Phobias

Phobias are the most common type of anxiety disorder. They develop when a person begins to organise their life around avoiding the things they are afraid of. Phobias may affect people in different ways. Some people only react with mild anxiety when confronted with the object of their fear, while others experience severe anxiety or a panic attack.

Specific or simple phobias are restricted to very specific situations. They are very common in children, where they are essentially thought of as normal and usually disappear as children get older. However, some phobias carry on until adult life e.g. animals, blood, injections or enclosed spaces.

Complex phobias are often associated with deep-rooted fear about a particular circumstance or situation. Two common examples of complex phobias are agoraphobia (fear of open spaces or public places) and social phobia (fear of social situations).

At ProTherapy we would help you to:

  • Identify anxiety provoking thoughts that lead to feeling anxious
  • Understand the relationship between negative thoughts, feelings and behaviour
  • Tolerate anxiety with the help of relaxation techniques
  • Desensitise the phobia through graded exposure
  • Release the fear associated with the phobia