FEAR
& PHOBIAS
A "phobia" is a strong, persistent and irrational fear elicited
by a specific stimulus or situation. About one out of ten people suffer
a severe fear of specific objects, activities or settings.
The
list of phobias is virtually endless. It includes
abnormal
fear of death or dying, dentists, bridges, heights, closed spaces,
open spaces, crowds, animals, public speaking, among many others.
Other
common phobias are fear of commitment, fear of intimacy, fear of success,
as well as fear of failure, and fear of change.
About
25 million Americans have a fear of flying. Some victims simply grit
their teeth and cope as best they can. Others are so phobic they can't
force themselves to get on an airplane.
Many
people experience a fear of public speaking, from feelings of anxiety
and panic just prior to the event, to full anxiety throughout the
speaking experience.
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We
feel fearful when we believe we do not have the ability to cope with
something. This fear may be grounded in reality, as when we fear being
knocked down by a car when trying to cross a busy road. Or the fear
may be irrational as when we fear a tiny harmless spider.
Many
of our fears are a mix of reality and misinterpretation of our ability
to cope. When there is a large degree of of misinterpretation it is
likely that it is a phobia rather than a fear.
Pat has drawn upon her wide experience as
a Master hypnotist having helped many clients overcome a wide range
of common and obscure fears and phobias.
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