Phobia

A phobia is a persistent, irrational fear of, and desire to avoid, a particular object or situation. Thus, it is an extreme irrational fear or aversion to something. You are not born with a phobia - it is a learned response. You may be terrified of spiders (arachnophobia), or the sight of blood (hematophobia), or flying in an aeroplane (aviaphobia) or lightning (astraphobia). Common phobias include claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces), agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), and acrophobia (fear of heights). There are many altogether stranger phobias such as selenophobia (fear of the moon), pogonophobia (fear of beards) and triskadekaphobia (fear of the number 13). More than 300 different phobias have been recorded.

Phobias can exist in the lives of people who may be otherwise reasonably well adjusted. Sufferers often recognise their fears to be unrealistic, but still feel unable to confront them. People with phobias can experience a fear so intense and debilitating that it begins to affect the way they live their lives.

Confronted with the phobic situation a person experiences the classic symptoms of panic attacks such as sweating, trembling, feeling faint, and may even feel as though they are dying. The results are loss of confidence and feelings of self-worth, and increased frustration and tiredness as they feed energy in to unwanted situations.

A phobia may have established such a firm hold on your life that it seems impossible to unlock, or even understand. However, regardless of the specific stimulus that produces the fear - whether it is the sight of blood, dogs or cats, lightening, enclosed or open spaces - the majority of phobias are generated from one of the following five causes:

• Your phobia may be the product of severe stress
• Your phobia may be the product of a fear of a fear
• Your phobia may be transmitted to you by another person
• Your phobia may be the product of a series of experiences occurring over a period of years, which have built up into an excessive anxiety
• Your phobia may be the result of a severe past trauma

Regardless of your type of phobia, hypnotherapy can help you to get rid of your problem by going to the cause of it. By utilising your unconscious mind for the benefit of your health we can address and deal with the cause, leaving you free from your fear. The therapy can dramatically improve the quality of your life.

Hypnotherapy can make a positive contribution to the way that you live your life.

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