Phobia Success Stories
The Speakmans have helped countless people around the world successfully overcome their phobias.
Some of those stories are featured below.
Escalators
Full Medical Name: Escalaphobia
Escalaphobia is the fear of escalators and is surprisingly common. The fear of escalators may be mild or severe, and the reasons behind the fear range from misunderstandings about their construction, to the perception of moving too quickly.
Birds
Full Medical Name: Ornithophobia
A phobia is an intense, exaggerated fear of a particular situation or thing. Having a fear of birds, is called ornithophobia. Phobias are one of the most common anxiety disorders.
Medical Procedures
Full Medical Name: Tomophobia
Tomophobia, the phobic fear caused by an invasive medical procedure - an emerging anxiety disorder.
Butterflies
Full Medical Name: Lepidopterphobia
Lepidopterophobia, is the fear of butterflies or moths. While some people may have a mild fear of these insects, a phobia is when you have an excessive and irrational fear that interferes with your daily life.
Heights
Full Medical Name: Acrophobia
Sharon has a fear of heights, that causes her anxiety and panic. As a child her uncle fell off a cliff and died, ever since then she has been terrified. Sharon says if she was cured it would change her life. She doesn’t know what The Speakmans have in store for her. Eating a pie suspended 100 ft in the air! Most people without a fear of heights wouldn’t want to do that!
Freezers
Full Medical Name: Cryophobia
Phillipa has been terrified of freezers for 46 years. Her anxiety is always through the roof, she can’t use the freezer at home and has to avoid freezers when shopping in the supermarket. It really restricts her life and it’s got worse over the years. Desperate, Phillipa contacted This Morning and The Speakmans for help.
Clowns
Full Medical Name: Coulrophobia
Hannah has had a fear of clowns her whole life and cries and physically shakes at the thought of one. The ‘Panic Room’ has clown themed tests, the last one being a real clown. How far can she go? Can Nik and Eva cure her?
Needles and Anything Medical
Full Medical Name: Belonephobia/Tomophobia
Alice aged 22 has a phobia of anything medical. It is so bad if she faints at the sight of medical instruments. It has now transferred to a fear of fainting itself.
Spiders and Snakes
Full Medical Name: Arachnophobia/Ophidiophobia
Nik and Eva want to prove scientists who say we are hardwired from birth to be frightened of spiders and snakes wrong. To do so they have a clinic with three people who suffer with either arachnophobia or ophidiophobia. But can they do it?
Frogs
Full Medical Name: Batrachophobia
During a phone in on their show, Nik and Eva decide to visit Sarah to help her overcome her frog phobia, as she struggles to leave the house because of it. She has two children, and because her fear is so bad, after reading a bedtime story once that had a picture of a frog, she can no longer read to them at night. It all started at the age of 6 when she had kissed a frog and got hepatitis.
Flying
Full Medical Name: Aviophobia/Aerophobia
Katie wants to overcome her fear of flying for her mother Dianne, so they can have a family holiday. Her flying phobia has prevented her from having a family holiday abroad for 20 years. Unbeknownst to Katie, The Speakmans had plans for her to fly a plane!
Needles and Hospitals
Full Medical Name: Belonephobia/Tomophobia
Sally-Anne was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer in June 2019. Her fear of needles and hospitals has prevented her from having the lifesaving treatment she needs. She has refused surgery and medicine to help her as it would have to be administered by injection. Even if she was ill she would refuse to go in an ambulance.
Enclosed Spaces
Full Medical Name: Claustrophobia
People affected by claustrophobia will often go out of their way to avoid confined spaces, such as lifts, tunnels, tube trains and public toilets. But avoiding these places may reinforce the fear.
Swinging Objects
Full Medical Name: Pendulaphobia
Pendulaphobia is the fear of things that hang and swing. (Not to be confused with the similarly related Kinetiphoba, the fear of moving, or moving objects.) It makes me very uncomfortable to see/be around these things, and usually nervous.
Bees
Full Medical Name: Melissophobia/Apiphobia
Melissophobia, or apiphobia, is when you have an intense fear of bees.
Birds
Full Medical Name: Ornithophobia
Ornithophobia is an irrational and overwhelming fear of birds in which no real danger is present.
Bridges
Full Medical Name: Gephyrophobia
Gephyrophobia is the anxiety disorder or specific phobia characterized by the fear of bridges and tunnels.
Sand
Full Medical Name: Ammophobia
Ammophobia or ammosphobia is the fear of walking on sand, which comes from the Greek word for sand ‘ammos’. A common cause of the phobia is getting sunk in quicksand, or hearing stories about others who have got stuck in it. Others may have the fear due to being afraid of being cut by sand particles while walking barefoot.
Heights
Full Medical Name: Acrophobia
Acrophobia is a mental health condition in which the individual experiences an intense fear of heights. It's a type of anxiety disorder. A person with acrophobia experiences intense fear and anxiety when they think of tall heights or are positioned at a significant height.
