Phobias – what are they?

Phobias can be divided into two distinct types:

Specific Phobia

Specific phobias are usually to things such as dentists and doctors, heights, flying, dogs or snakes for example. Whilst specific phobias can cause anxiety and even panic to happen on exposure to them, they are not caused by generalized anxiety or an underlying anxiety disorder.

Social Phobia

Social Phobia is anxiety caused by exposure to social situations and interaction with other people. Includes fear of public speaking or performance, eating in public, writing in front of someone and other social interaction.

Social phobia sufferers experience an overwhelming and frightening fear of being scrutinized or of being embarrassed or humiliated. This can lead to avoiding situations where this could happen, which means missing out on many pleasurable aspects of life.

Agoraphobia – what is it and how can YOU overcome it?

Agoraphobia is officially defined as the fear of the marketplace and although not strictly a phobia, rather a symptom of anxiety, it can be categorized as such because of the specific reaction it causes. Agoraphobia often affects sufferers in far more diverse places than just crowded or open places. Agoraphobia is taken to mean a reaction to a geographic location – this could be far from home, where escape or retreat is restricted (e.g. theatre, cinema, train) or anywhere when you are alone and feel vulnerable.

Agoraphobia develops as a coping device in high anxiety. Sufferers develop symptoms and thoughts of which they become scared, they start to depend on a person or place of safety and this place becomes their sanctuary, where they feel calm or experience a reduction of their anxiety symptoms.

Agoraphobia, like all other phobias can be eliminated using a structured program. Agoraphobia, is, in fact, the easiest phobia to cure as its existence is directly linked to your anxiety disorder – without the underlying anxiety, agoraphobia simply can’t exist.

Social Phobia (social anxiety) – what is it?

Social phobia (social anxiety) is an anxiety reaction to any situation which means that you must interact with other people. Social phobia (social anxiety) can cause mild anxiety to extreme panic attacks and the situation which creates anxiety could be interaction with just one or perhaps a crowd of people. Every social phobia (social anxiety) sufferer is different.

Some social phobia (social anxiety) can happen when you go on dates, talk to a person in authority or just interact with anyone with whom you are not fully comfortable as well as causing problems in larger groups or when confronted with having to perform or speak in public.

Many social phobics experience problems when they have to eat or write in front of another person also.

Social phobia (social anxiety) is a symptom of an anxiety disorder. Because the sufferer’s general anxiety levels are artificially raised all of the time, just a slight increase can cause an anxiety reaction and even panic.

The good news is that social phobia (social anxiety), can be eliminated by addressing the underlying anxiety that causes it.

Phobia Elimination – is it possible?

Phobias are symptoms of an anxiety disorder and NOT stand-alone disorders. Anxiety disorders occur when the 'anxiety switch', the Amygdala, in the brain, becomes stuck in the ON position as a result of repeated anxiety provoking situations or, less commonly, a one-off trauma which has caused the sufferer to experience high anxiety.

The Amygdala is the organ in the brain that regulates and stores the anxiety response and it is this which MUST be addressed in order to return the anxious response back down to normal in order to eliminate your agoraphobia… in fact any phobia, completely.

There is an effective way of overcoming and conquering phobias permanently.

With anxiety, it is important to gain control of this response as soon as you feel it developing. The Linden Method will show you how you can take control simply and effectively, no matter how long you have suffered.

Our clients who suffer from agoraphobia and social phobia find that by reducing and eliminating the anxiety which causes and drives their phobias, they can become anxiety free, more confident and more effective in their lives.

Our Linden Method Specialists are trained to help, support and advise you at every step of your journey and will always be there to do so whenever you need them.