Phobia
A phobia is an irrational fear of an object or situation.
Many people suffer from irrational fears or phobias. An irrational fear is an external symptom of an internal and subconscious anxiety that is projected onto an object or situation, for example, flying. When the sufferer is faced with the thought or action of flying, the phobia is triggered, producing intense anxiety or panic, etc.
It is normal to feel fear in dangerous situations, this is necessary for our own self-preservation and survival. If fear or panic is introduced unnecessarily, or over a prolonged period, then the lasting effects are to the detriment of the body and mind.
When someone finds themselves in a situation that creates intense emotions, the person’s mind has the ability to “bottle up” those emotions. By doing so it removes that emotion from the person’s conscious awareness, and “bottles it up” in the subconscious; once there, the mind creates a “phobia” – to warn the person not to get into that (or any similar) situation again.
An easy example would be someone gets bitten by a dog, they could develop a fear of dogs. The fear stops them going anywhere near dogs, and therefore prevents them from getting bitten again. However, many phobias are not directly related to the cause of the emotion, they are symbolic of it.
The most obvious example is the fear of flying. Research shows that millions of people in the UK suffer with a fear of flying – aerophobia, yet most will have never ever been in an air crash or even known any one that has suffered in an air crash. They (mostly) don’t have a fear of flying, they have a fear of being “out of control” – which their brain symbolises and projects onto flying.
Social phobia is probably the most common phobia there is. The associated symptoms include fear of being “on the spot”, judged, humiliated, embarrassed, meeting people, inferiority or worrying about how others “see” them, fear of rejection, inferiority, lack of confidence, panic attacks, heart pounding, hot flushes, or shy bladder syndrome in men, can be common to the “social phobic”.
There are generally four types of phobias:
* Natural environment phobias – fear of heights, storms, water, darkness, etc.
* Animal phobias – fear of snakes, cockroaches, spiders, frogs, dogs, etc.
* Blood-injection-injury phobias – fear of injury, injections in hospitals, fear of blood, etc.
* Situational phobias – fear of flying, dentists, driving, tunnels, and bridges, and social situations such as giving presentations, speaking in public, etc.
Symptoms of phobias
The most common indication of a phobia is a feeling of fear or anxiety when exposed to the situation or thing which triggers the fear.
Associated symptoms include accelerated heart beat, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, chest pain, hot/cold flashes, numbness or tingling sensation, trembling, fear of fainting or losing control of oneself.
This is the result of the fight-or-flight reaction, which occurs when the amygdala (a tiny, almond-shaped cluster of cells in the centre of your brain) is triggered.
Treatments
Cognitive behaviour therapy is effective for treating phobias and at the very least will help you to manage the symptom. CBT is based on the premise that what you think affects how you feel, your feelings affect your behaviour. So if you change the way you think about situations that give you anxiety, you’ll feel and function better.
Regular practice of relaxation techniques such as meditation and progressive muscle relaxation will also help you get control over the physical symptoms of anxiety. However, if the anxiety is quite strong the best treatment is analytical hypnotherapy to discover the originating cause, the subconscious anxiety and resolve this.