What is a phobia?

A phobia is an extreme and irrational fear, which may be preventing you from doing what you want to do, and affecting your life.

Phobias can be about :

• Nature (heights, water, open spaces)
  
  
• Animal (insects, spiders, cats, dogs, mice)
  
  
• Situational (going to the supermarket)
  
  
• Transport (flying, driving, trains, motorways)
  
  
• Medical (injections, needles, blood, hospitals, operations, getting ill)

And much more…..

How do we get phobias?

They can be passed on from our parents, friends, or relatives (in other words, if you have been bought up around people who panic around spiders, it is much more likely that you will have a the same fear yourself)

You may have had a bad experience (with heights, or whatever it is) yourself. You may not consciously remember what this event was, because it may have occurred many years ago, perhaps in early childhood, and your mind may have blanked it out.

Often the fear “gets stuck” and the adult “you” responds in exactly the same way a frightened child would. It is irrational, and you don’t want to have this reaction, yet you cannot help it. Phobias can really disrupt your life, you may want to scream, and there is an overwhelming feeling of wanting to run away.

A phobia can be simple (one thing – eg. trains) or complex (eg. all public transport)

Sometimes, a phobia becomes worse, or becomes linked to other fears when there is a period of change or stress in your life. It could be that you are subconsciously concerned about losing control, or that some other events are unsettling you.

The good news is that with modern techniques, most phobias can be overcome, relatively easily.

Hypnotherapy / NLP – Usually 3 sessions, sometimes 4 or 5.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – Usually 6 -10

Please make contact for more information – why not book in for a free consultation and find out more