Driving Phobia

Driving Phobia

A phobia is an extreme and abnormal fear of a situation or item. It is a mental disorder that is treatable through counseling sessions. One can also go through self help recovery sessions to avoid the extreme reactions that can be experienced when the person goes through a phobic period. Driving phobia is the extreme fear of driving. A person with driving phobia will not be able to drive a vehicle even for a short distance.

Different people experience different levels of the symptoms of driving phobia. One can experience mild anxiety when they think of driving or while driving and others may have full blown panic attached and even terror. A little anxiety when driving is normal. It is actually recommended by medical practitioners so that the driver can exercise the necessary caution when driving to avoid accidents. Extreme anxiety on the other hand is harmful to the mind as well as the body because the brain reacts in a certain way every time the phobia happens.

The situation can see a driver behind the driving wheel being completely unable to go on with the journey and if they are in a critical part of the journey, like on a highway or a fast lane, an accident can easily be caused. A person with a full blown panic attack will feel like fighting or taking defense against the danger that they feel is upon them in this case, driving.

Driving phobia can be experienced by anyone in any age bracket. The fear is usually hidden and gradually builds up every time they drive. This is an embarrassing condition and if one suffers from it, they find it difficult to tell their friends and relatives about it. a person with phobia may exhibit anxiety reactions during other times other than only when behind the vehicle's steering wheel. They may have sleepless nights or flashbacks about a past event that regards driving.

Causes of phobia are not fully known but it is believed that any fear is experienced after the situation was experienced before and the person felt fearful and what they feared actually happened. Phobias are not mere extreme fears but go beyond this to become avoidances. People with a phobia such as a driving phobia will avoid driving altogether.

Driving phobia is a mental disorder that can be self managed or treated with the assistance of a professional expert. It may take a long period to overcome the fear or it may take a relatively short period of time depending on the severity of the phobia as well as the cooperation of the person suffering from the phobia.

Read more about Driving Phobia on driving-fear.com

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Rare Phobias: Feet Phobia - Fear of Bare Feet

Feet Phobia

Are you one of these people that nervously step in shoe shops? Can`t you bare the sight, feel or sound of your or somebody else`s feet? If your answer to one of these questions is `yes` you might be suffering from feet phobia, known as podophobia.

Feet phobia is one of the rarest phobias as only 1 in 1000 people has it. However, it could impact your life in quite surprising ways that many without this phobia may not have considered.
To give just a few examples this unusual fear could prevent you from going to a swimming pool, exercising in a gym, shoe shopping or wearing flip flops. Feet phobia could be quite harmless, a bit annoying and at times frustrating. However, it could also cause life limitations. Therefore, it is important to judge carefully how much does it impacts on your or somebody else's day to day life.
What exactly is feet phobia (or podophobia)?

Feet phobia like any other phobia is an irrational, inexplicable fear. People suffering from Podophobia feel very nervous, afraid, upset or even disgusted by feet in general. The exact cause of podophobia is not yet fully understood. The symptoms include an overwhelming sense of anxiety, sweating, rapid heartbeat, nausea, dizziness, breathing difficulty and a desire to run away when seeing or even thinking of feet. Some people will experience panic attacks and very unpleasant feelings when confronted with feet. Of course one person's symptoms can be different and/or more intense than other. This fear could make some feel uncomfortable or irritated. For others it could get so intense that it interferes with their normal life.

The fear may be related to the person`s own or somebody else`s feet. A phobia sufferers generally do not like the appearance of their or somebody else's feet, or feel of feet as they view feet as being gross and unsightly. This person may also feel uncomfortable when other people are looking at or touching his or her feet. He or she will even sleep in socks or shoes and won't even consider buying or wearing open toed shoes or sandals of any kind. He or she may also hate the smell of feet and while thinking of feet imagine contracting fungal type infections or a verruca what makes it even worse.

The uncomfortable feelings would also appear while discussing feet or problems related to feet. The phobia sufferer may avoid watching any kind of TV documentary on feet, or adverts on the television. One of my friends who suffer from feet phobia to prevent unpleasant feelings introduced a rule in her house. You must wear shoes in his house. If the shoes are really dirty he allows you to wear socks or a pair of his own shoes. He won`t even let his girlfriend touch his feet or take her socks off around him.

