed be helped by desensitization even if I cannot directly confront my feared object in a close encounter.