SCIENTISTS are offering hope to millions of people afflicted by chronic phobias after finding that simple nasal sprays may help overcome irrational fears.

The sprays have been shown to ease people’s fear of heights, spiders and even chronic shyness, one of the most crippling phobias.

The discovery could turn out to be a breakthrough in the treatment of chronic fearfulness, which afflicts hundreds of thousands of people in Britain.

Well-known phobias include conditions such as agoraphobia, (fear of open spaces), claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces) and fear of flying.

“These conditions can be crippling,” said Dr Adam Guastella, a psychology researcher at the University of New South Wales, Australia, who led the research. “Our research shows that the treatments for phobias can be greatly enhanced using compounds that make the brain more receptive.”

Guastella’s research has focused on two chemicals – oxytocin, a naturally occurring hormone long known to play a role in human emotions, and D-cycloserine (DCS), an antibiotic used against tuberculosis that has been found to have subtle effects on the brain. Both can be delivered by nasal spray.

Exposure therapy, in which phobics are confronted with the things that terrify them, is a standard treatment but its benefits often fall away over time.

In his latest research, Guastella used DCS combined with exposure therapy to treat 23 patients suffering from chronic shyness. He asked the patients to make a speech – normally a terrifying task for people with such a condition. A second group of 23, who were also asked to make speeches, were given a placebo.

Guastella said: “These people were so shy they could not enter a crowded room or speak in public. However, those who received DCS showed a great reduction in fear and also reported lasting improvement in work and social relationships.”

Guastella has also used oxytocin to treat people with social phobias and DCS to treat arachnophobes – people with a fear of spiders.

He is now researching a new use for oxytocin: helping couples to repair relationships that have deteriorated.

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