A phobia is more than simply disliking something. It is a strong and often automatic fear response that can feel out of proportion to the actual danger, even when another part of you knows that you are probably safe.
The reaction may begin before you are anywhere near the feared situation. A photograph, a conversation, an appointment reminder or the thought of an approaching journey can be enough to trigger anxiety. You may notice a racing heart, tightness in the chest, dizziness, nausea, shaking, sweating or an urgent need to escape.
I use hypnotherapy, NLP and practical psychological techniques to help people change these learned responses. The work is adapted to you and the particular way your fear operates. It is not about forcing you to confront something before you are ready or pretending that all risks can be ignored.
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What Is the Difference Between a Fear and a Phobia?
Fear is a normal protective response. It helps us recognise danger and take sensible action. A phobia develops when the brain’s alarm system reacts too strongly, too quickly or in situations where the actual level of danger is low.
People often know logically that their reaction is excessive. That knowledge alone may not stop it because the response is largely automatic. The mind may produce vivid predictions, the body prepares for danger and avoidance begins to feel like the safest option.
Phobias can develop after a frightening experience, through observing somebody else’s fear, from repeated warnings or without any obvious starting point. Finding one dramatic “root cause” is not always necessary. What matters is understanding what keeps the response active now.
The NHS overview of phobias explains the different types of phobia and the treatments available.
Common Phobias and Fears
The following are among the fears people commonly seek help for. Some have their own detailed pages, while others can be discussed during an initial conversation.
Travel, Transport and Situational Fears
- Fear of flying may involve turbulence, loss of control, being unable to leave, heights or fear of panic on the aircraft. If a flight is approaching, there is also information about last-minute fear of flying.
- Fear of driving can concern motorways, bridges, unfamiliar roads, being trapped in traffic, causing an accident or having a panic attack while driving.
- Driving-test anxiety may affect concentration and performance even when you drive well during lessons.
- Fear of heights can arise on balconies, stairs, hills, bridges, escalators or inside tall buildings.
- Claustrophobia is a fear of enclosed or restricted spaces.
- Fear of lifts, tunnels or becoming trapped can overlap with claustrophobia but may have its own specific triggers.
- Agoraphobia often concerns situations in which escape or obtaining help might feel difficult.
- Fear of crowds or public transport may involve busy shops, trains, buses, queues or large events.
- Fear of water or swimming can range from discomfort near a pool to fear of putting the face under water.
- Fear of the sea or deep water, sometimes called thalassophobia, may include depth, darkness, waves, unseen objects or being far from land.
Medical and Body-Related Fears
- Fear of needles, injections and blood tests may lead people to postpone important healthcare.
- Fear of the dentist can involve pain, gagging, sounds, smells, loss of control or embarrassment about the condition of the teeth.
- Fear of medical procedures and healthcare anxiety can include scans, surgery, examinations, hospitals and waiting for treatment.
- Fear of vomiting, or emetophobia, may affect food choices, travel, social life and contact with other people.
- Fear of blood, injury or fainting can produce a different physical pattern from many other phobias. Some people experience a sudden drop in blood pressure and faint.
- Fear of illness or cancer may involve repeated body-checking, reassurance-seeking and difficulty accepting medical reassurance.
- Fear of choking or swallowing can lead to avoiding particular textures, eating very slowly or feeling unsafe when eating alone.
- Fear of childbirth, known as tokophobia, can occur before pregnancy or after a difficult birth experience.
- Fear of death or dying may focus on the process of dying, non-existence, losing somebody, illness or uncertainty.
Medical symptoms and difficulties eating or swallowing should be appropriately assessed before being treated as anxiety alone. Hypnotherapy does not replace dental or medical care.
Animals, Insects and the Natural World
- Fear of spiders, or arachnophobia, can cause people to scan rooms, avoid sheds or struggle to sleep after seeing a spider.
- Fear of wasps and bees may make eating outside, gardening or summer travel difficult.
- Fear of dogs may relate to barking, jumping, unpredictable movement or a previous bite or chase.
- Fear of snakes can be triggered by real snakes, pictures, television programmes or even the shape of an object.
- Fear of birds may concern flapping, feathers, sudden movement, pigeons or birds flying overhead.
- Fear of thunderstorms can involve thunder, lightning, forecasts and monitoring the sky.
Social, Environmental and Other Fears
- Public-speaking anxiety may affect meetings, presentations, speeches, interviews and situations in which you feel observed.
- Social phobia or social anxiety is broader than shyness and may involve a strong fear of judgement, embarrassment or visible anxiety.
- Fear of germs or contamination can involve washing, checking and avoidance. When intrusive thoughts and compulsions are central, it may be more appropriate to consider support for OCD.
- Fear of clustered holes or patterns, often called trypophobia, may produce disgust, discomfort or a strong physical reaction.
- Fear of being alone, sometimes called monophobia, can involve worries about safety, panic or being without immediate support.
Fear of the dark is also common and can continue into adulthood. It may relate to uncertainty, imagined danger, being unable to see the surroundings or difficulty sleeping alone. There are many other highly individual fears, so it does not matter if yours is not named here.
How Avoidance Keeps a Phobia Going
Avoidance is understandable because it usually produces immediate relief. Unfortunately, that relief can teach the brain that escape prevented something terrible from happening.
