Final answer:
Relaxation skills are used in systematic desensitization to help reduce anxiety during exposure activities. They support the management of physiological stress responses, making therapeutic exposure to phobias and anxiety triggers more tolerable.
Step-by-step explanation:
The reason for using relaxation skills when engaging in systematic desensitization is B) To aid in reducing anxiety when engaging in an exposure activity. Systematic desensitization is a therapeutic process designed to lessen an individual's anxiety response to a phobia or other psychological disorder by gradually exposing the person to the anxiety-producing stimulus. The use of relaxation techniques is fundamental to the process because it helps to manage physiological responses such as elevated heart rate and muscle tension, reducing the overall experience of anxiety.
Desensitization therapy is also applied in the context of treating allergies, where controlled exposure to allergens leads to the body producing less reactive antibodies, thus diminishing allergic reactions. Stress reduction techniques, which include relaxation skills like meditation and biofeedback, serve to decrease sympathetic arousal, beneficial for both stress management and as a preparatory step in desensitization protocols.