How do we generate a phobia? What's their origin?

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   shamelabboushposted 15 years ago

   We all have phobias without exceptions, but the question is, how do we generate them? Some people are afraid of spiders (Arachnophobia) but others don't, some are afraid of funny things like fear of number 13 (Triskaidekaphobia)! Why is that?

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      Bredaviesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      It might be from childhood events. I got a phobia of clowns from the movie "IT"

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         shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I develpoed fear of heights phobia when I watched a real vid about someone falling from a tower... That was horrible...

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   anjalichughposted 15 years ago

   Would you believe if I say that most of our unexplained fears have their roots in our past lives? Sounds crazy? Its a fact.

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      shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      You mean reincarnation? It's possible...

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         anjalichughposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Yep! There is a lot of material (instances quoted from the lives of real people)available on the net if you've time to research a little on this subject. The best and concise explanation is offered by Eastern philosophy....Hindu scriptures (precisely).

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            shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            I read a lot about that subject and believe me, I have read weird and strange stories like people speaking several languages out of nowhere, or people who remember others and know details about them whithout prior relationship...

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      Bredaviesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe I was a clown in my past life..And I didn't like my job. haha

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         RooBeeposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Heehee, I like your sense of humor!

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      Amanda Severnposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      When I was training as a hypnotherapist we talked about this. In the West it's not so common to believe in the continuity of the soul, yet you can still treat people for phobias using regression. So long as the mind accepts the connection, the phobia treatment can work. Some people who have been regressed believe that they've experienced the past life as a dream, or a remembered scene from a book or film, rather than as a genuine past life, and that's fine so long as the cause of the phobia can be uncovered.

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         shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I think what you mean here is that they experienced a deja vu?

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            Amanda Severnposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Not necessarily. When you regress someone using hypnosis, you typically take them further and further back, then ask them to recall a time before this life. Amazingly, most people will dredge up something, even if it's not a very coherent memory. Of course these 'memories' might not be memories at all, but it doesn't actually matter, as long as the source of the phobia can be pinpointed.

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               pgrundyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               BTW what do you think about the alien abduction hypnotic accounts? Is there any research you know of about what's really going on there? (Besides the hypnotist implanting false memories?)
               
               I have a theory that that is related to anxiety disorders too.

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                  Amanda Severnposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                  MrVoodoo posted a hub a few days ago about sleep paralysis. There's a theory that alien abduction 'memories' are sparked by episodes of sleep paralysis. My own theory about SP is that it's caused by temporary oxygen deprivation, either as a result of snoring, or sleep apnoeia. I don't know of any studies around hypnosis and alien abduction memories, and I suspect that it would be really difficult to 'implant' such false memories under hypnosis, unless the victim was extremely open to suggestion, and already a believer in UFOs.

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                  shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                  Nice disorder....

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   RooBeeposted 15 years ago

   I think a lot of ppl have Obamaphobia.
   Not sure the origin of this, as most of the 'rationale' is based on a bitter interpretation of actual facts. Slippery slope logic is running rampant!!
   Okay, okay, sorry. I don't think I have any official phobias but I understand that they are very real to their sufferers and am not at all closed-off to the suggestion that they originate from previous incarnations.

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      shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Having no phobias whatsoever is a bit irrational! Do you mean that you fear nothin at all? cats, heights, rats.... Anything att all????

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         RooBeeposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         No, I have fears but none that I'd consider a phobia (which is an irrational fear, right?) I don't have a fear that stifles me from living my life in any way. For instance, I am not the biggest fan of spiders but I don't run screaming from the building or huddle into a ball when I see one. So, yes, I am afraid of all kinds of things! Just not at the level of phobia, but I could be mistaken.

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            shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            I rest my case here. Leading such a life must be nice...

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   windfox3posted 15 years ago

   Phobias are formed when your body links stimuli (like spiders) to the flight or fight reaction in your cerebral cortex. Once you make the connection that the stimuli is threatening in some way your body will naturally react with increased heart rate, hormones and adrenaline. This will last until the threat goes away and the fear subsides.
   
   Tests have been done to prove such developments of phobias in rats. The labratory creatures were put in a cage which had an electrified metal floor. Every time a certain bell rang the floor circuts would be turned on and the rats were given a mild shock. The experiment monitored the animals for several weeks. Various types of sounds would be introduced but only when the bell rang would the rats get the shock.
   
   The animals were then removed from the electrified cage and monitored in a normal setting. The experimenters were able to see that even in this new, safe environment the rats would link the bell tone to danger. The animals showed all the physical signs of duress. The experimenters even tried to link the tone to reward, giving the rats a treat when the bell rang. However the fear response continued even with the food. This was because the rats had no way of knowing if the shock would or would not occur. The bell for them was a reminder of the pain.
   
   For humans we gain our phobias much the same way. Whether you are frightened as a young child by the unexpected creepy feeling of a spider skittering across your skin; or if you are terrified of water because someone accidentally bobbed your head under water while you were swimming. The sight of a creature or other stimuli now acts as a reminder of that early encounter with pain or discomfort.
   
   This is why systematic desensitization is such a helpful tool to overcome phobias. By allowing yourself small doses of exposure to the source of your fear while using methods of self monitoring and stress management you can keep your heart rate down and yourself calm. The more you do this the longer you can be exposed to your phobia, and pretty soon you will find that you can control your fear response and overcome the feeling of threat.

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      shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, this is a comprehensive and complete explanaion! So, phobias, according to you, are treatable and easy to conquer? Thanks a lot dear for such a nice contribution.