The pattern often becomes:
Trigger → alarm → avoidance or escape → short-term relief → stronger expectation of danger
People may arrange their lives increasingly carefully, rely on reassurance, check repeatedly or use alcohol or medication to get through situations. These “safety behaviours” can reduce anxiety temporarily while preventing the brain from learning that the situation can be handled differently.
This does not mean you should suddenly force yourself into an overwhelming situation. Effective change is usually planned, manageable and appropriate to the person.
How Hypnotherapy May Help
Hypnotherapy uses focused attention and guided mental rehearsal to work with automatic responses, expectations and learned associations. NLP and other practical techniques may also be used where appropriate.
Sessions may help you:
- Understand your particular triggers and predictions
- Calm the physical alarm response
- Change frightening mental images
- Reduce anticipatory anxiety
- Feel less compelled to avoid or escape
- Develop more helpful internal language
- Rehearse responding calmly and confidently
- Build a realistic sense of choice and control
- Prepare for gradual, appropriate real-world practice
Hypnotherapy is not a guarantee that fear will disappear completely, and it is not a substitute for evidence-based medical or psychological treatment. For specific phobias, approaches involving carefully managed exposure are well established. Hypnotherapy may be used as part of a broader plan to help reduce distress, improve readiness and support new learning.
Sessions & Locations
You can work with me in whichever way feels most comfortable:
• Reading: Monday–Friday, day & evening
• Didcot: Tuesdays, flexible times
• Online: Secure sessions via Zoom or Teams
Whether you prefer face to face or online sessions, the process and results are just as effective. I work with clients across Reading and Didcot, including nearby towns in Berkshire and Oxfordshire, both in person and online. You could be next.
MAIL@THEEXCELPRACTICE.COM OR CALL 07807 540142
A Practical and Individual Approach
Two people with the same named phobia may fear very different things. One person who fears flying may be frightened of turbulence; another may fear being trapped, becoming ill or losing control in front of other passengers.
We therefore begin by exploring:
- What triggers the response
- What you predict will happen
- What you feel in your body
- What you avoid or endure with difficulty
- What reassurance or safety behaviours you use
- Whether there was a relevant earlier experience
- What meaningful improvement would look like
The aim is not recklessness. A useful response still recognises genuine risk and allows sensible precautions. The goal is to reduce an excessive alarm response so that you can make decisions based more on the present situation and less on automatic fear.
Work may also draw on mindfulness to help you notice sensations and thoughts without immediately treating them as evidence of danger. Where a phobia overlaps with general anxiety, panic attacks or persistent overthinking, those patterns can be considered as part of the work.
When Other Support May Be Needed
Some difficulties that look like a simple phobia may be connected with OCD, trauma, an eating difficulty, a medical condition or a more complex anxiety disorder. I will not diagnose a condition, and hypnotherapy should not delay necessary assessment or treatment.
Please speak to your GP or an appropriate clinician if symptoms are severe, rapidly worsening, causing significant restriction, affecting nutrition or preventing essential healthcare. If you are in immediate danger or experiencing a mental-health crisis, use urgent NHS or emergency support.
For a fear of blood or fainting, tell both me and the healthcare professional involved. For swallowing problems, unexplained breathlessness, dizziness or other physical symptoms, obtain medical advice rather than assuming anxiety is the cause.
Testimonial – “Hi Matthew u helped me in mid July for my claustrophobia I thought I’d let u know how I got on going to the USA. I got on better than usual with the help you gave me. I felt a lot calmer on both the flight and difficult situations; some of the rides (Disney Land Florida) were closed in. Thank you for all your help.” – Kim – Flying Phobia and Claustrophobia, September 2010
Testimonial – David Webb 8 reviews • 0 photos – 23 Dec 2022 – I’ve had four or five sessions with Matthew to help me get over motorway driving anxiety. I’d never had hypnotherapy before but enjoyed the sessions and found Matthew easy to talk to & be comfortable around. My anxiety is a lot better than it was and I’m pretty certain Matthew has played an important part in that. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Many people will start to feel better the moment they decide to make changes in their lives – and this can be just a phone call or email away
MAIL@THEEXCELPRACTICE.COM OR CALL 07807 540142
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can hypnotherapy cure a phobia in one session?
Some people notice a significant change quickly, while others need more time and practice. I do not promise a one-session cure. The number of sessions depends on the fear, its complexity and your individual response.
Will I be forced to face my fear?
No. We agree the approach together. Real-world practice, where appropriate, should be safe, gradual and manageable rather than an unexpected confrontation.
What if I do not know where my phobia started?
That is common. We can work with the present triggers, thoughts, physical reactions and avoidance patterns without inventing or forcing an explanation.
Can sessions be held online?
Yes. Many phobias can be worked with online. We can discuss whether online or in-person sessions are the most suitable option for you.
Is a phobia the same as an anxiety disorder?
A specific phobia centres on a particular object or situation. Social anxiety, agoraphobia, health anxiety and OCD may involve broader patterns and may require a different or more integrated approach.
Can you help with an unusual phobia?
Yes. A fear does not need to appear on a standard list. What matters is how the response works, how it affects you and whether the support I offer is appropriate.
Should I see my doctor first?
Seek medical advice when physical symptoms are unexplained, when fear is interfering with necessary healthcare, or when another physical or mental-health condition may be involved.
MAIL@THEEXCELPRACTICE.COM OR CALL 07807 540142
Book Your Session
Ask a Question
For online hypnotherapy for phobias please do ask for details on how I can help you with this using on Zoom, Skype, Teams and other on-line technology