Travel
Full Medical Name: Hodophobia
Hodophobia is the medical term for an extreme fear of traveling. Some people call it “trip-a-phobia.” It's often a heightened fear of a particular mode of transportation, such as airplanes. It's also a phobia that can happen after highly publicized events and disasters that strike fear into the public.
Fire Service
Full Medical Name: Xiaofaphobia
Xiaofaphobia is the fear of fire engines (branch of ochophobia, a fear of vehicles).
Clowns
Full Medical Name: Coulrophobia
Coulrophobia is a fear (phobia) of clowns. Children and adults who fear clowns may experience extreme, irrational reactions when they see clowns in person or view pictures or videos of clowns. Someone with a fear of clowns is coulrophobic.
Dolls
Full Medical Name: Pediophobia
This fear, called pediophobia, can be triggered by popular culture, horror movies, or another traumatic event even loosely related to dolls. Pediophobia is a type of phobia known as a specific phobia, an irrational fear of something that poses no actual threat.
Cats
Full Medical Name: Ailurophobia
People with ailurophobia have a fear of cats. Someone with ailurophobia may have extreme anxiety or fear when seeing or thinking about cats. They may avoid visiting friends who have cats or stay away from co-workers who talk about their cats.
Enclosed Spaces
Full Medical Name: Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia can be triggered by things like being locked in a windowless room, being stuck in a crowded elevator, or driving on a congested highway.
Masks
Full Medical Name: Masklophobia
Masklophobia (sometimes referred to as maskaphobia) is a specific phobia used to classify a general - and in some cases an irrational - fear of masks, people in costumed clothing and mascots, which is common among toddlers and young children.
Buttons
Full Medical Name: Koumpounophobia
Most sufferers are convinced that they are the only ones in the world to suffer from what appears to be such a strange fear, the reality is, it is fairly common. High profile sufferers include such luminaries as Steve Jobs who suffered unnecessarily with the phobia all his life.
Cutlery
Full Medical Name: Aichmophobia (similar to)
This phobia is so unusual that it doesn't even have a name. When asked by the Daily Mail about her unusual phobia Zoe said, "I have spent almost the last twenty years dreading mealtimes and insisting on using only plastic cutlery, now I have to eat at a separate table from my four children and partner, Phil. I turn my back to avoid seeing a metal knife or fork.
Dentist
Full Medical Name: Dentophobia
Dentophobia is a common phobia which can occur following a bad experience, a fear of needles, fear of choking, fear of pain and numerous other triggers.
Choking
Full Medical Name: Pseudodysphagia
Choking phobia is a fear of eating, drinking or taking pills. It is also called Pseudodysphagia. There is nothing wrong with the subject's throat. They fear that swallowing will cause pain or discomfort. Choking phobia is diagnosed after testing to be sure there is no problem with swallowing.
Statues
Full Medical Name: Automatonophobia
Automatonophobia is a fear of human-like figures, such as mannequins, wax figures, statues, dummies, animatronics, or robots. It's a specific phobia, or a fear of something that causes significant and excessive stress and anxiety and can negatively affect a person's quality of life.
Flying
Full Medical Name: Aviophobia/Aerophobia
Fear of flying is called aviophobia or aerophobia. Fear of getting on a plane can be inherited from childhood, or it can emerge from adulthood as a result of various triggering factors.
Photo being taken
Full Medical Name: Photophobia
The fear of being in front of a camera and having your pictures taken is not a new condition. Ever since cameras were invented the fear has existed.
Condiments
Full Medical Name: Sauceaphobia
People that suffer sauceaphobia commonly known as sauceaphobics are repulsed by the sight, taste and texture of sauce on their food and will always request their meal without these unnecessary add-ons. Failure by a restaurant/cafe to do so will usually result in a tantrum by the sufferer of sauceaphobia.
Apples
Full Medical Name: Malusdomesticaphobia
The fear of apples is known as Malusdomesticaphobia. This phobia gets its name from the scientific name of apples, which is Malus domestica in the Rose family (Rosaceae).
Stairs
Full Medical Name: Bathmophobia
Bathmophobia is the extreme fear of slopes or stairs. It is considered a specific phobia, a condition in which a person has an irrational fear of something that poses little to no danger.
Bridges
Full Medical Name: Gephyrophobia
The fear of driving over bridges is also referred to as gephyrophobia. Having an exaggerated or irrational fear of driving over or crossing a bridge can present some considerable challenges in your daily life, as you travel to where you need to go.
Bats
Full Medical Name: Chiroptophobia
Chiroptophobia is the fear of bats. True chiroptohobia is an intense, paralyzing kind of fear that interferes with everyday life. While it is not unusual to dislike bats, few of us experience that degree of angst.
Custard
Full Medical Name: Custodiaphobia
The irrational fear of pudding or custard is called custodiaphobia.
