Fears and phobias
The difference between a fear and a phobia is the intensity of the emotional reaction attached to it. As an illustration, a strong dislike of dogs or other animals is a fear, when one experiences discomfort around them resulting in avoidance of dogs whenever possible.A phobia manifests itself as an irrational, uncontrollable and intense fear that that produces an equally intense physical reaction. However, many fears and phobias do not bear an obvious connection to any known experience and that is where hypnoanalysis comes in. Every symptom has a cause, so my task is to uncover that cause and eradicate it for the treatment to be successful.
A phobia is an extreme fear of something that is not actually dangerous. The sufferer usually realises their fear is irrational and typically says 'I know it's silly, but…. They are well aware that there is no basis for such a crippling fear yet it persists in its grip on you.
The Roman medical writer Celsus first documented the word 'phobia' to describe 'morbid fears'. We now understand phobias as:
- 'an external actualisation of an internal anxiety'
- A strong overwhelming emotion we feel inside, manifesting itself as an outward 'symptom'. Most phobias are not directly related to the cause of the emotion but are a symbolic representation.
How Phobias Develop
During our 'formative' years in childhood we experience many intense emotions, both pleasant and un-pleasant. Our lack of maturity and rational thought during this phase of our development makes our psyche 'lock up' those unpleasant and embarrassing emotions we encountered in a way of protecting us from not getting into that situation again.Phobias are symbols of anxiety. The 'fear of flying' is a classic example of how symbolic phobias can be. Research shows that around 10 million people in the UK suffer from a fear of flying. This is extraordinary as virtually no one will have experienced a plane crash or even the repercussions of one. Our experience tells us that, like most phobias, the fear of flying is actually a fear of being 'out of control' of our lives. Not surprising considering one is stuck in an aluminium tube travelling at 400/500 miles per hour, 30,000 ft up with the doors locked and no exit.
The reality of the situation is that flying, per passenger mile, is dramatically safer than travelling by car, which we do regularly without hesitation. Our Psyche 'symbolises' this fear as being 'out of control' and projects this onto planes/flying for no logical reason.