When should you seek help to cure feet phobia?
Most fears and phobias, including the phobia and fear of feet, are not serious especially if they do not significantly impact your normal daily life. But if your phobia of feet results in avoiding situations on a regular basis preventing you from functioning or enjoying life you should consider seeking medical advice. Regardless of how long you have suffered from it, despite the unpleasant life limitations you have endured because of your fear, your fear of feet can be overcomed.

Ana E Johnson is a writer that specialises in anxiety and phobia treatment. Phobias are quite common and highly treatable. There is no need to suffer. For more details please visit our latest website and find out how to easily Cure Phobia. Take a Phobia Test.

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Clown Phobia and Fear Treatment and Cure

Clown Phobia

One theory is that the face paint, big nose and weird colored hair is so far removed from our conception of what a human face should look like that it unnerves some people.
Another is that we can't "read" the emotions or mood through all the make-up. This scares some because reading facial expressions is one of the ways we relate to people.
Although it appears on the top ten most common phobias on some lists, there is very little information in the medical literature on the subject.

The symptoms of clown phobia are similar to those of other phobias: high anxiety, sweating, rapid breathing and heart beat and intense fear. Clown phobics know that their reactions are irrational but they can't control it. Don't worry, it is possible to effect a clown phobia and fear treatment and cure.
Medications are sometimes used but they don't get rid of the phobia they just mask the symptoms, to get you through an encounter.

Hypnotherapy or hypnosis works for some people but not everyone can be hypnotized and many people don't want to lose control even in a therapeutic situation.
Therapy to uncover the cause of the phobia can help. Once the cause is know, treatment can begin to desensitize the client. You may be asked to look at pictures of clowns and then maybe look at film clips and eventually come face to face with a real clown.
One therapist broke through her client's phobia when she asked her to be made up as a clown and look at herself in a mirror.

I know of one adult male, who can't even enter a McDonald's because he might see a picture of Ronald McDonald. Clown phobia, unlike other phobias, can be kept at bay by just avoiding places where you might encounter them. Of course it won't free you from the phobia but you don't have to hole up in your home to avoid the phobia.
Ignore people who tell you to get a grip on yourself, grow up and get over being afraid of a silly clown. This can do more harm than good.
 
Adults remember not being able to attend birthday parties where clowns would be part of the entertainment and many of them still have to avoid those parties. They can't have a clown at their children's party or go to grandchild's party if a clown will be present. Imagine someone who works in event planning for a large arena who has to book a circus or even worse, host a clown convention. This phobia like others can have an effect on every area of a person's life.

People can sympathize with someone who is afraid of heights, snakes or spiders for instance, but kind of pooh-pooh the fear of clowns. This attitude together with the phobia that they know is irrational, can cause a clown phobic to sink into depression.
As mentioned earlier there are a few treatments available that appear to work well for those suffering from clown phobia. A phobic needs to do some digging to find the one that works for them.
Rest assured that you can beat this and find the best clown phobia and fear treatment and cure for you.

For more information on cure go to http://www.symptoms-of-anxiety-depression.com

Nina is an expert freelance writer. She is a cake decorator and a certified naturopath. Presently she is happily RV-ing with her husband.

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Overcoming Public Speaking Phobia, Step By Step

Public Speaking Phobia

Today I would like to share with you about the topic of overcoming public speaking phobia. Now I know that it is common for people to be afraid to speak in public. Are you one of them? I hope that by the end of this article you will be able to overcome that fear and confidently speak in front of a crowd. You were called for greatness, so do not let this fear hold you back from achieving your destiny!

Well there may be several reasons why people are afraid to speak in front of a crowd. Firstly, it could be because they are introverts, so they may not be used to speaking in the first place. Or, it could be because they were bullied as a kid and so they are afraid to face people. Maybe it could just be a case of worrying how they will look on stage. Whatever the case is, you will need to trace the root cause for that fear. It could be one of the three reasons I mentioned, or it could be some other reasons. It could even be a combination of any of these reasons.

