A study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in America found that between 5% & 21% of Americans suffer from types of phobias and fears. Broken down by age and gender, the study found that phobias were the most common mental illness among women in all age groups and the second most common illness among men older than 25.
In neurological terms, fear is the memory of danger. Fear is an emotional response that has been programmed into us from an instinctive perspective to respond to potential dangerous situations. Some fears are rational whereas some fears are not and can get in the way of you enjoying your life.
There are numerous causes of fears that develop into phobias. Some are fairly common such as the fear of flying or aviophobia, fear of spiders known as arachnephobia or fear of confined spaces known as claustrophobia. The fear memories form connections with each other in the brain and repeated exposure to the fear causes the phobia to snowball in intensity.
Phobias can broadly be grouped into two categories based on their origin of formation. These categories are direct and indirect phobias. In case of direct phobias, the patient has often suffered a traumatizing experience in the past. As a consequence of the impact of such a dreadful event, the fear response is deeply embedded in the brain in association with a particular object or situation. Often the person suffering from such direct phobias may not remember the actual event which caused it in the remote past of, may be, his childhood days.
The course of an indirect phobia is more complex. Indirect phobias are caused by long term anxiety originating from a number of different factors. The subconscious mind attributes these dreadful feelings to a particular stimulant, which may or may not have any direct association with the actual cause. The patients of indirect phobia therefore, suffer from a distorted form of phobic response.
Whatever the form of your phobia, it is clear that it exists on two different levels – conscious and subconscious. Consciously you are aware of an all consuming fear, its detrimental effect on your life and your powerlessness against it. Subconsciously your mind is suffering from a deep-rooted trauma.
Fears, phobias and general anxiety issues are as varied as there are types of people, and are also very treatable. Most of my clients respond both quickly and dramatically— we can often completely erase a fear or phobia in as few as two or three sessions. If you suffer from a fear, phobia, or anxiety that is preventing you from living life the way you want to, or is limiting your success at work or you’re ability to play and enjoy yourself, I can help you get back in control. Why wait another day?
