6 Examples of Aversion Therapy and How It Can Help You

This post was developed via a partnership with BetterHelp.

Aversion therapy is a type of therapy categorized as a therapy that helps you see certain stimuli as negative through aversion techniques. Although somewhat controversial, this therapy has been around for decades, and can be a potential treatment for certain mental health concerns.

Aversion is a powerful tool. It can even make foods that you like turn revolting. For example, if you love spaghetti but get a bad stomach bug after eating it, you may have difficulty ever eating spaghetti again. This is the power of our minds, and it’s what aversion therapy is based off of.

Here are six examples of aversion therapy in action. At the end of this article, we’ll tell you how aversion therapy could help you.

Aversion Therapy for Addiction to Drugs or Alcohol

For those who struggle with a chemical, psychological, or physical dependency on alcohol or drugs, it can be difficult to decide to quit. Some people turn to aversion therapy to try to assist them in “learning to hate” their drug/addiction of choice. Although addiction is one of the strongest and most difficult forces of life, aversion therapy actually can help.

Here are some examples of how aversion therapy might be used in a clinical setting to curb addiction to certain substances:

An alcoholic patient takes a medication that makes them extremely ill when they drink alcohol in any quantity.
A patient adds a terribly smelling oil to their drug stash to reduce the chance of wanting to be near it.
A patient puts a badly tasting flavoring serum in their alcohol or drugs to get a bad taste when they use it.

Aversion therapy for alcohol and drug use doesn’t have to be intense. It can start small. However, if you are currently using hard drugs or alcohol, do not stop using immediately without your doctor’s approval. Drug and alcohol withdrawal can cause distressing and life-threatening symptoms, and many people need to go through detox before trying aversion therapy to assist in treatment of addiction.

Aversion Therapy for Reassurance Seeking

Reassurance seeking is a behavior that many people struggle with. It’s the urge you get to ask someone if they’re mad at you, or if they still love you. For those who compulsively do this, it can often cause relationship struggles and a lack of trust.

Aversion therapy can be utilized in this case by training your brain that reassurance from others does not actually get you the calming and happy response you are looking for. Instead, it aims to show you that you are able to get that reassurance from yourself.

A good way to do this is to provide consequences for yourself when you do ask for reassurance. They shouldn’t be dangerous or harmful consequences. However, if you find yourself asking for reassurance throughout the day, take something away from yourself that you were hoping to have, such as a night out, or a dessert.

Aversion Therapy in the Form of Exposure

Exposure therapy is another type of therapy that is similar to aversion therapy. In exposure therapy, you expose yourself to the opposite of what you want in order to curb compulsions and addictions. It causes a large amount of anxiety and fear for the patient, which in turn helps them learn more about their tolerance levels and learn to stop fearing the thing they’re afraid of in the first place. It must be done with a trained and licensed mental health professional to limit the chance of trauma.

Aversion Therapy for Eating Disorders

In the case of certain eating disorders like bulimia and binge-eating disorder, aversion therapy has sometimes been used to treat overeating or binging. By adding an unpleasant taste to certain foods, you can train your mind to avoid those foods in the future.

However, some people believe that this therapy is not the best choice for eating disorders, as it can cause different eating disorder patterns to develop, such as restriction behaviors. Always talk to a licensed mental health professional before trying this.

Aversion Therapy for Compulsions

Finally, aversion therapy can be used for compulsions. Compulsions are habits and behaviors that are often repeated out of fear, addiction, or routine. They may be distressing or harmful to you. Some examples of compulsions include:

Biting your nails
Picking your skin
Pulling out hair
Tapping your leg
Counting your steps
Avoiding walking on cracks in the sidewalk
Reassurance seeking
Counting calories
Checking that you’ve locked the doors at night

Many compulsions are part of compulsive anxiety disorders like OCD or OCPD. These compulsions can be distressing for the person going through them. For that reason, aversion therapy might be a treatment to try.

For example, if you want to stop biting your nails, you can try a strongly-tasting nail polish coating that creates a disgusting taste in your mouth when you try to bite your nails.

Talk to a therapist to find out how you can use aversion therapy to limit your compulsions if they are causing distress in your life.

How Aversion Therapy Can Help You

So how can aversion therapy help? Well, it depends on you!

Not everyone is going to have a good response with this therapy, but it is worth a try. Make sure the professional that you pick to practice aversion therapy with is someone who has experience utilizing the practices.

Remember, aversion therapy should not be used to “cure” sexual orientation or gender. Aversion therapy that claims to “cure” attraction to your gender of preference is called “conversion therapy” and it’s harmful and traumatic for those who go through it.

Aversion therapy should be something you consent to at all times, and you should only do it if you feel completely comfortable with it. Remember, there are other treatments available for all types of mental health conditions and struggles, and you don’t have to settle on just one option!

If you’re ready to try aversion therapy, you can find a therapist online or in-person today, depending on your location. The benefits you might find from this type of therapy include: