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Overcome a Fear of Talking on the Phone
Published 8 May, 2010 | Overcoming Fears
He wasn’t merely anxious about using the phone; he was terrified. But he had good reason. During his wartime experience in the trenches, a shell had exploded just as he was dialling the telephone.
Overcome the Fear of Going Crazy
Published 17 March, 2010 | Overcoming Fears
She fears she’s going crazy. He wants her to think she’s going mad so he can have her locked up in an institution. This scary plot from the 1944 film Gaslight hits a real nerve for many people. After all, who hasn’t sometimes worried they might be…well, losing it?
Overcome Needle Phobia
Published 10 March, 2010 | Overcoming Fears
David explained to me how he’d been traumatized at school when having inoculations. More recently, he’d tried to overcome his needle phobia by attempting to give blood. The terror had been so intense, he’d ripped out the needle and fainted.
Dealing with a Fear of Death
Published 5 March, 2010 | Overcoming Fears
Natural fear of death - such as any of us would experience if, say, confronted by an axe-wielding maniac or an aggressive illness - had for Gillian become an obsession, something that ate into, chewed up, and spat out her good times and kept her awake at nights.
Overcome Exam and Test Nerves
Published 29 January, 2010 | Overcoming Fears
Once, a beautiful princess sat by an ornate pool in her palace grounds. As she peered down, admiring her beautiful reflection in the surface of the clear pool, her priceless crown suddenly slipped from her head and into the waters with a splash.
Overcome Fear of the Dark
Published 27 January, 2010 | Overcoming Fears
“It’s ‘nyctophobia’. I feel embarrassed to admit it! I’m twenty-eight. It’s normally kids that have it. I manage eight people at work. I shouldn’t have this phobia, but I have. Can you help me?”
Overcome Phobia of Being Alone
Published 13 January, 2010 | Overcoming Fears
Being alone can be a pleasure, a self-imposed state induced by social anxiety, or enough to cause a fear amounting to phobia (sometimes called monophobia) so bad that it drives people to do anything other than spend time alone. The person who is terrified of being alone feels fundamentally unsafe and unable to look after themselves. Other people are related to as surrogate parents rather than, say, romantic partners.
Are You Scared of Driving?
Published 21 December, 2009 | Overcoming Fears
Some people should be scared of driving. I refer, of course, to the maniac driver. You cower in the passenger seat rapidly finding God (any god) to pray to furiously. Your foot involuntarily applies imaginary brakes and you energetically decline any future lift offers with the excuse that walking is good for your blood pressure (at least more so than being in a car with that maniac). But some perfectly capable drivers don’t drive due to fear. What can be done?
Overcome Fear of Heights
Published 19 October, 2009 | Overcoming Fears
I’d never had a fear of heights until now, but as the crane took me higher, I noticed with increasing alarm the sounds from the ground far below now becoming muted; the crowd distant. Oh no! I began to breathe rapidly and sweat like a dressed up pig in a sauna whilst my thoughts raced away quicker than a missed train.
Fear of Abandonment
Published 14 October, 2009 | Overcoming Fears
“I used to have this recurring nightmare. I’d be standing on a rain swept street corner - utterly alone - totally abandoned, lost…I always wondered why I had that dream. Then one day, it happened for real. My ma walked out on all of us!”
How to Overcome Fear of Flying
Published 7 October, 2009 | Overcoming Fears
Some people think they have a fear of flying when what they really experience is claustrophobia; not liking to feel ‘shut in’. Here I want to focus on fear of flying proper.
How to Pass Your Driving Test
Published 5 October, 2009 | Overcoming Fears
I had expected to pass my driving test the first time, but as the little old lady dived out the way like a stunt extra from a Die Hard movie, doubt began to creep in. I swerved and she leapt, somersaulting down a grassy knoll (I exaggerate slightly).
7 Steps to Stop a Panic Attack
Published 3 September, 2009 | Overcoming Fears
“One moment I was driving along thinking about work. The next, I felt like I was going to die! I got really hot, started breathing hard, began to sweat, became tearful, and my pounding heart felt like it was going to burst!” She trembled as she spoke; even recalling it made her tearful.
Get help unlike any other from Mark Tyrrell, therapist and co-founder of Uncommon Knowledge.
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