Are Fears Or Phobias Making Your Life A Misery?

The first thing to recognise is that fear is normal. There are many things that generate appropriate feelings of fear within us all. Some part of us recognizes danger and reacts accordingly. These feelings get us to avoid unreasonable risks and motivate us to change things. Sometimes however, fear takes over in situations that are not truly dangerous. This is sometimes referred to as a phobia (the Greek word for fear). Examples such as public speaking, heights, storms, flying, spiders etc., etc., the list goes on. Think of any situation and you will probably find someone who is afraid of it. These are not necessarily rational fears. If you mentally exaggerate the danger of a situation that others are not frightened of, you may have a phobia. Childhood phobias are usually short lived. The adult version is more persistent and tends to remain throughout life unless dealt with. Everyone has fears that are out of proportion to the actual danger in some situations. You may be well acquainted with the feelings of panic, anxiety and discomfort that can accompany this state of mind. Not a very pleasant feeling. There are two things to remember if you think you have a phobia or irrational fear: First of all, there is nothing wrong with you. Actually if you have a phobic response to something, it means your brain learns very quickly. Typically phobias are the result of a one time learning experience. Secondly, it is important to remember that phobias are a communication from your unconscious mind, that what it perceives as danger is present and you need to be careful. For instance, a fear of spiders is very common. Yet in reality we know that an ordinary common or garden spider cannot hurt us. Indeed we can squash it dead with ease. However, messages from our subconscious attempt to overrule that reality. My own definition of fear is Future Events Appearing Real. Think about it. When you experience fear you are "stepping into" a situation imagining the worst scenario and then experiencing it as if it were actually happening at that moment. You may experience all the physical symptoms, shortness of breath, increased pulse rate, sweating, dry mouth. Altogether very unpleasant and debilitating. So how can you get rid of irrational fears and phobias? First of all you may want to try to resolve the problem for yourself. Sit yourself down in a nice quiet place. Listen to your breathing and then count ten breaths, saying the word "relax" between each one. When you feel you are relaxed, bring to mind a time when you experienced your fear or phobia but instead of being right there in the event, imagine it as if you were an observer watching someone else go through it. At first you will find it difficult, even stressful. However, once you disassociate yourself from the events and run them in your imagination as if you are watching a film, or the television, your subconscious will accept the message that it does not need to protect you in such an inappropriate way. It will stop sending you warnings that are unnecessary. Contrary to popular belief, getting rid of irrational fears and phobias is usually a quick and easy procedure. Your brain learns very very quickly how to change its behavior. Just think of it as being like a computer. When you have a phobia your brain is running an inappropriate program. It is not difficult to change that program if you wish to do so. If you feel you need to get rid of your fear or phobias, hypnosis can usually do the job in one session. There is no need to feel that you are stuck with those horrible feelings forever. You can get rid of them quickly and easily.