Fears and Phobias
Oils ain’t oils Sol, as the old TV advertisement said and the same goes for Fears!
Where do fears come from? I have found Fears and Phobias really interesting. I have helped many people who have had this unfortunate, debilitating experience and it’s intriguing as to how it all comes about and stays embedded in the brain until it’s not!
Ever hear someone say they’re frightened of dogs? It might be all dogs or just a particular dog and they just refuse to go near a park or anywhere where there might be dogs in case they see or run into one. This isn’t just a fear, this is a phobia. It has surpassed fear and morphed into something that is dysfunctional – it becomes the mis-use of the imagination, the imagination going wild which is anxiety, severe anxiety. A phobia is a persistent, intense, extreme and irrational fear response that is totally out of proportion in relation to the danger someone is exposed to by the object of the phobia.
A run of the mill fear is natural and functional and we need this response so we can respond to a real threat. Fear is a primal response where the amygdala (the reptilian part of the brain) lights up like a beacon when danger presents so we can then respond to protect ourselves and/or others. We immediately enter into the fight/flight/freeze/faun response which is a protection mechanism and very natural. We need this primal mechanism in our lives. What we don’t need are phobias as they can be debilitating to one’s life and stops them from living a complete and normal life.
Another example of someone who has a phobia – someone will refuse to go to their best friend’s wedding because they have to hop on a plane and fly there. A ‘fear’ on the other hand would be someone who is anxious/worried about a turbulent flight – but they still get on the plane!
What are the top 5 phobias?
5. Is Claustrophobia - A fear of combined spaces
4. Is Aerophobia - A fear of flying
3. Is Arachnophobia - Fear of Spiders
2. Is Nyctophobia - This one is dependant on age and is a fear of the dark
And number one is … Glossophobia - The fear of public speaking
Is it ewww or meltdown
???
Fears, phobias and anxiety interlink as the phobia (the extreme emotion) may cause fear and anxiety and then the fear and anxiety drive the phobia – a never ending cycle of an intense negative emotional response. Anxiety can remain even after the trigger (eg; spider) has been removed, whereby the person is still anxious about if there are any more spiders or what if it comes back inside the house again. Even the slightest movement in the case of someone who has a phobia of mice can trigger them into a state of high alert because their irrational fear keeps them looking for the mouse/mice in which none may even be present. Phobias are irrational and debilitating.
Phobias can be about:
Public Speaking - This phobia is more common than the fear of heights. On special occasions such as weddings you may want to get up and give a speech on behalf of your family and friends. Having a fear of speaking in front of people can lead to anxiety, body shakes and sweats.
Animal - Some examples of animal phobia can include a fear of snakes, spiders, birds, rodents and dogs.
Fear of heights - The fear of heights is a natural protective state within the mind and we need a healthy respect for heights.
Environmental - Fear of storms, fear of water and fear of the dark.
Situational phobias (fears triggered by a specific situation). Examples include fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), fear of flying, driving, tunnels, elevators and bridges.
Needle Phobia - With Covid 19 many people have had fears arise around needles. The fear of needles is known as trypanophobia. What causes needle phobias? - Potential reasons for fear of needles can include general anxiety, having a sensitive nature and previous trauma or bad experiences.
Agoraphobia - The fear of open spaces, fear of having a panic attack and become anxious about being in situations where escape would be difficult or embarrassing or where help wouldn’t be immediately available.
Social Phobia – A fear of being embarrassed in a social setting, being judged negatively, being humiliated or rejected. This can happen in almost any social situation.
Other Phobias include fear of loud sounds, seeing blood, silence, germs and more recent occurring phobias include the fear of not having your mobile phone on hand, mobile is out of battery or data or even out of sight!
People can develop phobias about virtually anything and most phobias develop in childhood, however they can also develop in adults. Other phobias include fear of choking, fear of getting a disease such as cancer and even a fear of clowns. Well, after hearing about the serial killer, John Gacy, I too wonder about clowns!!! 😉 But seriously, a phobia can happen anytime, anywhere, where the response to a stimulus (something you’ve seen, heard, felt/experienced) has affected or traumatised you. There are more than 400 recognised phobias!
We are born with two fears:
· Fear of loud noises; and
· Fear of falling.
That’s it, the rest is learned. So, if we can learn them then we can unlearn them.
How does a phobia happen?
Remember phobias usually happen in childhood however, can occur later in life too!
Phobias usually occur from:
· Negative experiences/trauma in relation to an object or situation. For example, someone may have been chased by a chicken or bitten by a dog, seen a movie or even a poster about a tarantula spider, a nasty clown in a movie or cartoon. It could stem from being trapped in an elevator, hearing about negative experiences, seeing something on the news/movie.
