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phobias

  • dizziness

  • dry mouth

  • trembling

  • shortness of breath

  • nausea

  • vomiting

  • increased heart rate

  • upset stomach

  • sweating

  • confusion

  • feeling faint

  • choking sensation

  • hot flushes

Phobia Symptoms

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Phobias

A phobia is an irrational fear of an object or a situation that causes overwhelming feelings of anxiety.  Common simple phobias include spiders, dogs, flying or dentists. Phobias can cause a great deal of distress and major disruption to people's lives.  When severe it can bring on symptoms such as nausea, feeling faint or shortness of breath and sometimes it can bring on a panic attack.

 

Most simple phobias are developed in childhood. They can develop from a traumatic childhood experience such as being bitten by a dog.   A phobia can also be a learned response from observing the behaviour of parents or guardians.  If your Mother screamed every time she saw a spider when you were a child, you may have developed a spider phobia too.  This conditioned response was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov. In the 1890's, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, showed how dogs could learn to salivate to the sound of a bell when food was put out and how eventually the dogs salivated when hearing the bell only.  

Some people may develop a phobia following a panic attack and research suggests some people are more genetically prone to developing phobias than others. Agoraphobia and sociophobia are termed complex phobias because they impact people's lives in many ways. A sociophobic may have a fear of going to the shops or going to work or even joining family celebrations. Interestingly, some phobias may actually be a fear of something linked to something else such as a fear of travelling on a train can stem from a fear of going to work.   

How can hypnotherapy help phobias?

Hypnotherapy may help alleviate a wide range of phobias. Communicating with your subconscious mind may help you change the way you feel and behave towards your phobia. Hypnotherapy may help you to relax and feel more confident and empowered in situations that previously triggered your fear and alleviate the intensity of it.    

Please do not hesitate to call if you would like to discuss how hypnotherapy can help you.

What are common types of phobias?

  • Acrophobia: fear of heights;
  • Algophobia: fear of pain;

  • Agoraphobia: fear of open spaces or crowds;

  • Aichmophobia: fear of needles or pointed objects;

  • Arachnophobia: fear of spiders;

  • Aviophobia: fear of flying;

  • Claustrophobia: fear of being in small places;

  • Cynophobia: fear of dogs;

  • Nyctophobia: fear of the dark;

  • Sociophobia: fear of social gatherings:

  • Trypanophobia: Fear of injections or needles.

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