{"id":101837,"date":"2019-04-04T11:00:01","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T10:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=101837"},"modified":"2023-03-15T15:42:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T15:42:36","slug":"fears-and-phobias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/fears-and-phobias.htm","title":{"rendered":"Fears and Phobias – What’s the Difference, and Is This You?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By: erokism<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n

The NHS estimates that 8% of us will have a phobia at some point in our lives.<\/strong> But what is a phobia, exactly? And when it comes to fears and phobias, what is the difference? <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What is a fear? <\/span><\/h2>\n

Fear might start in the mind.<\/strong> We don\u2019t like something. <\/span><\/p>\n

But our experience of fear is largely physical<\/strong>. Our heart starts to pound wildly, our mouth goes dry, and adrenaline courses through us as our \u2018fight, flight, or freeze\u2019 response<\/a> triggers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes a fear is pretty logic, sometimes not so much.<\/strong> Someone threatens us and our very wellbeing<\/a> is at stake, that makes sense. But to\u00a0<\/a><\/span>fear a spider we are a thousand times bigger than, or a rat running away from us? Not so much.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And modern day life causes all sorts of illogic fears.<\/strong> We are afraid to talk to strangers, to go on a date, to talk in public<\/a>, to try something new. <\/span><\/p>\n

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But no matter whether our fear makes sense or not, we recognise it for what it is. The moment of fear arises, we experience it, and then it\u2019s over. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sure, we might tell our friends<\/a> about it over a drink<\/a> that night. And we might experience the same fear again the very next day, if it\u2019s around something ongoing like a work presentation. <\/span><\/p>\n

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But fear is not in charge of our lives. We are in charge of our fear.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What is a phobia? <\/span><\/h2>\n
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Phobia is fear gone wild. Your fear becomes unmanageable. You might think about the thing you fear nonstop. And if you are ever faced with your phobia, the thing behind your terror? You have a panic attack<\/a>, or feel paralysed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"fears

By: Dallas Krentzel<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

If a phobia becomes full-blown,\u00a0 <\/span>your fear\u00a0 <\/span>becomes so big that you are not longer in charge. Your fear is<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly you are making decisions <\/a>based around your phobia. Your life is directly and negatively affected. You are going to great lengths to avoid the thing you are afraid of, or feeling unable to cope<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[Is fear running your life? Afraid to go out the house, even? Did you know that you can stay at home and still get help? Book online therapist now<\/a> and they can help you with your phobia over the internet.]\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Fear vs phobia <\/span><\/h2>\n

So to recap, what generalisations can we make about differences?<\/span><\/p>\n

FEAR vs PHOBIA<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

can be illogical and we are aware of it it vs.<\/strong> can be very unrealistic, totally out of proportion to the danger, but doesn’t feel that way as the terror feels all too real<\/em><\/p>\n

momentary and comes and goes vs.<\/strong>\u00a0 haunting, we’ve suffered more than six months, and can seem to be constantly in our minds<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

manageable vs.<\/strong> feels out of control <\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

doesn\u2019t affect our personality vs.<\/strong> can make us so anxious<\/a> and paranoid we seem different<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n

rarely has long term consequences vs.<\/strong> can mean you make decisions that negatively affect your life. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Fear, phobias, and anxiety <\/span><\/h2>\n

Anxiety means we suffer from fear-based thinking. <\/strong>A phobia also sees our thoughts controlled by fear<\/a>. So often people with a phobia will suffer anxiety<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact anxiety and phobias produce the same physical symptoms, like:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n