I have a real dislike for goat’s cheese, but as much as I avoid it I can’t call it a phobia. Phobia is very different from simply not liking something because, rather than finding it unpleasant, it feels downright terrifying. Suffering from phobia is a miserable thing. We can feel a combination of fear from the object of the phobia and sometimes shame that we are affected by something seemingly so straightforward that others apparently have no difficulty with.

Phobia negatively impacts your life because it prevents you from functioning in a way that enables you to lead a healthy and fulfilling life.

The phobias that we most commonly think of are probably fear of flying, fear of spiders, fear of heights, fear of confined spaces, fear of dogs and various social phobias, but the list of things which cause us fear and panic is almost endless. I have come across phobias as diverse as a fear of contact lenses, fear of ships out of water and a fear of Chinook helicopters. Fear of cotton wool and fear of buttons might seem incredible but they’re actually quite common.

 

How do we develop phobia?

Phobia is a response to extreme stress, and so the body’s natural fight or flight response is triggered by some sort of stimulus. In the case of a fear of flying for example, it might be that you experienced a bumpy flight, or something happened during a flight which caused you to feel under threat. It might also be that someone told you about a frightening experience and that you projected yourself into the situation. Your subconscious can’t differentiate between truth and fiction, so if you imagine something scary it believes you are in that scary situation and prepares you for the danger.

Phobia can also come about because we inadvertently connect a frightening or stressful situation with something else unrelated and then, subconsciously, fuse the two together in our minds. For example, one theory as to the incidence of a fear of buttons is that if you are involved in an accident or similar traumatic experience you might notice the buttons on the uniforms members of the emergency services at the scene and then subconsciously connect the two meaning that you come to associate buttons with danger and then try to avoid them. This is very troublesome, especially when getting dressed!

 

Can phobia really be fixed?

YES! It is generally relatively easy to fix a phobia. It rarely takes more than a few sessions and often the results are very good indeed. One of the things which stops us getting help with phobia is that we have come to believe that we can’t be helped. You can, and if phobia is having a debilitating impact on your life it might be much simpler to fix it than you think.

I have helped countless people overcome their phobias, often in as little as two hours, and while there are never any guarantees, I feel confident that almost any phobia can be improved significantly if not eradicated completely.

If you suffer with a phobia please get in touch for more details. It’s probably much easier than you think to get rid of your fear for good.