What is the definition of a Phobia ?
It is possible to find quite a number of definitions for a Phobia on the internet. I believe the best description comes from the responding to the question that asks, what is the difference between a phobia and a fear? At the point when the fear in question becomes in some way irrational.Fear can be a valuable emotion
It is certainly not irrational to have a fear or healthy respect towards a variety of situations like a fear of heights for instance, or being in a car being driven too fast, a nearby riot or being in a war zone etc. In those situations it would make sense to allow that fear to guide us into taking precautions and being very alert to specific dangers. Therefore during those times our fears can become valuable assets and lead to a more positive outcome. However it is when the intensity of fear is disproportionate to the event that it is likely it has become a phobia. Another measurement to determine if the fear has become a phobia is when the fear in question is preventing us from getting on with our life.
A variety of Phobias exist
Due to the literally thousands of types of phobias in existence today and in order to make it fairly simple to categorize and make sense of them, I believe that it is easiest to think of there only being two main categories, they are specific or non-specific phobias. However it has to be said that Social Phobia is really in a category of it's own and is connected to many anxiety related situations.What are the symptoms of a Phobia?
In reality a phobic reaction could be accurately described as a survival mechanism that has got out of hand. Top of the list would be a panic attack and everything that goes along with that response. Next on the list is probably an avoidance of the feared situation, although sadly that only serves to confirm and strengthen its terrible hold over its victims.How does someone become phobic?
Almost any kind of anxious feeling, if it is coupled with a specific object or event can result in a phobia being created. For instance, if while you were crossing the road and totally unexpectedly a speeding car comes racing around the corner and almost knocks you down. The consequences of that traumatic effect could lead you to becoming phobic about crossing any road in the future, where previously you only took a natural vigilant approach.
A dramatic example of how this could ocur was when a British poet was on the phone during the war and a German bomb exploded, destroying the house next to him, and from that moment onwards he suffered a phobic reaction to an otherwise harmless appliance, the telephone!
Once you become phobic how long does it last ?
Sadly once you become phobic about a specific situation or object it is very unlikely that it will go away or cure itself of it's own accord. The reason why it doesn't usually cure itself is related to how we naturally respond to the phobia by avoiding it as much as possible, therefore every avoidance only serves to reinforce the belief that this object or event really is dangerous. The repetition of any behaviour, good or bad, always becomes embedded in our subconscious mind and ultimately becomes an automatic and instinctive reaction. This means that once the pattern has been formed or programmed in our minds we no longer have to even think about our response it appears to just happen.All phobias can be cured and most phobias quite quickly.
When we learn how the mind works and the way we learn things in our conscious mind and then pass it down to our sub-conscious mind then it will be easy to accept the following statements. Once a pattern has been formed in our minds it then becomes our new and automatic reaction or behaviour. So every time that we repeat a phobic response it just gets confirmed even more strongly in our subconscious. Through psychotherapy and hypnosis we can reverse the effects by reprogramming ourselves or decoding it in some way.Summarising the Problem and the Solution
A phobia can be developed in an instant, when a stressful or anxious encounter becomes attached to an event or an object. This connection between the two becomes a encoded in the brain, so simply put the problem is this connection between the fear and whatever is is connected to.The solution then becomes the task of separating the two, and replacing the fearful connection with a more normal or positive response. The use of positive images and verbal strategies feature strongly in the solution and that is why hypnosis is often used to excellent effect and is a highly successful tool for recovery. One hypnotic technique frequently used is systematic desensitisation, this is a gradual exposure to the feared situation, starting with the least intimidating scenario in the imagination building up to the worst case scenario when it feels safe to do so. With hypnosis this can all be done in the mind in the safety of the therapy room, initially creating a place of complete safety and comfort in the mind. With each gradual step being faced, and then immediately returning to the safe place until there is a new connection to the previously feared object or event with a feeling of safety instead.