Phobias

Definition:

An uncontrollable, irrational, and persistent fear of a specific object, situation, or activity.

Description:

There is a difference between that which someone has a feeling of discomfort or dislike of and that of which someone expereiences extreme and intense fear. The latter is a phobia. A phobia is characterised by a feeling of intense dread due to a situation, object or activity. So much so, the person actively seeks to avoid that environment. Different people react to their phobia in different ways and experience varying levels of intensity. Some can avoid the subject of their fear with mild feelings of anxiety, while others may suffer panic attacks.

Most individuals understand that they are suffering from an irrational fear, but are powerless to override their initial panic reaction. Logically a person may realise their fear does not make sense. Remember a phobia is a persistent fear of an object or situation which is out of proportion to its danger. In this situation the subconscious mind has mistaken the trigger as dangerous. This may have occurred from a single event whereby a person experienced extreme levels of stress while the trigger was part of the environment or could have been transferred at an early age from parent to child. A common example of this is a fear of spiders whereby a parent would display reactions of stress and panic whenever he/she saw a spider. The child therefore learns this is an extremely dangerous object.

A phobia can become very debilitating and heavily influence one's behaviour. If a person is suffering from chronic levels of anxiety and this is left untreated, there is potential for further phobias and could culminate in agoraphobia (literally translated to mean ‘fear of the market place’). A sufferer of agoraphobia will stay away from any perceivable threat which usually means they remain at home as they feel this is the only safe environment to them.

Phobias can be simple or complex. A simple phobia is the fear of a single stimulus, while someone suffering a complex phobia, would fear a number of stimuli. Below is a short list to help you differentiate between a simple and complex phobia:

Simple phobias:

Fear of spiders (arachnophobia)
Fear of thunder and lightning (astraphobia)
Fear of heights (acrophobia)

Complex phobias:

Fear of leaving home or entering open spaces (agoraphobia)
Fear of enclosed or crowded places (claustrophobia)
Fear of social gatherings or attracting attention (social phobia)

Therapy:

A phobic response is due to the subconcious tyring to save you from danger to continue your survival. It mistakenly believes this trigger is a threat to your security. Without ever needing to know why this is so, we can employ powerful techniques to reprogram the subconscious to re-evaluate the situation and create a shift in your perception thereby enabling you to remain calm in those situations you used to find threatening.

As therapy progresses, your mind will fail to pick up on information that used to confirm this situation was of immense danger. What used to make you aware of the threat will no longer do so and remain in the background. A good illustration is to imagine a before and after snapshot of someone suffering arachnophobia (fear of spiders). A person before therapy will walk into a room and immediately spot the spider on the wall and bring this information to the foreground as it immediately notices the threat. After therapy the person walks into the room and notices how tidy it looks (the spider on the wall remains in the background and is not even part of your conscious awareness).

Book your FREE initial consultation online | Request more information
Mbl: 07737 162 560 | Tel: 0117 922 7788 (UK based:Bristol)