Controlling your Fears and
Phobias
A phobia is a persistent irrational
fear of and wish to avoid a specific object, activity
or situation. This sense of fear is out of proportion
to the real danger, which the person recognizes as exaggeration.
The person finds it difficult to control fear and will
attempt to avoid the object or situation. A specific
phobia can cause you considerable anxiety, and depends
on whether you come across that particular trigger area
often or not. Those suffering with a phobia feel anxious
not only in the presence of an object or situation but
when thinking about them.
It is estimated that 10% of the population
experience a fear of phobia, and most will not seek
treatment, as it does not affect them very often. Some
are easier to live with, such as fear of snakes, unless
you come across snakes on a day to day basis
Animal phobias are more common, rats,
spiders, birds and dogs. These phobic responses develop
in childhood, where they may be considered ‘normal’.
It is only when they persist into adult life and cause
a disruption that they are then called a phobia.
There are so many phobias, in fact
anyone can have a fear or phobia about anything in the
entire world, some of which are, fear of heights, crowds,
open or enclosed spaces, elevators, thunder and lightning,
injury, hypodermic needles, illness. These phobias are
a cause of the person’s perceptions on what could
go wrong, or have experienced something that did go
wrong, perhaps a previous trauma. The person then places
more emphasis on the negative, building up into a gross
fear that it will happen again. Sometimes it is a ‘learned
response’ from their parent who had a specific
fear or phobia.
Fear of flying is encountered by many
individuals, some are unable to fly at all. The fears
range from the wings falling off, to claustrophobia,
not being able to get out, wheels not fixing for a landing,
and many other fears of something that could go wrong.
Hypnotherapy is extremely helpful in
treating phobias. By finding and removing of where the
specific fear or phobia developed, allows that person
to feel so much better, and by providing more control
using a
cognitive approach in those situations, where they will
feel more comfortable.
A referral by a GP is required for this therapy. |
