What’s the difference between a fear and a phobia?

A phobia is characterised by an intense and irrational fear of an object or situation that poses no real threat or danger. The level of anxiety experienced by someone with a phobia can be so strong that it interferes with their quality of life and their ability to function.

Common fears include:

• Heights (Acrophobia)
• Public speaking (Glossophobia)
• Snakes (Ophidiophobia)
• Flying (Aerophobia)
• Spiders (Arachnophobia)
• Crowds/Being outside (Agoraphobia)
• Clowns (Coulrophobia)
• Enclosed spaces (Claustrophobia)

Fear is a basic human response to danger. When we sense danger or when we’re confronted with something that appears to pose a danger, our fear response kicks in aka “fight or flight”.  In the event of a clear and present danger, our brain releases the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Muscles in the body tense ready for fighting or running, the heart begins to race, blood pressure rises and breathing becomes erratic. Once the threat is gone, it can take around 20 to 60 minutes for the body to return to normal levels.

You may be surprised to know that overcoming a phobia can be as easy as overcoming a fear and that managing anxiety can be easy too.  Anxiety and fears that become difficult to manage can be reduced significantly and often overcome completely with hypnotherapy…and so can phobias.

Dental Phobia (Odontophobia)

Dental phobia is surprisingly common and the associated anxiety can range from mild nervousness to acute anxiety or full blown panic attacks. For many people, overcoming their fear of the dentist has proven to be liberating and life changing.