What is a Phobia?
A phobia ( from the Greek word ëPhobusí, meaning Fear), is an irrational, intense and persistent fear of particular situations, objects, activities or persons.
This inhibiting, overwhelming fear that surges from within is always triggered by something outside oneself. It is this external symbolic representation of an inward anxiety.
How are phobias formed?
Phobias are formed in the early years of development when everything is about learning and all experiences are challenging and new.
If a traumatic or highly stressful or charged situation was experienced, a young mind may not have been able to deal with it as we deal with such experiences in our adult lives. The child’s psyche bottles up and represses the associated emotions and thus creates a Phobia which is an intense and uncontrollable fear to deter you from experiencing that situation again.
Social Phobia and Social Anxiety describe a very common problem for people who suffer from the fear of social situations and the interaction with other people that can bring on the fear and anxiety of being judged and criticized by other people; leading to feelings of inadequacy; being put on the spot; being the center of attention; being watched doing something; humiliation; panic attacks and depression.
Social anxiety is the third largest psychological problem in the world today.
When looking into finding out more in regard to social anxiety; it is always suggested you do some careful research yourself.
Many people suffer from this traumatic problem in their everyday life and it’s physical effects are represented in people blushing, turning red, dry throat and mouth, palpitations and an overall feeling of intense fear.
The overall external stresses in one’s life ( ie. Job, work, relationships, money) will have a significant effect on the strength of the anxiety within the person, thus the more stresses and strains, the more severe the symptoms and anxieties become.
As a professional and experienced hypnotherapist, social anxiety is by far the most common condition I treat.
Panic Attacks
One of the most common symptoms of anxiety types is the dreaded Panic Attack. Panic attacks are are sudden, discrete periods of intense anxiety.
According to the American Psychological Association panic attack symptoms commonly last approximately ten minutes. However, panic attacks can be as short as 1-5 minutes, while more severe panic attacks may form a cyclic series of episodes, lasting for an extended period, sometimes hours.
Symptoms of a typical Panic Attack would be a sudden intense anxiety or fear; sense of impending doom or disaster; sweating or trembling; pounding heart and chest tightness; shortness of breath; being fixed to a spot; and dizziness to name a few.