A phobia is an irrational and excessive fear, which is cued by the anticipation or presence of a specific object or situation (e.g. flying, heights, seeing blood or receiving an injection). Fortunately phobias respond well to treatment by Hypnotherapy with most sufferers reporting a significant relief to their symptoms after three or four sessions.
For people who suffer from phobias, exposure to the feared object or situation almost invariably triggers the onset of an immediate anxiety response, which may take the form of a panic attack. Although the sufferer realises that their fear is irrational or excessive, this knowledge does not lessen the level of their anxiety. For example, a person may realise that the spiders that we encounter in the UK are harmless, yet still become terrified in their presence.
As a consequence of their fear, people who suffer from phobias typically avoid the situations or objects that trigger their anxiety, or where avoidance is impossible they endure the situation with intense anxiety or distress.
Many people are able to live with phobias without too many problems. For example, a person who has an irrational fear of frogs may go for long periods of time without finding themselves in situations where they might need to encounter frogs. However, for others their phobia can lead to significant impairment to their lives. For example, it is quite common for people who have flown for many years without problems, to spontaneously develop a fear of flying which significantly impacts their professional and personal lives.
There are various types of phobias. Animal phobias (e.g. birds, bats or spiders) are particularly common and usually first appear in childhood. Another type of phobia, usually starting in childhood, is a fear cued by objects in the natural environment (e.g. storms, heights or water). Some phobias appear to run in the family, for example Blood Injection phobias, where people are afraid of the sight of blood or receiving injections, are often present in several members of the same family and are frequently characterised by a fainting response. Other phobias (situational types) are triggered by specific situations, such as traveling on public transport. Another class of phobias are associated with stimuli such as vomiting or choking. In summary, it is possible to develop a phobia about just about any thing or any situation.
Arachnophobia, or fear of spiders is one of the commonest animal phobias, although birds, dogs, wasps and cockroaches also figure high on the list. This type of phobia usually develops in childhood and can be triggered by a difficult incident or 'inherited' from the sufferer's primary carer.
A fear of flying is perhaps the most common phobia of this type, although driving, enclosed spaces and elevators are also particularly common.  Frequently sufferers experience panic like symptoms and an overwhelming desire to escape from the anxiety provoking situation.