Fears & Phobias - Agrophobia - Panic Attacks
A Phobia is:
"an abnormal intense and irrational fear of a given situation, organism or object." from the Collins English Dictionary.
Agrophobia is:
" intense, irrational fear of open spaces, sometimes occurring in association with panic attacks."
What does that mean?
When a person finds themselves in a situation that creates intense emotions, the persons 'psyche' has the ability to repress/hide/disavow those emotions. Once those emotions have been "bottled up", the psyche will create a phobia - to warn the person not to get into that (or any similar) situation again.
Example !
You get bitten by a dog......... you (can) develop a fear of dogs. The fear stops you going anywhere near dogs, and hence prevents you from getting bitten again..
The main difference between a fear and a phobia is in the severity of the emotional reaction: a strong dislike of flying is a fear, whereas a pathological fear (an intense, uncontrollable, unendurable, physical fear) is considered to be a phobia.
Phobias - Symbolic
Although some Phobias seem to serve an obvious purpose (fear of fire, drowning etc.) some appear to make no sense at all! - rest assured though, all Phobias serve a purpose. In therapy, we can find the originating cause (the unconscious conflict) of the Phobia and release it - and when the emotions are released, the phobia disappears. Most Phobias are not directly related to the cause of the emotion, they are symbolic of it. The most obvious example is the fear of flying: how many people do you know who have lived through a plane crash? None? well where do the UK's 12 million aviatophobics come from then? They (mostly) don't have a fear of flying (or dying, or crashing, or being blown up), they have a fear of being out of control - which their brain symbolises and the projects onto flying.
Why is Hypnoanalysis so successful in treating fears and phobias (as well as anxiety/depression etc.)
Phobias are almost always formed in the childhood (though the symptoms may not appear for many years) and are caused by the sufferer bottling up some strong emotions, and those emotions being projected onto an object/situation. (bitten by a dog = fear of dogs)
The only way to CURE a phobia (to get rid of it completely, so that it no longer effects the person) is to release the bottled up emotions that are causing it. Sounds easy?
The only difficulty is........most of the time, the bottled up emotions are completely locked away (hidden) in the depths of the persons subconscious mind. (some people call the process repression, or denial, or disavowal or even dissociation...but the effect is the same - the sufferer has no conscious awareness of the emotions or experiences that are bottled up)
Most other types of therapy cannot gain access to these 'locked away' emotions & experiences, whereas hypnoanalysis can - sometimes quite easily.
The process of Hypnoanalysis (sometimes referred to as analytical hypnotherapy) requires a strong bond of trust and rapport being created between the therapist, and the client.
Over a period of about eight sessions, at weekly intervals, we slowly link thoughts and memories back through time (by talking about them) until we come to the bottled up emotions. When we get to these emotions, we talk them through until they are resolved.
It doesn't take long to resolve a childhood hear of, say, Dr Who and the Daleks...........when you are a fifty year old company executive!
Hypnoanalysis usually takes 8 sessions (though it can take up to 12) at weekly intervals. The sessions cost £40 each.
The following are some of the more common Phobias that Analytical Hypnotherapy can help:
Arachnophobia (spiders), Aviatopophobia (flying), Hydrophobia (water), Acrophobia (heights), Claustrophobia (enclosed spaces), Agorophobia (open spaces), Demophobia (crowds), Nyctophobia (darkness), Odontophobia (dentists), Glossophobia (speaking in public), Aichmophobia (needles), Thanatophobia (death or dying).
The above Phobias are almost always indirect - this means that they are usually indirectly linked to an unresolved emotional conflict.
(All the other Phobias in this 'common phobia' section, are usually 'direct Phobias').
I've grouped the phobias above together, because they usually symbolise a situation where the sufferer feels 'out of control'. If you think about it, there are very few situations in life that could symbolise more a feeling of being 'out of control'...... ...flying in a tin can at 400 miles an hour, two miles up in the sky ...lying on a dentists couch, with him about to stick a needle in you ...in a completely dark room, can't even see your own hand in front of you ...caught up in a large crowd of people, being dragged along with them ......you get the picture!
