Phobias Do you have an irrational fear of something that doesn't worry most people - spiders, crowds, flying? Normally sane Jan Hetherington comes clean and talks about her phobia...

Phobias

Do you have an irrational fear of something that doesn't worry most people - spiders, crowds, flying? Normally sane Jan Hetherington comes clean and talks about her phobia...

We will all have panicked with good reason at some time.  Most people when either peering over the edge of a cliff, about to undergo to root canal work or confronted by a growling dog will feel afraid.  To panic in this situation is normal. It is a protective mechanism, which makes us more alert in a situation and prepares us in dealing with any danger.

However, what if a perfectly harmless experience creates the same response?

Phobias - what are they?

A phobia is an intense fear of a situation or object that wouldn't normally worry other people. It could severely restrict your life and may even force you to take extreme measures to avoid whatever triggers it. Almost all phobias feature places, situations, animals or objects which in themselves aren’t necessarily threatening at all, but which people react to - often out of all proportion.  Those of us, who suffer from phobias, when confronted by the object of our fears, are very likely to panic - which in turn produces sometimes severe physical symptoms. 

• Fast pounding heartbeat
• Breathing difficulties
• Chest pains
• Sweating
• Nausea
• Trembling
• Dizziness
• Dry Mouth
• Disorientation

Although these feeling pass, afterwards, you may feel depressed or embarrassed by them - all contributing towards making you feel even more nervous and inclined to avoid the situation ever again!

Common Phobias

It is possible to be phobic about almost anything and to suffer from more than one phobia at a time.  Agoraphobia (fear of public places or open spaces), claustrophobia (fear of confined places), arachnophobia (fear of spiders), fear of heights, the dentists, flying and social phobias (meeting people) are amongst the most common types.

A frog in a garden pond

What causes phobias?

The exact cause isn't known. Theories include frightening experiences in early childhood or learned behaviour from a family member who suffers the same phobia.  This is certainly true in my case.  I have a phobia of frogs.  I can trace this back to possibly my earliest childhood recollection, when as a very small child playing in the back garden, I was suddenly made aware of my mother running down the garden path screaming at me to get indoors quick!  While burning some garden rubbish on a bonfire, she had spotted the trigger to her own phobia - a frog - and all rational behaviour had been lost. Now safe in doors, what she had neglected to notice was that the bonfire was still burning, had spread to the garden shed and was perilously close to burning our house down. Had it not been for an eagle eyed neighbour - I might not be here writing this today!

So, somewhere in my irrational mindset, frogs mean near death experiences.  Not only are they responsible for almost burning your house down, but they're also disgustingly slimy and have the extraordinary ability to disguise themselves in the garden, just lying in wait for me to walk up the path in my wellies and to jump straight into the top of them!

Please don't ask me how many times I've found it impossible to open our back door and venture out into the garden, and all because I've spotted what could be a frog half way down the garden path - is that really a frog or just a leaf disguised as a frog?  Why are my palms sweating, why is my heart racing and why do I suddenly feel sick?

Pathetic isn't it? But I'll have you know I'm in very good company…

Pierce Brosnan is claustrophobic, so was less than thrilled about appearing in the underwater scenes in GoldenEye, his first Bond outing.

Arsenal footballer Dennis Bergkamp developed a fear of flying after a false bomb scare on a plane during the 1994 World Cup. He has an agreement with the club that states he need never fly as part of his job, even if it means missing out on away matches.

Johnny Depp is arachnophobic, plasmophobic and most strangely coulrophobic. That means he's afraid of spiders, ghosts and clowns!

Madonna is reported to have brontophobia - in other words, a fear of thunder and lightning, which must be tricky, seeing as she spends most of her time here in Britain...

And poor Natalie Appleton - who can forget her multiple phobias in 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here…' which included cars, planes, lifts, crowds, hygiene and food. At one point, she even freaked out when she touched a tree!

Getting Help...

This is where I have to admit that I've not sought any help at all - my phobia doesn't impact too much on my life and over time I've developed various coping strategies to deal with it (getting rid of the fish pond in the garden has helped enormously!).

However, there is help out there. Self help groups can be a good way of contacting other people with similar problems. Relaxation techniques can also alleviate the panic that confronting your phobia can cause.

If you're feeling particularly brave, 'graduated exposure' or 'desensitisation' may be for you!  Over a period of time, a person with arachnophobia might initially be asked to look at a photograph of a spider, then look at a spider in a glass tank, going on to look at a spider that someone else is holding, eventually building up to possibly even touching one themselves! This may take many months to achieve.  At each stage, the person is encouraged to talk about how they feel and use specific techniques to control their anxiety.

Not altogether sure that I'm ready to be 'gradually exposed' to a box of frogs… just don't expect to see me in the Reptile House of the local Safari Park either!