Phobias can be minor inconveniences when they stay contained and are easy to avoid or become life limiting conditions when they impact on our ability to live daily life the way we would like.

 

Below are answers to commonly asked questions about phobias so you can get a clearer idea of how phobias develop and how to treat them. Treatment is usually much quicker and easier that people think and is well worth considering for the improvement it can make to

your quality of life. 

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Are Phobias Real? 

Yes.

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What is a Phobia? 

A phobia is an intense fear reaction to a particular thing or situation. With a phobia, the fear is out of proportion to the potential danger. But to the person with the phobia, the danger feels real because the fear is very strong.

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How does a Phobia develop?

Phobias are the result of the innate ability of the brain to protect the person from threat, combined with an association to something which is not usually considered a threat under normal circumstances.

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For example: We all have an inborn healthy respect for heights as falling from too high threatens our continuing existence. The healthy functioning of the brain allows a correct assessment of the distance to the edge of a bridge or cliff or other height and keeps us a safe distance from it or taking the appropriate safety precautions. 

 

When a distressing experience has happened in association with, in example, heights where we feel a sense of inescapability or powerlessness (such as a bigger person picking us up and threatening to throw us off the cliff) the healthy respect for heights can become encoded in the brain as a trauma and as time goes on, the brain will endeavour to protect us from that threat by keeping us further and further away from anything resembling heights or the associated triggers formed during that distressing event.

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What can you have a phobia of? 

Phobia of: snakes, spiders, wind, needles, death, holes, dark, bugs, blood, being alone, crowds, failure, love, the unknown, rejection, clowns, everything, heights, bridges, bananas, chewing, driving, noises, balls, exams, enclosed spaces, doctors, dentist, cockroaches, fish and/or many many others. 

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Can phobias cause high blood pressure?

Yes but usually only as temporary spikes of high blood pressure unless you have a pre-existing condition. Phobias often cause a 'stress' response in the body increasing all the markers of stress. Other stress related symptoms of a phobia can include: 

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• sweating 

• trembling 

• hot flushes or chills 

• shortness of breath or difficulty breathing 

• a choking sensation 

• rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) 

• pain or tightness in the chest 

• a sensation of butterflies in the stomach 

• nausea 

• headaches and dizziness 

• feeling faint 

• numbness or pins and needles

• dry mouth 

• a need to go to the toilet 

• ringing in your ears 

• confusion or disorientation

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In severe cases, you may also experience psychological symptoms, such as:

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• fear of losing control 

• fear of fainting

• feelings of dread 

• fear of dying

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Are Phobias treatable? 

Yes.

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What are the treatments for Phobias? 

There are several ways to treat Phobias: Havening Techniques®, EMDR, EFT, Cognitive Therapy and systematic desensitisation.

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Why do you use Havening Techniques® for phobias? 

I use Havening Techniques® to treat phobias as it is the fastest and most effective technique and limits the uncomfortableness of the phobia during the session as much as possible. 

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What is involved in treating a phobia with Havening Techniques®? 

First a good history is taken. Is there a specific event that lead to the phobia developing? When do you experience the phobia? Is there a time when you don't experience it? etc.

 

For some people it is a situation that happened to them, for others it is hearing about it happening to someone else or even seeing a movie about it.

 

One person I met had a phobia of spiders developed from seeing the movie 'Arachnophobia' when he was just a young child. Others developed a fear of flying after the Twin Towers attack of 9/11.

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There may also be other related phobias that need to be discussed. When the initial event is unknown or before the age of 4 (which tends to be a memory told to us by others) there may be other factors to consider in the treatment and it may take more sessions to resolve the associated symptoms.

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Once the information relevant to the formation of the phobia has been discussed we begin the Havening Technique®. 

 

This involves the person accessing the memory of the event and/or related triggers if the original event is inaccessible, followed by activating 'safe' areas of the brain combined with either facilitated or self administered Havening Touch™ and lateral eye movements.

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This results in the pathway in the brain where the phobia is encoded being de-linked from the associated fear resulting in a return to a normal response to what previously felt threatening.

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This will be checked during the session and it is recommended, if possible and where safe, to test out the treatment results by exposure to something that would previously have triggered a phobic response. Follow up communication will then take place to confirm the results of the treatment.

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Self-Havening can also be taught as a take-home tool for any residual anxiety and for ongoing self-care.

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How long does phobia treatment take with Havening Techniques®? 

Phobias which began with a clear traumatic event which can be recalled and are after the age of 4 can usually be resolved within a single session depending on accurate history taking, participation in the session and the extent of the effect of the symptoms on the rest of the persons life. If more than one session is recommended, this will be discussed before hand. Phobias which are encoded before the age of 4 or those which 'you've always had' with no distinct starting event may take more sessions to clear.

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Sometimes coaching is recommended to help the transition forwards to a life that is not coloured by the phobia and it's symptoms and triggers. This is not necessary to the resolution of the phobia however and is at the individuals discretion.

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How much does it cost to treat a phobia? 

Treatment of a phobia with Havening Techniques® is £50/session or £180/4 sessions and session length is 30-60minutes and includes follow up communication to confirm the desired results have been achieved.

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What can you do to manage your phobia prior to treatment?

Some people experience a measure of success with avoiding the things they are afraid of. Though this works in the short term, if a phobia is encoded as a trauma you may experience more and more things become triggers to the fear as time goes on. This is because of the tendency of the brain to generalise in an ongoing and increasing effort to keep you safe from anything that may potentially cause you distress. If you find this is the case and using avoidance or the things listed below aren’t helping as much as you would like then you may want to get professional help sooner rather than later.

 

Other things you can try are medications - see your Doctor. Though these don’t treat the cause of phobias they can mediate the associated symptoms.

 

General anxiety and stress from phobias can be helped through things like breath work, Heart Math™, yoga, massage and meditation. 

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How will I know when I am ready to deal with my phobia?

Some people are afraid of not being afraid as they feel if they let go of their hyper vigilance then the thing they fear happening will happen. 

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In reality hyper vigilance is an exhausting state to live in and decreases the ability to accurately assess and deal with threat. In some cases so many things become perceived as threatening to the person that they find it difficult to carry on a normal life.

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You are ready to deal with your phobia when you have decided it's worth the risk to experience being calm and relaxed where before you have been triggered, you have a measure of hope that your phobia is treatable, you are looking forward to a life without the phobia and you are willing to participate in a Havening Techniques® session.

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If that's you then use this form to get in touch.

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References:

Ruden, R (2011) When the Past Is Always Present. London: Routledge

 

Kids Health, Fear and Phobias

 https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/phobias.html

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Phobias - NHS

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/phobias/symptoms/

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