A phobia is a pathological fear, where the feeling is intense, uncontrollable, irrational, and unendurable.

In a way, a phobia is fear of fear of something. A typical phobia can bring on a wide number of symptoms, such as:

• Increased heart rate
• Palpitations
• Sweating
• Shaking
• Nausea
• Problems speaking

Untreated, it can lead to a fear of the fear itself. Over time, phobias may grow to the point where they have a serious impact upon the sufferer’s life, where they begin to lead their lives in a way that avoids the phobic trigger, therefore gradually limit their lifestyles and activities as a way to avoid the cause of the phobia. The boundaries of their life, their abilities, ambitions, and freedoms are gradually eroded, having a serious impact on their professional and personal lives and upon their families’ lives also.

Some phobias occur as a result of an unpleasant experience that a person has experienced i.e, if a child was attacked by a dog. It is possible, though not necessarily inevitable, this child may grow up to be an adult who is extremely frightened of dogs to the extent that they cannot be near one without experiencing strong anxiety or even panic. Such a phobia serves a purpose, in the same way, a fear of fire or drowning might.

However, Most phobias are not directly related to the cause of the emotion, they are symbolic of it. It can happen if a child has a terrifying experience and is unable to deal with the emotions they simply “block out” the memory of the experience and the feelings that went with it. If this happens then the feelings and emotions of that experience remain. As there is nowhere for these feelings to go, they remain inside the person, sometimes dormant for many years. When the person next experiences something that they find they are unable to deal with this can awaken the original feeling of fear but not the memory of it. The psyche tries to make sense of the feelings and will project them outwards onto something, which in many cases, is totally unrelated to the original cause, in other words, it is a symbol of the emotion.

For many of us, we wonder, where does fear come from, especially the irrational ones? Especially for little children? Hypnosis is the fastest tool to uncover the cause and find a cure for them.

Common Phobias

Phobias are usually divided into two groups: Social phobia and Specific phobias. The most commonly experienced by people include the following:

 

Claustrophobia

Claustrophobia is defined as a fear of confined spaces. Typically sufferers may experience panic in small rooms, crowds, planes and many other situations. Some people with claustrophobia are uncomfortable in any situation where they feel retrained.

The symptoms include sweating, shaking, gasping for air, dizzy, crying and palpations. If these feelings become overwhelming, they may try to get out and away quickly by any means possible.

The result is that claustrophobia can severely limit a person’s life, causing them to miss out on events that to many are classed as normal everyday events, parties, cinema. For some sufferers, it can add extra strain onto relationships as it can also affect other family members.

Agoraphobia

The fear of being unable to escape from difficult or uncomfortable situations. This is a dread of open spaces and takes such a hold over the sufferer that they are sometimes unable to go outside for even short periods and consequently are ‘imprisoned’ in their own homes.

 Arachnophobia or Fear of Spider

Phobia of spiders has two aspects: the fear of the spider itself and the fear of the web. There might be different reasons for different individuals. Some have to do with a past event. Though the event memory has gone, the unconscious uneasiness when seeing the web/spider may trigger some sense of out of control and even paralysis.

Fear of spiders, especially when it’s irrational, hinders one’s life. If arachnophobic see a spider, they may not enter the general vicinity until they have overcome the panic attack that is often associated with their phobia. Some people scream, cry, have trouble breathing, have excessive sweating or even heart trouble when they come in contact with an area near spiders or their webs. In some extreme cases, even a picture or a realistic drawing of a spider can also trigger fear.

Arachnophobia affects 3.5 to 6.1 percent of the population. Treatment includes regression, relaxation techniques, systematic desensitization.

Copraphobia

This is a fear of anything related to feces – this includes going to the toilet in public, fear of being heard going to the toilet, fear of the smell of toilets, feelings of being dirty and unclean. People who suffer from this phobia often develop complicated routines to avoid having to use a toilet outside their own home and if they have a full-time job outside this can lead to waiting to use the loo for prolonged periods of time. Apart from the anxiety and panic that this can create, it can lead to physical problems such as severe constipation, piles, and other bowel disorders.

Emetophobia

This is a fear of being sick particularly vomiting in front of other people or in public places or of other people being sick. The sufferer will try to avoid places associated with eating or drinking such as pubs, clubs, restaurants, and cafes, and tends to be extremely careful of what they eat and drink to avoid any possibility of being sick. This phobia tends to affect women more than men and consequently can lead to a woman avoiding getting pregnant for fear of morning sickness. As being sick is viewed as being horrible also feel the same way about toilets and going to the toilet.

Cherophobia

“Chero” is a Greek word for “rejoice”, therefore this phobia is fear of joy. It is common for people with traumatic histories to expect disaster just around the corner. Instead of leaning into the goodness that comes their way, they become hypervigilant, always waiting for something to go wrong. Fleeting joyb doesn’t stick.

Shy Bladder

Like Copraphobia this is a fear of using public toilets but this time it is a fear of urinating in ‘public’ and can similarly vary in intensity from feeling uneasy about doing this in a public toilet to complete avoidance. This affects more men than women as men usually have to pee in front of others whereas women have the privacy of a cubicle. As with copraphobia, this can lead to physical problems such as bladder infections.

Aerophobia or Aviatophobia

Acrophobia or Fear of heights

Carcinophobia or Fear of Cancer

Brontophobia or Astraphobia or Fear of Thunderstorms

Necrophobia or Fear of Death

How does Hypnotherapy help me deal with Fear or Phobia?

Hypnotherapy is effective in helping people with phobia by helping you find the cause of the fear. Often a terrifying event in childhood can cause repression and the mind is left with an overwhelming fear that attaches symbolically to something else. Through hypnotherapy, we work together to release this repression of the symptoms of phobia. We can then cleanse and release the emotional charge so that you can take control and start to live again.

Schedule your first session with Kemila in person below. If it’s online such as Zoom or Skype, please go to the Online Session page. For returned clients, click here for scheduling a Regular Session. Or if you have questions, you can schedule a virtual or In-Person consultation with Kemila first.

146 WAYS HYPNOTHERAPY MIGHT HELP YOU

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