
Phobias
are an 'external symbol of an internal anxiety'...so strong overwhelming
emotions that we feel inside...are triggered off by something outside.
How do phobias develop?
When we are growing up as children we go through all kinds of experiences
and sometimes those experiences are unpleasant and the emotions
are intense. When these emotions are very strong our minds 'bottle
them up' and you may develop a phobia or anxiety, so that your mind
is 'warning you' not to get into that, or any similar, situation
again.
Common Phobias,
fears and anxieties
| Common phobias treated at
the Cheltenham Hypnotherapy Clinic |
- Arachnophobia - fear of spiders
- Aviatophobia - fear of flying
- Hydrophobia - fear of water
- Acrophobia - fear of heights
- Claustrophobia - fear of enclosed spaces
- Agoraphobia - fear of open spaces
- Scopophobia - fear of being judged
- Coprophobia - toilet phobia, fear of going
to the toilet
- Nyctophobia - fear of darkness
- Odontophobia - fear of dentists
- Glossophobia - fear of public speaking
- Aichmophobia - fear of needles
- Thanatophobia - fear of death or fear of
dying
- Demophobia - fear of crowds
- Hemaphobia - fear of blood
- Nosocomephobia - fear of hospitals
- Iatrophobia - fear of doctors or fear of going to the
doctor
- Trypanophobia - fear of injections
- Emetophobia - fear of being sick or vomit phobia
- Coprophobia - toilet phobia, fear of going to the toilet
- Shy Bladder / Shy Pee - another toilet phobia
|
All of these phobias listed above (and many more) usually symbolise
a situation where the person feels 'on
the spot or out of control'.
EMETOPHOBIA - a fear of being sick, vomit
phobia
Associated fears; gagging, seeing others being sick, choking on
food, pregnancy (due to possibility of morning sickness), drowning,
and 'social Phobia'.
I have treated many people with Emetophobia. This Phobia seems
to effect more women than men, and tends to have a very disabling
effect on the sufferer - the fear of being sick literally dominates
their thoughts and their lives.
COPROPHOBIA - fear of going to the
loo, toilet phobia
This is a a fear of anything related to going to the toilet, going
to 'number twos', toilets, public toilets, being heard going to
the toilet, making horrible smells when others are in the toilet
(or coming in after you), feeling unclean or dirty generally.
Another very common Phobia. Typically the sufferer would find
it difficult (if not impossible) to use a public loo. A lot of
the time the fear is specifically of losing bowel control or making
smells - in public and many people suffering carry spare underwear
just in case, or self medicate using medicines such as Immodium.
Quite often the sufferer has very precise routines they have to
adhere to - in order to be able to go to the loo.
Coprobphobia, as with any phobia, can be treated quite easily
using hypnosis and hypnotherapy.
SOCIAL PHOBIA - a fear being
judged (in public)
Social phobia is probably the most common phobia there is; a pervasive
fear of any situation where the sufferer is likely to feel 'on
the spot', embarassed, humiliated or judged - for example; dinner
parties, public speaking, interviews, appearing in court, singing,
stuttering etc. Associated symptoms: sensitivity to criticism,
neagtive self image, fear of rejection, shy bladder, shy pee,
toilet phobias, coprophobia, difficulty in being assertive and
feelings of inferiority.
In the D.S.M.4 (the Mental Health 'Bible') the main criteria for
social phobia is listed as; A marked and persistent fear of
one or more social or performance situations in which the person
is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others.
The individual fears that he/she will act in a way that will be
humiliating or embarassing.
Anxiety and panic attacks
People suffering from phobias or anxiety often have panic attacks
(sometimes called anxiety attacks) when confronted with their fear
or phobia. A panic attack is a
sudden onset of intense
anxiety, usually lasting a few minutes.
| Symptoms of a panic attack |
- Sudden intense anxiety or fear
- Heart pounding
- Sweating or trembling
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea or dizziness
- Fear of losing control
- Mind going 'blank'
- Rapidly builds to a peak, usually about ten minutes
- Sense of impending doom or disaster
- Chest tightness
|
How to get rid of your phobia
Some therapies try and get you to 'face your fear' which usually
only helps in the short term and can make things worse (because
you are focusing on what you are afraid of again, and because you
are only treating the symptom, the 'trigger'). However when you
think about the fact that a phobia and anxiety attack is driven
by EMOTION, and strong emotions at that, the most successful long
term solution is to find and resolve the emotional cause of the
phobia, and talk through those emotions until they are resolved...until
that 'cup full of emotion' has been drained.
Most therapies cannot gain access to these emotions and help you
resolve them fully and properly, but
hypnoanalysis
can and so is a very effective treatment for phobis and panic attacks.