In order to write this article, I had to overcome the phobia of writing. 😄
What is a phobia?
A phobia is an irrational fear.
It leads to :
- Obsessive thoughts.
- Extreme behavior.
- Anxiety or panic attacks.
Phobias can ruin my life.
Different types of phobias
There are phobias of just about everything.
Here are the most common ones:
- Acrophobia: fear of heights, vertigo.
- Aerophobia: fear of flying.
- Agoraphobia: fear of going outside, fear of crowds.
- Aquaphobia: fear of water.
- Arachnophobia: fear of spiders.
- Elevatophobia: fear of lifts.
- Claustrophobia: fear of being stuck.
- Coimetrophobia: fear of cemeteries.
- Coulrophobia: fear of clowns.
- Dysmorphophobia: fear of being fat, ugly, malformed.
- Entomophobia: fear of insects.
- Glossophobia : fear of speaking in public.
- Hemophobia: fear of blood.
- Musophobia : fear of mice and rats.
- Mysophobia : fear of germs and dirt.
- Nosophobia : fear of being sick.
- Nyctophobia : fear of the darkness.
- Scopophobia: fear of being watched by others.
- Thalassophobia : fear of swimming when one cannot see the bottom.
Where do phobias come from?
All phobias arise as a result of an emotional shock.
Often the cause is not conscious, but unconscious.
Paul almost drowned in a swimming pool when he was 2 years old. Since then, he is afraid of the depths. He has no memory of the triggering event.
The usual explanation is that the unconscious mind is setting up a phobia to protect me.
In reality the heart knows exactly what is dangerous or not.
The phobia is more of a message: “You are afraid, because there are memories of fears or anxieties in you that need to be released. As long as you do not look inside yourself, you will continue to be afraid.”
In other words, phobias are invitations to look within myself, and to heal my traumas.
How to get over a phobia?
Two ingredients are necessary:
- A will to free myself from the phobia, i.e. to dare to confront it little by little
- Applying the emotional acceptance process.
Lisa is afraid to take the lift. She accepts several memories of fears and anxieties. After a few weeks of integration, she is taking lifts with a smile.
Sometimes the emotion is too intense to be released by myself, and requires the external help of a therapist.
Conclusion
How to overcome a phobia?
A phobia is a morbid fear, which is an expression of one or more memories of emotions.
Emotional acceptance is an effective way to free myself from a phobia.