Fears & Phobias
A phobia is an irrational fear, literally a fear without good reason, or a fear of something that may not happen. People with phobias often experience unwanted responses to animals, objects, insects, actions or places.
This physical response is known as a stress response; people often describe their reaction to something as being “paralysed with fear” or “having butterflies in my stomach”, “just wanting to run away” from whatever is triggering the response.
People with phobias often know their response is irrational, which makes it harder to accept. ‘Why am I reacting like this when I know it can’t hurt me’?
Generally people manage their phobia on a day-to-day basis and only seek help when it prevents them doing something they want to do, or when they know a situation will force them to face it. People are also aware of the possibility of unconsciously passing on their phobias to their children, who learn from their behaviour.
- Fear of flying
- Fear on enclosed spaces
- Fear of vomiting (often linked to social phobias)
- Fear of insects, or animals
- Fear of heights
- Fear of needles
- Fear dentists
- Fear of Pregnancy
- Fear of water
- Fear of Illness
However people can develop a phobia for anything.
How do people get phobias?
For example, we know there are poisonous spiders in the world that can hurt us and even kill us, so we have an awareness of that on a primal level. However, a house spider in the UK is completely harmless. A person with a phobia is unable to make this differentiation.
We may develop a phobia because of a traumatic experience or series of experiences (you may not remember consciously what this experience is). As a small child we learn about fears from our parents, as they teach us (consciously and unconsciously) how to live and relate to the world around us. If you see your parent being frightened of a spider, your instinctive response and the message hardwired to your brain is that this is a threat and can harm you too.
Over time, when you see a spider that message is reinforced, so it is exposure to that fear which compounds it and makes it worse.
How do you treat phobias?
Using hypnosis this can be done rapidly as the unconscious is able to process information more effectively without the interference of the critical mind. This is a known as desensitisation.
Often phobias can be treated in just one session. There is, however, no guarantee as change depends on the individual’s willingness to embrace it. Most therapists will therefore give you a realistic expectation of how long treatment may last.
adapted from the National Council for Hypnotherapy hhttp://www.hypnotherapists.org.uk/hypnotherapy/fears-and-phobias/ – 24/08/2013
For example, we know there are poisonous spiders in the world that can hurt us and even kill us, so we have an awareness of that on a primal level. However, a house spider in the UK is completely harmless. A person with a phobia is unable to make this differentiation.
We may develop a phobia because of a traumatic experience or series of experiences (you may not remember consciously what this experience is). As a small child we learn about fears from our parents, as they teach us (consciously and unconsciously) how to live and relate to the world around us. If you see your parent being frightened of a spider, your instinctive response and the message hardwired to your brain is that this is a threat and can harm you too.
Over time, when you see a spider that message is reinforced, so it is exposure to that fear which compounds it and makes it worse.
So if you are looking for phobia help in the Kent area or a qualified hypnotherapist in Kent that can help you overcome your phobia then please contact us we will be delighted to help.