Once you have pointed out the root cause for your public speaking phobia, it is time to open up. Find someone you can trust and confide in him or her about that fear. When you open up and admit that you have those fears, that means you are facing your fears head on instead of hiding them and letting them consume you. You also end up getting motivated to overcome it. Plus, by telling someone you can trust, you ensure that you get the support of someone you can count on, even in the midst of hardships.

The next step to overcoming public speaking phobia would to step out of your comfort zone and start speaking to a crowd. Here, you can start by speaking to a crowd of small people. Now, you may feel nervous at the start, and you may even stutter, but with practice, that confidence should develop within you and you should eventually get the hang of it. Over time, you should progressively challenge yourself to speak to large crowds. During the entire journey, there may be times when you feel nervous or anxious. When that happens, remind yourself that you are above that fear, and you can overcome it calmly.

I hope you have a better understanding of how you can overcome your public speaking phobia. I wish you success in your journey to becoming a top class public speaker!

Did you enjoy what I shared about overcoming public speaking phobia? If you would like to learn more, visit SelfEnrichment.com for the latest updates on overcoming public speaking phobia, motivating yourself, improving your skills and much more!

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Phobia Symptoms You Need to Know

Phobia Symptoms

Fear is a completely natural feeling in response to objects or situations deemed threatening. Some scream at the sight of spiders. Some refuse to go under water for fear of drowning. And some sweat a lot when speaking in front of an audience. Most people experience minor fears every now and then. But for some people, such fears get out of hand, causing intense anxiety and affecting day-to-day life. Extreme and irrational fear, which occurs even if there's little or no real threat, is more popularly known as phobia. About 19 million people in the United States have phobia.

Are you afraid that you have phobia? If you think you have it, the first thing you must do is to know the different phobia symptoms. When exposed to frightening objects or situations, people who have phobias suffer from an array of symptoms that are associated with anxiety, ranging from mild nervousness to a severe panic attack.

The main phobia symptoms include anxiety, severe and irrational fear, and avoidance behavior. People with phobia experience intense anxiety immediately after exposure to things or events that they are afraid of. Usually, anxiety escalates when you sense that it is hard to escape from it. Also, anxiety becomes more intense if the object you are scared of is closer to you. Several changes in the body occur because of intense anxiety, which include blushing, excessive sweating, diarrhea, stomach discomfort, palpitation, and muscle tension.

Severe and irrational fear happens when people with phobia anticipate or face a certain object, person, or situation that poses little or no danger. For instance, if you have acrophobia or fear of heights, you dread going to an elevated place because you might fall from it.

Avoidance behavior is also one of the major phobia symptoms. People with phobia avoid on purpose the objects or situations that they fear. They believe that avoiding those things can help keep the anxiety from happening.

The following is a list of other common phobia symptoms:
- Increased heart rate or palpitations
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Discomfort in the chest area
- Dizziness
- Difficulty breathing
- Feeling of choking
- Hot or cold flashes
- Loss of sensations
- Fear of passing out
- Fear of dying

People with blood-injection-injury phobia have different phobia symptoms from others. Aside from fear, you would also be disgusted at the sight of a needle or blood if you have this type of phobia. Blood pressure and heart rate increases like in other phobia types. However, dizziness, passing out, and nausea occur after the increase in blood pressure and heart rate.

Phobia is no cause for worry if it does not affect your day-to-day life that much. For example, if you have a dog phobia, then there will be no problem if you live in an area where you're not likely to encounter dogs. But if the symptoms of phobia disrupts your normal life or prevents you from doing things that you enjoy, then you might need to seek professional help.

If you're hoping to find out the phobia symptoms, here's some good news. There is information available from lots of different sources. Visit here now Phobia Symptoms [http://bestanxietysolution.com/phobia-symptoms]

Matt Valent is the author of several articles on reducing and eliminating Anxiety and Panic Attacks from your life. To find out exactly how to cure panic visit Best Panic Attack and Anxiety Guides [http://www.bestanxietysolution.com/best-panic-attack-and-anxiety-guides]

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