- flooding
- 1. Bleeding profusely from the uterus, especially after childbirth or in severe cases of menorrhagia. 2. Profuse uterine hemorrhage. 3. A type of behavior therapy; a therapeutic strategy at the beginning of therapy, in which the patients imagine the most anxiety-producing scene and fully immerse (flood) themselves in it. Cf.:systematic desensitization.
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flood·ing 'fləd-iŋ n exposure therapy in which there is prolonged confrontation with an anxiety-provoking stimulus* * *
n.1. excessive bleeding from the uterus, as in menorrhagia or miscarriage.2. (implosion) (in psychology) a method of treating phobia in which the patient is exposed intensively and at length to the feared object, either in reality or fantasy. Although it is distressing and needs good motivation if treatment is to be completed, it is an effective and rapid form of therapy.* * *
flood·ing (fludґing) in behavior therapy, a form of desensitization for the treatment of phobias and related disorders in which the patient is repeatedly exposed to highly distressing stimuli without being able to escape but without danger, until the lack of reinforcement of the anxiety response causes its extinction. In general, the term is used for actual exposure to the stimuli, with implosion used for imagined exposure, but the two terms are sometimes used synonymously to describe either or both types of exposure. Cf. systematic desensitization.
Medical dictionary. 2011.