Recently I have been getting a lot of inquiries about the various types of phobias.

People have asked what the differences are between the various types of phobias – and also how to approach recovery if the person has more than one phobia at once.

So first of all, all phobias – regardless of the “type” – are all rooted in the same type of “foundation”. All phobias are rooted in a futuristic “what if” thought, control and ultimately some level of avoidance.

This pertains to all phobias!

Recovery is the same for all phobias. Recovery is based on desensitizing to our trigger – learning to “look away” from our anxiety driven thoughts – and learning to manage our emotions & our thoughts. And not respond to fear – but rather respond appropriately to the situation.

When a person is dealing with multiple phobias at once, my suggestion is always “just pick one” to start.

Now, realistically there may need to be some additional thought to picking one. For instance, if a person is a driving phobic and an agoraphobic – naturally the agoraphobia would have to be the first phobia to work on. Simply because we will need to work on being out of the house and to be able to drive.

But even in this scenario – once the person gets the agoraphobia a little under control and they can begin driving – then the two phobias can be addressed together – at the same time. As the driving improves, so will the agoraphobia – it will be a very natural progression for the two.

However, if there are two completely unrelated phobias – lets say elevators and insects. Then I would say pick one that seems to be the one that needs to be more urgent.

In other words, if a person needs to take an elevator daily for work – and if exposure is much less to insects – then the elevator would take precedence.

So there may be a reason to choose one over another – or maybe not. In which case “just pick one” and start there.

The nice thing is that once the process of recovery is started, then it will apply to ALL aspects of your life. As we begin to use tools with a level of efficiency, we will be able to apply them to various trigger situations with more ease – and we will naturally create recovery in all aspects.

As I was told by my counselor – and I am quick to advise others – “just start”. Unless we begin somewhere, then nothing will change. And in the case of multiple phobias – there really is no wrong place to begin. No time is ever wasted. Being that the program is interchangeable between various phobias – do not worry so much as to where to begin.

However, if you have any questions – and would like to discuss further with me, just reach out – I would be happy to help sort through the recovery process and help put together a plan to implement for you.

Have a great day! And remember…. appreciate your accomplishments – no matter how small they may seem – your efforts and willingness to create recovery is an accomplishment!!

Michael Valentine