There are many types of phobias, the main ones being fear of flying, heights, dentists and spiders, as well as many that affect every day life, such as agoraphobia or brontophobia.
People with phobias suffer from intense anxiety and sometimes panic attacks when facing the object or situation they fear. Most people with phobias will try to avoid the objects or situations they fear in order to avoid the anxiety they arouse. Some people restrict their lives unless their phobia is one that does not interfere with their normal activities.
If you have a phobia, you will be aware that your fear is irrational but you will be unable to reason it away. Symptoms of a phobia include: racing heart, sweating, dizziness, feeling sick or even collapsing in public.
TREATMENT
The first step if you have a phobia is to see your GP and ask to be referred for further help. Or you can try one of the organisations listed below. They can provide you with information, advice and support.
Treatment may include:
Cognitive Therapy - This type of therapy helps you to view yourself and situations in a more realistic way and to make changes in your behaviour that will help you to cope. It involves making a list of all the situations to do with your phobia that make you anxious, starting with those that are less alarming and gradually building up to the one you find most frightening. When you have overcome your anxiety at one stage and feel confident, you can move on to the next and so on till you gradually overcome your fear.
NLP - NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Neuro = your brain and nervous system. Linguistic = all forms of non verbal and verbal communication including talking to yourself. Programming = how you have learned to behave. It helps people to change by programming their brains to erase negative thoughts and replace fears with positive feelings.
EFT - EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques, an emotional version of acupuncture. Instead of using needles, y
Answered by
Parthi
at
11:50 AM on August 17, 2007