· Learned behaviour – It’s a case of monkey see, monkey do. For example a mother has a fear of spiders and freaks out at the sight of them. The child sees the response and they too can learn that fear.
· Genetics – passed down from generation to generation. Personally, I’m on the fence on this one. It’s like some professionals that say ‘depression’ is genetic.. when there is no ‘gene’ for depression, however there can be a pre-disposition to it. Temperament may actually increase the risk if someone is more sensitive or more negative than the norm.
· Past Life – believe it or not, there is much evidence now showing that when there has been no ‘at cause’ event then past life regression has been used and has successfully overcome the issue.
Phobias can happen immediately or over a period of time being exposed to what the person perceives as the negative stimulus.
What does the body do when it responds to a phobia?
Regardless of what phobia you may have, the following are the most common responses people experience:
· Flight, fight, freeze or faun response – tense up, intense fear, anxiety, panic when exposed to the phobia or even thinking about it or seeing a picture of the object of the phobia.
· Feeling powerless, helpless to control emotions even though you are aware that the fear response is unreasonable.
· Heightened anxiety when the object gets closer (example; dog runs up to a person who has a dog phobia)
· Avoidance – avoiding anywhere or situation where the object will be in close proximity
· Finding it difficult to function normally
· Sweating, racing heartbeat/palpitations, tightening of the chest, breathing difficulties (usually shallow breathing), racing mind, change in body temperature, nausea, dizzy, fainting, crying, and tantrums (children).
People who have a phobia tend to have an expectancy bias. In other words, they expect a negative reaction when they encounter the object of their phobia and therefore avoid any situation where this could possibly occur. For some people when they have to be in close proximity of the phobia object/situation, they endure under duress and their whole body is on full alert (anxiety/panic). It doesn’t make for a pleasant experience.
Can I overcome a phobia?
Yes, you can, with hypnosis and NLP (neuro linguistic programming) techniques. You may even be embarrassed about your phobia or say to yourself “it’s weird”. At Bathurst Hypnotherapy nothing is to big or small.
On a distress level of 0-10. 0 equals calm and relaxed (no distress) and 10 equals the most distressed/panic.
Most of my clients come in with a level of between 8-10 where they are so distressed, they are unhappy, stressed and just not living a normal happy life.
For some people the phobia can be eradicated completely and others will experience their level of distress go down to 1-2 on the scale of 0-10 whereby they can easily live with a normal, rational response to the object/situation. The phobia is no longer a phobia, it is a rational, natural, healthy relationship with the said object/situation.
For some phobias we need to have a healthy fear, a healthy respect for it. For example; a fear of heights, fear of snakes, fear of spiders etc. We need to be careful however have a normal natural fear that kicks in when there is a ‘real’ threat, not a perceived one. Of course, you’re not going to remove all fear as we need our primal fear response to protect us from real threats and dangers.
Case Study
Let me tell you about a client of mine. She came into my clinic with a fear of spiders. Not all spiders, just Huntsman spiders. She couldn’t even look at the spider without feeling agitated. When encountering a Huntsman spider (especially in the house), she experienced anxiety, dread, cold/tingly feelings, heart palpitations and sweats. She’d freak out, scream, run away and feared they were going to drop/jump on her. She lived on a rural property and was at home alone at times and was horrified at being on her own in her own home whereby she couldn’t sleep and was often a mess.
Her level of distress of 8/10.
She wanted to achieve the following when encountering a Huntsman spider:
· Stay calm
· Not freak out or have a meltdown
· Get rid of them however not kill them (Capture and release)
· Not be bothered by them
We had our session to deal with the phobia and her level of distress went down to 2/10. She could actually view a picture of a Huntsman without feeling agitated and went home feeling hopeful.
I received an email from her a day after our session which read “So we had a huntsman that needed to be caught this morning…. True story, proof of life attached. He was released into the garden, far away from the house. Omg!!!”
She reported a week later that morning she walked out into the kitchen and there was a huntsman on the wall near the doorway. She said she remained calm, walked in and out of that doorway 5-6 times and went for a shower… she was ok. So, she went off to work and said when she gets home, she was planning to find it, capture it and put it outside.
What a change to her life.
Now, where did this phobia stem from?? Initially she had a negative experience with a crab when she was three years old. Then at 8/9 years she saw a trailer or post of the movie ‘Deadly Blessings’ where a spider was hanging from a web and dropping into a girl’s mouth.
As I mentioned earlier, phobias are very interesting and the good new is that you do not need to live with it.
If you would like some help, just book in for a free 30 minute consultation. We can have a chat about what you want and how I can help you.
We can conduct sessions face-to-face at my clinic or online in the comfort of your own home. Either way, hypnosis can help.
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