Podcast 27: Overcome phobias with hypnotherapy. Today I’ll be briefly talking about What a phobia is Why we experience fears and phobias And my 5 top tips to overcoming phobias including how you can use hypnotherapy to change your phobic reactions. There will also be a free hypnotherapy audio at the end of this podcast that you can enjoy, keep and come back to time and time again.  In episode 26 I talked about anxiety and how you can manage this with hypnotherapy. This week's podcast follows on from this so please go back and listen for more information on anxiety. A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or an animal. Phobias are more exaggerated than fears. A fear might make you feel a bit anxious where a phobia can become so severe that a person might begin to organise their whole life around an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation, an object, an animal or a bodily function. This can be very restrictive and can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety. Phobias usually build up over time but can also follow a traumatic event. The severity of a phobia can vary dramatically. If you’re only faced with your trigger very rarely it might not affect your everyday life too much. Or you might be debilitated by the fear for a large part of your life and plan your life around the phobia. You might feel Dizzy or light headed You might start to sweat Might feel sick or feel a churning in your stomach Might experience heart palpitations Or shortness of breath You can also experience shaking or the start of an upset stomach These are instantaneous and you might feel you have no control of these responses. This is where cognitive therapy can help you change the reactions you have to triggers and take control over your reactions to the world around you. This reaction can be attached to many different scenarios and this is why there are so many different phobias we can experience. From the more common fears and phobias like Spiders or insects Buttons Clowns Heights Water Animals The dentist or medical examinations To the less common phobias like Small holes Stickers Knees Numbers These are all more specific phobias which are centred around a situation, an object, bodily function, animal or an activity. Phobias can also be more complex which tend to be more limiting and usually develop during adulthood. Complex phobias are commonly associated with deep rooted fear or anxiety about a particular situation or circumstance such as agoraphobia or social phobia. This type of phobia might take a longer therapy plan to overcome because there are so many triggers that need addressing. Listen to this week's podcast for my 5 top tips to help you overcome phobias. Today’s hypnotherapy audio includes techniques you can use to reduce your response to your trigger and find new ways to overcome phobias. There are many techniques that we can use to help you improve your mornings so if you find you need more help visit www.altptherapies.co.uk to have a bespoke recording made for you with your challenges in mind. You can also contact me today on facebook or twitter.