What is a Phobia?
A phobia is an intense and debilitating fear of an object or situation, whereby the sufferer has an exaggerated sense of danger. Going much further than just being a bit nervous, a phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, which can get in the way of day-to-day life. In some cases, even thinking about the source of a phobia can cause significant anxiety and distress. All phobias can be separated into two key categories.
Simple phobias
Simple phobias focus on specific objects, scenarios, activities or animals. Most commonly, simple phobias begin in childhood or teenage years and can ease as you grow older. For example, a phobia of dogs is classified as a simple phobia, which may begin in childhood but improve as you age and develop rationality.
Complex phobias
Complex phobias (like the name suggests), tend to be more complicated and are often more disabling than simple phobias. Complex phobias tend to develop during adulthood and are made up of a range of fears.
Agoraphobia is often thought of as a fear of open spaces but is an example of how compounded a phobia can be. Sufferers of agoraphobia often aren’t fearful about the act of leaving their home but tend to feel intense anxiety when confronted with the prospect of feeling heightened anxiety in a place or situation which may be difficult to escape from should a panic attack occur. This can mean that agoraphobic people may feel uncomfortable with being alone (as there is no one to support them should they become unbearably anxious), being in crowded places (as this can make escape difficult) or travelling on public transport (as to escape would cause a scene that would ideally be avoided).
What are the most common phobias in the UK?
People can be phobic of a huge range of things, but a common phobia I am hearing about from my clients currently is trypanophobia (or a fear of needles to those of us without the brain of Sheldon Lee Cooper). With Covid vaccinations and booster jabs so prominent in the media right now, those that are needle phobic are being exposed to possible triggers much more often than they usually would be.
The most common phobias in the UK are:
- Heights (acrophobia)
- Public speaking (glossophobia)
- Snakes (ophidiophobia)
- Flying (aerophobia)
- Spiders (arachnophobia)
- Crowds/being outside (agoraphobia)
- Clowns (coulrophobia)
- Enclosed spaces (claustrophobia)
- Dogs (cynophobia)
- The dark (nyctophobia)
Why do phobias occur?
As a phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, a typical vicious anxiety-cycle can occur. For the purpose of explanation, imagine you have a phobia of going to the dentist – a simple phobia which is more common than you might think.
The cycle will start with a traumatic experience, perhaps an overzealous dentist when you had your first filling. This is the event.
Your brain will remember that bad experience and future dentist appointments will become your anxiety trigger – you will view a dentist trip as a threat of sorts.
The natural next step of the cycle is the behaviour that occurs when opening wide and saying AAAAHH (or even thinking about calling to make the appointment in worst cases). In this case, the behaviour is the fear associated with the event.
Should you not seek help for a dentist phobia, instead avoiding your trigger entirely, it’s possible that your next trip will be in an emergency case. This may result in another traumatic experience, adding to your existing anxiety cycle. This is where hypnotherapy comes in…
How can hypnotherapy help with phobias?
Hypnotherapy is a painless, relaxing and pleasant experience that has the ability to work towards reverting your behaviour patterns back to a time before your phobia developed. The aim will be to disassociate your fear from your triggers to allow you to experience situations or objects that could have once sparked an anxiety response in you.
By resetting your thought processes relating to your phobia, in no time at all, you’ll become desensitised to your fears, feeling no (or significantly less) anxiety when faced with your triggers. For example, a phobia of dogs may have developed after you were bitten in the past. Using hypnotherapy, you and I will work together to reframe your relationship with the dogs – We will work on reframing your thoughts so that you don’t see a snarling, vicious monster waiting to eat you, but a fluffy friend who is excited to see you. Even if you never want to be friends with a dog, we can work on seeing dogs as intelligent animals that have important roles in the human world, such as dogs that are trained in search and rescue.
Phobias can be all-consuming. You may find yourself having to plan your day around avoiding your phobia or risk a panic attack. If you’re fed up with feeling so anxious, join my many clients who have freed themselves from the constraints of their phobia.
All initial consultations with me are free and can be booked here. Although you have no obligation to go ahead with treatment, I’m confident that we can rid you of your phobia and allow you to live the life you deserve, free from fear.
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