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   Lisa HWposted 15 years ago

   I don't think everyone does have phobias.  Phobias are irrational fears, and not all fears are irrational.  Based on what Mayo Clinic's site says, phobias can develop when children witness a parent's phobias and responses to whatever the parent is phobic about.  Apparently, brain chemicals, traumatic experience, and genetics may play some role in whether someone develops phobias.
   
   I once read an example of how irrational fear can develop.  It was the example of a woman being attacked outside in daylight.  Without going back and digging up the resource, it stated (my words here) that something goes on with areas of the brain (hippocampus and amygdala) in response to the traumatic event.  Later, the woman may develop a fear of being outside in daylight without particularly associating it with being attacked.  (I hope I've worded this correctly.  I'm writing from memory here.)

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      shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Your answer is completely understood. Good memory.I agree with you that some phobias are completely irrational like fear of number 13 or fear of the weak day Friday, but some phobias are totally justifiable like fear of falling or fear of drowning.

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   Lisa HWposted 15 years ago

   Shamelabboush, I think things like fear of the number 13 are probably just spread by people who effectively manage to spook other people.     I suppose that would come under the category of phobias shared by parents - only things like fear of 13 are shared by large numbers of people who aren't someone's parents.  (I once lived in a house that had the number 13 as its address; but then, too, Iive often walked under ladders just to see what would happen as far as bad luck goes.  Hmmm...  maybe that explains a lot of the crap I've had in my life.    )

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      shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      , yes, I think it is shared! It's the herd spirit

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   \Brenda Scullyposted 15 years ago

   i used to have a terrible fear of seeing someone drunk..... would not go in a pub..... had to go and stay in a remote place in Wales over christmas for the fear of seeing someone drunk..... I had been suffering from post natal depression and all  your fears rise to the surface and get out of hand...... phobias.
   
   I realise now, that i used to get left in a car at times whilst the person was looking after me went in the pub.... it was dark outside at the time, and i was very young.  IT all stemmed back to that.  Believe it or not most of my adult life i did not go in pubs just in case i saw someone drunk.... here in Ireland people who have had to much to drink do not tend to be aggresive just friendly... so i can enjoy going in pubs.  MY Sons suffered as teenagers, as i couldn't have them in the house drinking........ can't believe it can u?????

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      shamelabboushposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      You're lucky to have this phobia.  At least your fear is healthy and useful to the extent that you made your kids fear the idea too. I wish i have a smokophobia or coffeephobia...

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         \Brenda Scullyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         shamelabboush wrote:

         
         
         well that is one way of looking at it

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   Lisa HWposted 15 years ago

   Brenda, I'm surprised my mother didn't GIVE me a phobia about seeing people drinking.     We lived in the city, and there was this one street that had a couple of drinking establishments (aka "bar rooms") on it.  We'd walk by, and if I tried to see inside my mother would, "Just don't look in there!"  I could not imagine what kind of "horrible things" were going on in there that would make my mother have such strong feelings about my looking in there.  The few times I got some glimpse there was nothing but men sitting there, at the bar.    To this day I still don't get what the issue was.  I guess she just didn't want her child seeing any drunks.      (We have pubs and "bar rooms" in cities here, but in the suburbs even restaurants can have trouble getting a license to serve alcohol.  Good thing my mother didn't live in Ireland.    )

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      \Brenda Scullyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      The irish are brilliant drink and drink and drink and are still really  well natured

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   pgrundyposted 15 years ago

   Amanda, that is fascinating. It sounds like the person comes up with a story with a resolution, and whether the story is correct or not, it works?
   
   That's a bit like cognitive therapy I think, only more creative. The phobic person does the 'reframing' himself (or herself).
   
   I do think people sometimes remember real past lives though. I picked up a book at the library by Brian Weiss this week called "Many Lives, Many Masters." I'm really looking forward to it. When I was a girl my best friend and I got all whipped up about a book called "The Search for Bridey Murphy" about an American housewife who remembered a past life in Ireland--lots of detailed info, so they went off on an historical search for the person.

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      Amanda Severnposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      If you get the chance you should check out Jenny Cockel's 'Yesterday's Children'. It's the true story of a woman who has strong memories of a life in rural Ireland where she was mother to a large family, but died while they were still small. The urge to find these children from her earlier life was so strong that Jenny Cockel researched all possible avenues, and eventually tracked the children down. So convincing was her story, that the (now adult and elderly) children came to accept that she had indeed been their mother in a former life. It's a really well-told story, and it had me convinced!

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      Amanda Severnposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      If you think this amazing, check out Milton Erickson who is popularly credited with being the father of modern hypnosis. He liked to treat people by using stories and metaphors. A good example of an Ericksonian style hypnosis might be to use the story of The Ugly Duckling, where the little bird gets rejected until he transforms in to a swan. This could be used with a client who is insecure about their appearance. It's not an Ericksonian story of course, but you can see where I'm coming from. The mind is infinitely complex and in a lot of cases it can heal itself, so long as it's given a nudge in the right direction.

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    pgrundyposted 15 years ago

    Amanda, you've given me some more great research and reading to do. I can feel a hub on this shaping up already! lol!
    
    I'm a little bit familiar with Erickson from my long ago college days. It makes me think also of shamans and their story telling as part of healing rituals. This is fascinating stuff to my way of thinking. In our culture narrative is almost synonymous with "invented" or "imaginary", yet narrative structure and narrative itself is a very powerful tool for organizing both society and the human mind.
    
    I'm going to check out that Cockel story. Sound awesome.

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