Traumaphobia

What causes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and phobias?
How can they be overpowered?

PTSD, as it describes, is disorderly stress, after a traumatic event. As a traumatic event is basically a scenario which causes an extreme negative emotional reaction, it is this trauma which causes the recurring future stress.

When the mind experiences extreme negative emotional feedback, it deems that memory as extremely important. Signifying that memory as important, is a basic function of subconscious reaction. Developed for survival, subconscious brain activity will trigger a fear reaction, when a similar scenario arises, to a memory of a past circumstance with negative emotional reinforcement. This was generally beneficial to avoid scenarios which cause harm. The stronger the negative reinforcement at the time of the circumstances, the stronger the influence will be for the reaction of fear.

So with a traumatic experience, comes the future subconscious reaction to be extremely fearful or feel extreme negative emotions, as a result of scenarios arising with resemblances to the initial trauma. The trigger for the extreme negative emotions could be any part of, or an overall scenario which resembles the original traumatic experience.

Phobias might be caused by more gradual subconscious negative emotional reinforcement, or by fluke instincts from genetics. If caused by experiences, it may be from repeated negative occurrences involving whatever the phobia is of, or from negative experiences involving something similar, which the subconscious mind considers similar enough to. Often phobias are simply instinctual and gained by genetics from birth. If something proved to cause harm often enough in the past, throughout generations, and being born with a fear of it, proved to be beneficial to survival, then eventually it may have been worked into genetic instincts. For eg. fear of snakes or spiders would likely have proven to be beneficial to be fearful of right from birth, since many are venomous and will reduce survival.  

These negative emotional reactions could be counteracted with a combination of conscious awareness and positive reinforcement. Conscious awareness is often required in order to overpower the subconscious fearful reaction. Consciousness is generally the strongest controller of the mind, when used to at least a significant degree. This is why you are capable of consciously choosing to make a decision, when that decision is focused on (by consciousness), rather than the default of subconscious reaction determining the decision. So using consciousness in the specific situations which cause subconscious negative feedback, someone can focus on the function, and logical causes and effects of the scenario. If they can focus on comprehending the rationality that the negative emotional feedback is not relevant to the specific circumstances. Comprehension of this concept in itself (of the causes of subconscious reaction) should prove to aid in the conscious comprehension of irrational negative emotional reactions.

Once the person is consciously aware of the irrationality of the negative emotions, they should be able to persist the resembling circumstances which cause the subconscious reaction. If they then comprehend that it was a positive result, of successfully overcoming the irrational fear.  With recurrence of this process, the subconscious mind will slowly counteract the negative feedback, with positive feedback from the conscious control and success. Eventually the positive feedback can completely override the negative, creating rational subconscious feedback, with no more requirement for conscious focus during the circumstances.

PTSD and phobias seems to be caused by experiences or genetics with subconscious causing the irrational reaction, but most of these negative reactions should be overpowerable and counteractable with an effective use of conscious comprehension.