We all have fears, even those of us who do not admit to them!

They can range from a fear of going to the Dentist or Doctor to having an interview, taking a test or exam or to speaking out in public at a meeting, on the phone or even on stage.

From primitive times our bodies have reacted to any threat in the same way. Do I run or do I stay and fight? The body then gets ready for whichever way we decide to go. This involves our heart pumping faster which releases natural chemicals into the bloodstream leading to those feelings we all know of a knotted stomach, faster breathing, tense muscles and maybe sweating and even dizziness. In the past we could then choose whether to stand and fight that woolly mammoth or run away fast. Either way our body was prepared for action.

Sometimes when this reaction is equated to another physical effect, such as a wasp sting, or a dentist's injection, and we can't chose either to fight or run away, then our subconscious mind can learn that even thinking of this trigger, without it being present, must start the primitive reaction going, Eventually we become scared of being scared. When this happens then the quite normal fear we had, begins to become a true phobia.