Coffee
Full Medical Name: Cafephobia
Cafephobia (from Greek kafe, "coffee") is the fear of coffee. This phobia is most common on young children. Triggers for cafephobia are accidentally spilling hot coffee onto them and getting sick of smelling coffee to the point that bother them.
Ice
Full Medical Name: Cryophobia
Cryophobia is often worse during the winter months, even for those who specifically fear cold objects. Snow and ice may seem unbearable, while objects that always feel cold, such as metal items, feel even colder during the winter.
Cockcroaches
Full Medical Name: Katsaridaphobia
Katsaridaphobia is the fear of cockroaches. When a person has this disorder, they will do anything to avoid any sign of cockroach to enter their home even when it means implementing rash, irrational, and harmful decisions.
Piercings
Full Medical Name: Kosmephobia
The phobia also extends to many other types of small metal objects, including but not limited to ornate cutlery, coins, keys, and keychains. A kosmemophobe will go to great lengths to avoid these triggering items. Touching or even looking at any of these triggers invokes a strong revulsion in a kosmemophobe, sometimes to the point of making them vomit.
Sharks
Full Medical Name: Galeophobia
Galeophobia, or the fear of sharks, comes from the Greek words “Galeos” sharks and “Phobos” fear. Symptoms may include anxiety with elevated heart rate, shortness of breath, shaking, sweating, nausea, or dizziness. Hollywood movies and the media reinforce the fear of sharks.
Water
Full Medical Name: Aquaphobia
Aquaphobia is a fear of water. People with aquaphobia have severe fear when they see or think about water. They may be afraid of baths or showers, drinking water, large bodies of water or swimming pools.
Halloween
Full Medical Name: Samhainophobia
Samhainophobia is a fear of Halloween. People with this specific phobia feel anxious when they think about or experience anything to do with Halloween. Many people with samhainophobia have gone through a past traumatic situation related to Halloween.
Crowded Places
Full Medical Name: Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a disorder that is characterised by feelings of anxiety in situations where the sufferer perceives certain environments as dangerous or uncomfortable, often due to the environment’s vast openness or crowdedness, coupled with the sufferer feeling a perceived inability to escape from public places and, or transport.
Snakes
Full Medical Name: Ophidiophobia
Ophidiophobia is an extreme, overwhelming fear of snakes. The condition is called a specific phobia (fear), which is a type of anxiety disorder. Ophidiophobia may be associated with herpetophobia, which is fear of all reptiles.
Dogs
Full Medical Name: Cynophobia
The fear of dogs can be hugely debilitating and socially compromising when you consider the ever increasing number of dog owners.
Spiders
Full Medical Name: Arachnophobia
Arachnophobia is one of the world's most common phobias and one view, especially held in evolutionary psychology, is that the presence of venomous spiders led to the evolution of this fear.
Costumes
Full Medical Name: Masklophobia
Some people with masklophobia have a more generalized phobia that might even extend beyond masks to costumed characters as well.
Common symptoms include, but are not limited to sweating, shaking, crying, and heart palpitations.
Mice
Full Medical Name: Musophobia
Musophobia is the scientific name for the fear of mice and rats, a very common phobia that affects a large proportion of the population.
Church Bells
Full Medical Name: Kampanaphobia
Kampanaphobia (from Greek kampana, meaning bell) is the fear of bells. This phobia is commonly triggered by a negative experience with bells, such as getting scared when a bell rings, or getting injured when a person that reacts to bells knocks themselves over.
Death
Full Medical Name: Thanatophobia
Thanatophobia is an intense fear of death or the dying process. While it's natural to feel anxious about death from time to time, thanatophobia is an anxiety disorder that can disrupt every aspect of your life.
Loud Noises
Full Medical Name: Ligyrophobia
Ligyrophobia is a fear of loud noises, specifically sudden loud noises and primarily items often associated with celebration such as party poppers, fireworks, champagne corks and balloons popping.
Simon Cowell
Full Medical Name: Cowellophobia
Michelle's phobia of Simon Cowell began when she first watched The X Factor, and just the sight of the show's head Judge caused her body to shiver and left her breathless with panic.
Loud Noises
Full Medical Name: Ligyrophobia
Ligyrophobia is a fear of loud noises, specifically sudden loud noises and primarily items often associated with celebration such as party poppers, fireworks, champagne corks and balloons popping.
Rats
Full Medical Name: Musophobia
The fear of encountering a rat, thoughts abour rats, or even seeing pictures and videos of them is so severe that it creates exaggerated feelings of danger towards mice and rats and negatively affects your daily life.
Fish
Full Medical Name: Ichthyophobia
Ichthyophobia is a persistent and irrational fear of fish. Individuals with ichthyophobia might fear seeing, smelling, touching, or eating fish.
Spiders
Full Medical Name: Arachnophobia
The best and only treatment for fear of spiders or arachnophobia involves therapy. This could be regular talk therapy, group therapy, exposure therapy, or cognitive behavioral therapy. Exposure therapy is specifically designed for people who have phobias or are otherwise debilitated by fear.