Loneliness is the biggest fear in Britain according to a National survey on phobias published last week to highlight National Phobia Awareness Week.
Catholic psychoanalyst Michael Whitenburgh, former seminarian with The Divine Word Fathers, runs stress clinics in Liverpool’s Rodney Street and London’s Harley Street.
He told the `Pictorial` this week ,”Some of the more outrageous phobias include waterfalls, buttons, dwarfs, bagpipes and even living.”
He went on: “While they might appear amusing they can have a devastating effect upon the quality of life the person must lead.”
More bizarre cases include fear of electric pylons, station platforms and pigeons.
But monophobia – the fear of loneliness or isolation – occurs in the majority of phobia cases.
Said Mr Whitenburgh: “It’s not necessarily a case of being on your own. It may be someone has a problem and feels there is nobody to turn to even though he or she is surrounded by people.
He added: “Nearly all phobias can be traced back to childhood like the woman who hadn’t seen in the New Year for years because she hated the sound off bagpipes.”
The occasional phobia has him stumped. A dread of buttons is one example. “I just can’t undo that one.” He grinned.
“I`M USED TO BEING TEASED ABOUT MY BUTTON PHOBIA”
“The worst thing about having an unusual phobia is not the irrational fear itself but the fact that people feel irresistibly drawn to taunt you about it.
Having always suffered from a phobia about buttons, I’m used to being mercilessly teased.
“That’s why I was delighted to be offered the chance to visit the Clinic for Stress Counselling in Liverpool to see phobia expert Mike Whitenburgh”.
Mike has specialised in phobias for the past 15 years. He separates them into two groups: adult fear, triggered by an emotional trauma you suffered as an adult, and childhood fear, which is much deeper-rooted. He attempts to find the underlying root cause of the phobia by relaxing the patient and uncovering the memory that triggers it.
“Because my fear of buttons had been around for as long as I could remember, it meant I was suffering from a childhood phobia. The treatment sounded simple- just lie down on the couch, listen to Mike’s hypnotic, reassuring voice and let the memories flow.
“In practice, things were a little bit more complicated. First, I found it near impossible to relax. Knowing I was on a tight schedule and worrying whether I’d be finished in time to catch the 3.10 back to London didn’t help. Also I found his questions too vague for me to answer meaningfully.
Mike did succeed in jogging my memory on some incidents which showed early signs of my fear – but we never got to the root of the phobia.
“I think your resistance levels were high because you were here primarily for work.” Said Mike as I prepared to leave. “With six or seven more sessions I’m sure we’d find out what’s behind it.”
“And I think he was right. In different circumstances, perhaps I’d have been able to relax enough to give his methods a chance to work. But at £65 a time, I think I’ll stick to my zip-up jackets and pray that Velcro becomes the fashion statement of the future.”
Tammy Cohen