2 minute read
I ain’t afraid of no spider
Spooky season is just round the corner. But while some people enjoy shivers, others get the heebie jeebies. An expert explains our fears and phobias.
Why are some of us so easily spooked? Huw Smith, high intensity therapist (above) explains how being scared affects us – and reveals his own irrational fear.
“Our fight or flight response kicks in when we feel like we’re in danger.”
”For me it’s spiders. When I was seven, I was playing a computer game with my big brother and a spider jumped out on the screen. I couldn’t run out of the room fast enough and now they freak me out!”
Problems arise when a fear becomes a phobia. Huw, who works for Mersey Care’s Talking Therapies service, explains.
“A phobia is an extreme form of anxiety where our brain overestimates a threat. The person avoids the situation or object that causes them to be anxious to the point where it severely affects their life.”
Huw says phobias often become unmanageable when a situation changes. He explains, “If you’re afraid of dogs and your neighbour gets a dog, that fear could become a phobia.
The good news is that phobias are treatable.
“A phobia is a learned response, so we can unlearn them. As therapists we try to help the person build up a bank of experiences that directly contradict their perceived threat.”
Therapy uses a gradual approach. “Compare it to preparing for a marathon when you’ve never done any running - you need to build up slowly. If someone had a phobia of dogs for example, we’d start by showing them pictures of dogs and allow them to feel the anxiety. Eventually that anxiety would hit a peak and gradually reduce.
“We continue the process, building up tolerance until the person feels less threatened. Our goal is for the person to feel ok being in a room with a dog. It does work – one client who had lived with a phobia of dogs for years has since adopted her own!”
Talking Therapies services offer free NHS therapy to help you change the way you feel by changing the way you think. Visit: NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression :: Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
