ALMOST everyone has an irrational fear or two; for most people, these fears are minor.

But, when fears become so severe they cause tremendous anxiety and literally stop you from doing something with your normal life, they are called phobias.

A phobia is defined as an anxiety disorder characterised by an abnormally intense or irrational fear of a situation, animal or object.

Common phobias: social phobia – fear of interacting with other people; agoraphobia – fear of open public spaces; emetophobia – fear of vomiting; erythrophobia – fear of blushing; driving phobia – fear of driving; hypochondria – fear of illness; aerophobia – fear of flying; arachnophobia – fear of spiders; zoophobia – fear of animals; claustrophobia – fear of confined spaces.

It’s not exactly known how phobias come about but specific phobias are thought to originate in childhood, between the ages of about four and eight, and some, such as social phobia, tend to start later but these theories don’t help.

Like many other phobia sufferers, people may try to cope by avoiding the trigger of the phobia.

Not only is this tiring and demoralising, it is often impractical and can impact on other people’s lives as well as your own, or may put your health at risk if you’re avoiding medical checks involving injections or taking blood.

For everyone whose life is affected by a phobia, acknowledging the problem and seeking help is the key to recovering control of your life. It’s important to know that phobias are common.

The National Institute of Mental Health quotes around 10% of adults are affected by phobias.

You should consider treatment for your phobia if it causes intense and disabling fear, anxiety and panic; your avoidance interferes with your normal routine or causes significant distress to you or your family.

Marlborough House therapy for phobias has an excellent track record. If you are one of the many people who is wrestling with their fear or phobia then we have very good news for you.

You can overcome your anxiety and fear, no matter how out of control it feels, because most phobias are highly treatable.

At Marlborough House, we regularly help clients overcome their phobias and fears in just a few sessions.

Nabeeh Marar offers a free 30-minute consultation to discuss how he can help you. For more information, or to book an appointment, visit mh-hypnotherapy.co.uk or mh-tc.com or call 01823-272227.

Also, Marlborough House is proud to announce that a new osteopath, Jess Burn, starts this week; she will also work Tuesdays and Saturdays, and for September and October is offering £15 off the first consultation.