A debilitating fear is an intense, unrealistic, irrational fear of an object, an event, or a feeling. It has been shown that people can develop a debilitating fear of anything--elevators, heights, closed-in spaces, open spaces, horses, snakes, dogs, cats, driving, public speaking.....etc. Exposure to these brings on rapid breathing, a pounding heartbeat, feelings of dread or doom, and sweaty palms. In hypnosis these items are known as anchors, or triggers.
There are three defined types of debilitating fears:
Specific or simple fear--fear of an object or situation. Such as a fear of spiders, snakes, or bats.
Social fear--fear of embarrassment or humiliation in social settings.
Agoraphobia--fear of being away from a safe place. Such as a fear of open spaces.
No one knows for sure how debilitating fears develop. Most of the time there is no explanation for how the fear started. In some cases the fear can be traced back to a traumatic event or trauma. What is puzzling is why some people develop debilitating fears and others do not. It is thought that the cause could be the combination of genetic predisposition mixed with environmental and social causes. If your mother was afraid of spiders, then it is possible that you will be afraid of spiders. You respond to spiders the same way your mother did because you think that is how you should respond to seeing a spider. Or, you could have been chased by a dog as a child, and that is why you are now afraid of all dogs. |
