insideKENT Magazine Issue 62 - May 2017 | Page 127

HEALTH+WELLNESS
PUSH YOURSELF
Overcoming Common Phobias
MOST OF US HAVE AT LEAST ONE NIGGLING FEAR – UNEASE ABOUT GETTING STUCK IN LIFTS
MAYBE, OR THE ABILITY TO WORK OURSELVES UP INTO A CLAMMY-PALMED SWEAT AT THE
THOUGHT OF A DENTAL APPOINTMENT. THESE ARE MINOR, HOWEVER, WITH MOST OF US
ABLE TO SHAKE THEM OFF. WHEN THESE FEARS DEVELOP AND START CAUSING US MAJOR
ANXIETY, OFTEN INTERFERING WITH THE RUNNING OF OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES, THEY’RE
DEEMED FULL-BLOWN PHOBIAS: AN INTENSE FEAR OF SOMETHING THAT, IN REALITY, POSES
LITTLE OR NO ACTUAL DANGER. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT GENERALLY PHOBIAS CAN BE
MANAGED, IF NOT CURED. WE’VE PULLED TOGETHER A LIST OF SOME OF THE MOST COMMON
PHOBIAS AND A FEW TIPS ON HOW YOU CAN OVERCOME THEM. BY POLLY HUMPHRIS
ARACHNOPHOBIA ACROPHOBIA
Fear of spiders Fear of heights
Affecting nearly one in every 20 adults, the term acrophobia is derived
from the Greek words ‘acron’, meaning heights, and ‘phobos’, meaning
fear. In general, it can affect your ability to make the most of the great
outdoors – climbing, skiing, hill walking – and in extreme cases, people
with a phobia of heights can be overcome with dizziness and panic at
the slightest thought of being anywhere high, be that driving over a
bridge, or ascending in a lift.
Psychiatrists often blame rapidly accelerating and irrational negative
thinking for acrophobia – “If I stand on the ledge, I’ll be tempted to
jump or someone will push me over”, “I’m going to panic, have a heart
attack and die” – these fears stem from the unconscious mind, whic