A fear of Christmas is something you may not have even imagined, but it’s very real for those living with Christougenniatikophobia - and no less valid than a fear of heights or snakes.

Once you dig below the surface, the cause usually makes perfect sense.

Trouble with tinsel

I once treated a woman named Hannah who had avoided Christmas for years - she had a fear of tinsel. The root cause turned out that during a game when she was young, tinsel had slipped across her mouth, tightened, and she couldn’t catch her breath. She panicked and her brain created a conditioned response: tinsel became linked with danger.

To help someone let go of any phobia, the key is to find that original pairing. I then use these seven key steps:

Step 1: Recognise what you are really afraid of

The first step is to get clear. A lot of people think they’re afraid of the obvious thing - like Hannah’s fear of tinsel - but it’s usually what’s behind it that matters. For example, if we had only focused on the tinsel and not the underlying fear of choking, we wouldn’t have gotten very far. So, the key is precision. Let go of the ‘why’ questions, which can lead to excuses, and instead ask yourself a few simple ‘what’ and ‘when’ questions. For instance, when did I first start feeling this way? What was happening at the time? And in the present, what tends to........

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