42 Part I: Introducing NLP
Phobias and PTSD are part of a group of anxiety disorders. Both have a similar
structure, in that a memory stays trapped in the amygdala. Fortunately, these
days you have the NLP Fast Phobia Cure, which can be very useful in helping
people recover from both anxieties. Head to the section ‘Employing the NLP
Fast Phobia Cure’ later in this chapter for details.Handling phobias
Experts have differing opinions about the origins of phobias. Some psycholo-
gists say phobias are the result of a trauma, such as having a frog dropped
down your back as a child, whereas others believe that phobias are a learned
response: such as when a two-year-old child is confronted by a cobra and
becomes phobic as a result of the reactions of the adults around her. Flip to
the later ‘Employing the NLP Fast Phobia Cure’ section for help in overcom-
ing phobias.Romilla used to have a very strong phobia of snakes. The phobia was so
severe that when she dreamt of snakes, which was fairly frequently, she woke
up with her limbs locked in a cramp and had consciously to relax each part
of her body. In fact, she let herself down rather badly when she walked into a
friend’s living room and freaked out in front of a group of complete strangers.
The cause of her out-of-character behaviour was a stuffed cobra on display.She overcame her phobia dramatically in a small zoo in Mombasa, Kenya. By the
time she was persuaded to drape a python around her neck she had an audience
of very amused locals, and was laughing. (By the way, snakes don’t feel slimy!)Had she known NLP at the time, the process of overcoming her phobia would
have been much less traumatic, using the NLP Fast Phobia Cure.Fun with phobias
Below are some words to have fun with at the
dining table. A word of caution... please don’t
accuse members of the opposite sex of having
phronemophobia (fear of thinking), and you may
want to sit someone suffering from ablutopho-
bia (fear of bathing) near your mother-in-law if
you suffer from pentheraphobia (fear of mother-
in-law):
✓ Chaetophobia – fear of facial hair.✓ Peladophobia – fear of bald people.✓ Philophobia – fear of falling in love or being
in love.✓ Phobophobia – fear of phobias.
✓ Xyrophobia – fear of razors.✓ Galeophobia – fear of cats.
✓ Triskadekaphobia – fear of the number 13.✓ Otophobia – fear of the number 8.