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It was a Thursday afternoon; I was out of my office on the train heading to Cambridge. Normally I have clients come to my practice but today I was traveling. You see Dan, has been agoraphobic for the past couple of years, Dan can comfortably walk to the end of his road, but that’s about it, if he passes that barrier he experiences full blown panic attacks which result in sheer terror, he races home and then is still shaken up for hours to follow.

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”-Jerry Seinfeld

I was just reflecting on a holiday I had a couple of years ago and remembered an experience that didnt seem scary until I decided to go ahead with it. I had just arrived in Santorini, a gorgeous little Greek Island, and we had just got off the cruise that had brought us there. I have never seen so many Donkeys in my life. To get to the little village and shops meant either going up a tram, or taking a Donkey up the mountain. Being the adventures type of guy I am, I decided to go via donkey, the route up the mountain was daunting and the speed of these donkeys would have even intimidated Lewis Hamilton. At points on the trip up, It literally felt that I was going to fall off the side of the cliff!!! I grew to respect the fact that Donkeys really can be dangerous and I could sympathize with anyone who has fear of them. But come to think of it, in all my years of practice I have worked with every imaginable phobia under the sun, but never have I worked with a Donkey Phobic.

A busy Friday afternoon in my office, the phone rang as I was having my last sip of cappuccino “I have Sarah downstairs to see you she is in a bad way, she is out of breath and panicking” said Joyce my secretary.