Dealing with Irrational Fears and Phobias

Dealing with Irrational Fears and Phobias

Irrational fears & Phobias – there are no limits to what people can find themselves afraid of. I have a list of the ‘technical’ names of phobias,  it is several pages long. Almost anything you could think of is on the list from spiders to buttons and clowns to mice.  

Fears may stem from a negative experience or be learned from seeing someone react with fear, especially when we are young. It is often completely illogical,  the person who is terrified of meeting a snake on a walk through the park for example even though they live in a country completely devoid of snakes like Ireland. The same person afraid of snakes may be completely unconcerned about the spider that terrifies someone else with a fear of them.

I once treated a client with an extreme fear of frogs.

We know frogs are not likely to cross our path very often in the UK especially in the urban landscape where she lived. She realised the fear was illogical, but none the less very uncomfortable to her. The fear of frogs is called Ranidaphobia.  The young womans life was nothing short of a misery, it had cost her a brilliant job in the travel industry and was severely curtailing her day to day life.

 In one of those situations where fact is stranger than fiction, and quite honestly you couldn't make it up,  she came to see me after agreeing to marry the love of her life, who was a Herpetologist, a zoologist who studies  reptiles and amphibians.  His speciality? Frogs.   She knew she had finally to sort it out.  She had managed to hide her extreme fear from him for two years. Things had taken an interesting turn though after he had asked if their honeymoon could be in Australia where he was going to be able to see the giant Cane Toad in an area where they are so common they are considered a pest. 

I was confident she could feel better. Most fears are fairly simple to treat with hypnotherapy or BWRT, some true phobias may take a little longer.  As a result of dealing with her phobia my client was able to marry her man and travel with him on honeymoon feeling relaxed and comfortable,  she even went to a zoo to see frogs before she went, confessing only as he took her photo with a frog that a few weeks before this would have been unthinkable for her, he was amazed that he hadn't had a clue about it.  I received an email from her a few days after her return from honeymoon with a photo of the biggest toad right beside her on the path.  I was delighted to see she was relaxed and smiling. She gave me permission to tell her story to help others and so if you are reading this because you have a phobia I hope it helps to hear her story.  She is just one of the many clients who have come to me seeking help. 

So, if you have a fear or phobia don’t suffer in silence, get the help you need. Make an appointment today and get it sorted.