What causes fear

Difference between fears and phobias

Ready to flee at the thought?

Are you so scared of something that you are convinced it is a phobia?   I will help you come to grip with the terms.  I am also going to reassure you that there are ways to conquer fears and phobias, regardless of the label!

How do fears differ from phobias?

Fears and phobias are a common—up to a fifth of people suffer to some extend.  For some people their fears or phobias are no more than a ‘nuisance’ - they may only occasionally be confronted with the feared situation.  This kind or fear or phobia is usually ‘manageable’.

For other people it is an every day nightmare that stops them from doing most ordinary things.  The difference between fears and phobias is really in degree of suffering.  Though both words are often used as if their meaning is the same.

Fear or phobia?

Most of us have an odd fear for one thing or another.  Most of the time we can manage it.  A fear of snakes is hardly a problem in the UK.  We can kind of get away with a fear of heights if we let someone else climb the ladder!

A phobia is characterised by a marked and persistent fear.  You will know that you are reacting completely over the top.  Just thinking about the feared situation may cause you to feel the panic rising.  You are desperate to avoid it and/or you worry endlessly in anticipation of being exposed to it.

What causes fear?

Several factors play are likely to play a role.  You may have suffered from fears, anxiety and/or phobias from childhood.  It may be that you have gone through a particularly stressful time of late.  You may have suffered a traumatic event, or it could have been a combination of any or all of these.

Were you often fearful as a child?

Did you suffer from anxiety as a child?  Was it caused by what was happening at home?  You might also have always been very sensitive without any obvious reasons.  Some people appear to be ‘natural’ worriers.  However, there could be underlying physiological reasons for that kind of sensitivity.

See article: Nutritional therapies for mental disorders in the Nutritional Journal.

Have you been going through a stressful time lately?

‘Life’ can throw some very several challenging events at us.  Maybe you have had to cope with several of these in a short space of time.  No wonder then that you have found yourself fearful of just about everything.

Your brain is responding as if there is a sabre tooth tiger on your tail!  An ancient part of your brain is constantly scanning the environment for anything that could endanger your survival in an attempt to protect you.  However, you can do something about it.

Traumatised

A traumatic event can cause a huge crisis.  You may have experienced something that is completely beyond the ‘norm’.

An accident, witnessing someone being injured, a violent death, a traumatic birth, a war zone, even receiving bad news, can set off symptoms like those of a phobia.  This may continue to happen whenever you are confronted by any reminders of the incident.

How to recover from a phobia

Whatever has caused your fear or phobia (and the precise difference really does not matter), there are really effective ways to cure them.  A hypnotherapist or human givens therapist could help. The Linden Method may help - it is backed up by doctors and psychologists.

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