In the worse cases, phobias can get worse over time - stopping their victims from leading a normal life.

Taking a foreign holiday with family can be impossible for someone with a fear or air travel for example. I can also stop people being promoted to a position overseas if they can't face boarding an aircraft.

But behaviour expert Elaine Iljon-Foreman,a registered Clinical Psychologist who is based in West Sussex, says it's about re-training the brain:

"Ships can capsize, aeroplanes can crash, spiders can have poision. It's not about telling the person it'll never happen. It's about telling them to manage the fact these things are possible, but let's look at how likely they actually are."

Iljon-Foreman has written several books on the subject of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and it the director of Freedom to Fly. She strongly believes anyone can be helped to overcome their hang-ups.

In one case, she says a pregnant air hostess developed a fear of flying when she returned to work and heard colleagues talking about a near accident:

"All of this happened at a particularly stressful time in her her life, and she then began listening to the sounds of the plane, and wasn't able to do her job.

"By the time I saw her, she was actually grounded for medical reasons because she could at that point, no-longer fly, and therefore couldn't do her job."

In certain cases, unchecked phobias can worsen over time. Those worried about a condition should talk about with with their doctor in the first instance, who can then refer them for specialist treatment in needed.

More of the interview can be heard below: