Fears and phobias
Fears and phobias
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When you come to a situation of danger it is normal that you will feel fear. Fear is an emotional response induced by a situation of danger or threat. This changes our metabolic and response functions. You can freeze, run, sweat, shiver, rapid breath and have all sorts of symptoms in your body. Fear can be a natural response to a situation of danger. If, for example, you are being chased by a lion fear kicks in.
There are rational fears like the one I mention above and irrational fears like the ones we don’t know where they come from. I always say that you fear more the unknown than the known.
Phobias are prolonged and exacerbated fears in a nutshell. This can cause panic and anxiety attacks, create a great deal of stress and all types of physical symptoms. If you are not in a situation of danger you shouldn’t have to endure any fear or phobia. Phobias are normally associated with past and unresolved experiences. These experiences are imprinted in your mind as negative and traumatic experiences. Your mind, as a defence mechanism, catalogues those fears that eventually become phobias as a way to protect yourself without knowing that it is actually hurting you.
For example, if you have phobia of clowns in your adult life it could be because you had a bad experience in your childhood. Your mind has created this mechanism associating clowns with pain and fear, to try and protect yourself. As it is imprinted in your mind, in your adult life, anytime you see a clown you feel fear, when in reality you have no reason to do so as there is no real danger.
Fears and phobias can cripple you and stop you from having a more healthy and calm life.
For example, if you have phobia of clowns in your adult life it could be because you had a bad experience in your childhood. Your mind has created this mechanism associating clowns with pain and fear, to try and protect yourself. As it is imprinted in your mind, in your adult life, anytime you see a clown you feel fear, when in reality you have no reason to do so as there is no real danger.
Fears and phobias can cripple you and stop you from having a more healthy and calm life. - Most common fears or phobias
- Social phobias- fear of social situations
- Agoraphobia – fear of open spaces
- Acrophobia – fear of heights
- Pteromerhanophobia – fear of flying
- Claustrophobia – fear of enclosed spaces
- Entomophobia – fear of insects
- Ophidiophobia – fear of snakes
- Cynophobia – fear of dogs
- Astraphobia – fear of storms
- Trypanophobia – fear of needles
- Fear of public speaking
- More phobias
Many of our fears and phobias come from past experiences and traumatic situations.
Regression therapy and parts therapy, as part of hypnotherapy, are very effective tools to set you free from these fears. By accessing, understanding and clearing the negative impact that those memories had and still have in your life. Once you have cleared the negative impact of those memories, you need to integrate those in your real life.
Coaching can be very useful to build habits and have an action plan.
CBT can also help you by understanding the triggers that cause the fear and consciously reframe the situation.