D
oesa fearofflyingstopyou
frombookinga sunshine
break?Doyouhategetting
behindthewheel,sotherefore
haven’tseenfriendsforages?You’renot
alone.A reportbyYouGovfoundthat
55%ofBritshavea phobia,with48%
ofusavoidingcertainplacesbecause
ofit.“Phobiasarea typeoffear,but
areirrationalorextreme,wherethe
potentialdangerofa certainsituation
orobjectis exaggerated,”saysDrMark
Winwood,directorofpsychological
servicesforAXAPPPHealthcare.
“Thethoughtcanbeparalysing.”
What makesus
susceptible?
Sowhydosomeofusgetaffectedby
suchanxieties?“We’reactuallyonly
bornwithtwofears– thefearoffalling
andloudnoises,”saysDrWinwood.“All
othersarelearned.”Knownasa “learned
response”, phobias have been caused
Don’tletyour phobias
hold youback.
FayeM Smith
discovers the
easyways to
rid yourself
of persistent
anxieties
bya shockingortraumaticevent,which
hasdevelopedintoanaversionto
anythingassociatedwiththememory.
“Forsomepeople,theorigins
ofwhywearephobicis lessclear,”
sayspsychotherapistTobyIngham
(tobyingham.com).“Wedon’tremember
theparticularexperience,allweknow
is thatwemayhavebeenleftwiththe
residualsenseoffearorphobia.”
Time tochange
Howeverit started,it’simportantto
rememberthatfearis a naturalresponse
toa threattosurvival– it’sthereto
protectus.“Ifwecanthinkaboutour
fearsdifferently,wecanseethemas
a positive,motivatingforce,”saysDr
Winwood.“Thefirststepis identifying
whatourfearsareandthefunctionof
them.Themorewecanunderstand
them,wecanstopthemfromlimitingus.
Wecanthenstopourfearsdisabling
us, and feel empowered.” Here’s how...
Face
Fears!
your
Fearof...driving
Drivinganxietycanstartgradually,
afteranaccidentornearmiss,or
canbelinkedtoa fearin yourown
abilitytotakecontrol.If you’realso
menopausal,fluctuatinghormones
couldbetoblame.“Ifyouwerea
ratheranxiousdriverbefore,the
physicalandcognitivesymptoms
ofthemenopausecouldmake
drivingfeelevenmorescary,”says
psychologistonbehalfof Healthspan,
Dr Meg Arroll (drmegarroll.com).
CureiTStartwithsmalltripsor
trydifficultjourneyswitha friend
first.“it’simportanttodiscover
whatit is aboutdrivingthat
actuallycreatesthefear,”says
LornaCordwellfromChrysalis
CoursesuK.“Whendriving
is criticisedbyothers(often
partners),it destroysconfidence.
Thisis anissuethatcanbe
explored in therapy.” >>
health is the new wealth
woman&home IT’S All AbouT you! 129