COPROPHOBIA or CORPOROPHOBIA - fear of going to the loo (passing faeces) Aka: toilet phobia
A fear of anything related to shit/shitting, toilets, public toilets, being heard going to the toilet, feeling unclean or dirty generally. Another fairly common Phobia. Typically the sufferer would find it difficult (if not impossible) to use a public toilet. A lot of the time the fear is specifically of losing bowel control - in public. Quite often the sufferer has very precise routines they have to adhere to - in order to be able to go to the toilet.
Sometimes people with coprophobia/coporophobia use laxatives to avoid the feeling of going to the toilet, and sometimes they might even 'auto-disempact' - which I hope is self explanatory!
SOCIAL PHOBIA (SCOPOPHOBIA)- a fear of embarrassing, or humiliating 'on the spot' type situations (in public) Aka: social anxiety, social anxiety disorder, fear of being judged
SOCIAL PHOBIA is probably the most common phobia there is; a pervasive fear of any situation where the sufferer is likely to feel 'on the spot', embarrassed, humiliated or judged - for example; dinner parties, public speaking, interviews, appearing in court, singing, stuttering etc Associated symptoms: sensitivity to criticism, negative self image, fear of rejection, difficulty in being assertive and feelings of inferiority . On a more general level, the social phobic worries continuously about how others 'see' them, and what others may think about them - it is not surprising then that the sufferer usually spends a lot of time creating the image they want others to see. Usually the social phobic is quite adept at concealing their anxiety from others, although there is quite often a difficulty in maintaining eye contact.
In a clinical setting (in the U.S.A.) somewhere between 3 and 13% of people had social phobia. Social phobia generally starts in the mid -teens (although it often follows on from just being 'shy') or can be triggered off by a particularly embarrassing event. As with all phobias, stress (or the lack of it) will have a significant effect on the 'strength' of the anxiety created. In the D.S.M.4 (the Mental Health 'Bible') the main criteria for social phobia is listed as; A marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he/she will act in a way that will be humiliating or embarrassing.
Some symptoms that may appear alongside (or be caused by) social phobia or social anxiety are.....
A fear of public speaking
A fear of talking on the telephone
A fear of writing in front of someone (even signing a cheque!)
Blushing, or a fear of blushing
Stuttering or stammering
A lack of confidence
Working too hard (to please others)
Setting unachievable high standards (and feeling bad when they are not met)
A preoccupation with how you look: perfecting an image you want others to see (NOT vanity - this is about trying to 'blend in')
Certain twitches or 'tics'
Shy bladder (men) not being able to pee, when on the spot
Certain sexual inhibitions - due to 'performance anxiety'
Repeated failure of driving test - due to 'performance anxiety'
A persistent fear of failure, or 'not making the grade'
Basically any situation in life where you might feel embarrassed, on the spot, judged, silly out of control etc.
SHY BLADDER - the inability to urinate in front of others Aka: paruresis, stage fright, toilet anxiety, toilet phobia
Shy bladder is one of the most common symptoms that men consult me for. Men with shy bladder (and it is usually only men who get shy bladder - for obvious reasons) have a great difficulty peeing in front of other people, or in a place that they are unfamiliar with. As with all phobias, the severity of the symptoms can change from person to person, and also fluctuate depending on the persons stress level. i.e. some men find it a little difficult to pee in a crowded toilet, some can only pee in their own toilet (causing great difficulties - because the person has to come home from work, just to have a pee). Due to the embarrassing nature of the symptom, it is rare that a man would consult his G.P. with the problem - and because of this, there is very little written on the subject.
Confidential help is just a phone call away...
Call now for a free consultation - 01475 676014 or alternatively
e-mail: Michael for an appointment or for more information.