It might seem impossible to get anxiety relief when the very thing that is triggering your anxiety faces you on a daily basis. That trigger can be a fear of heights, fear of public places, fear of water.

Imagine fearing something that's even more prominent in your life, like birds. They are everywhere - in city streets, parks and on balconies. There are no boundaries and no where to hide from them.

Ellen Degeneres's former show DJ was petrified of birds. Whenever Ellen had a naturalist as a guest who came armed with several kinds of birds, the DJ suffered a major anxiety attack. On one show, the guest bird was a huge bird of prey - a hawk that left the arm of his owner and flew in the DJ's direction.

He ducked, raised his arms to protect his head, and fled right off the stage and into the wings. He admitted that he ran all the way to the stage exit door. On his return, he revealed his secret and practically begged Ellen not to introduce birds to the show again.

She did bring back more bird guests and each time, the camera panned and revealed his empty platform.

That is one huge fear. As long as birds were around, he could not find any form of relief from his fear. As soon as the bird segments were over, however, he got that much needed anxiety relief and was able to continue his job.

His particular fear is called ornithophobia - "Ornithology" is the study of birds, and "phobia" is a fear; therefore, a fear of birds.

Having such a fear makes it all but impossible to walk down any street in any city in any park. Birds are all around - pigeons roost in buildings and under bridges, and often swoop down to the street. Blackbirds love statues and park benches. Geese flock to any grassy area or beach. Trees are often occupied by small birds of all kinds.

Even the water isn't free from birds. There are ducks of all kinds waddling around the shoreline looking for rest spots, shelter and food.

To some people, this fear might seem silly. They might even laugh at the person freaking out at the sight of something as unimpressive as a sparrow. It doesn't make the anxiety less real.

It's important to realize that people have phobias of all kinds. They fear spiders, snakes, bees, crabs, fish and a variety of other creatures. Only by supporting them can we help them.

Regardless of the specific phobia or fear, it is a condition that is treatable. One popular method is through exposure therapy. The person is repeatedly exposed to the thing he fears until he feels comfortable in that environment. While the phobia might never be completely cured, by learning to manage the fear, the individual can get anxiety relief so they can cope with the thing they fear.

Statistics have revealed that 15-18 per cent of the world's population has some form of severe anxiety, phobia or compulsive disorder that often goes unrecognized and untreated. The end result is a potentially serious mental disability that can make it difficult for the person to live a normal life.

The plan of attack is to get an assessment to determine the level of your phobia and how best to treat it. Depending on the severity of the phobia and how long the person has had it, treatment can take anywhere from a few sessions to a few years. The recovery rate is good though, at about 80%.

Where does the phobia come from?

Most phobias can be traced to a fearful event during childhood. For one woman, her fear of birds came directly as a result of watching Alfred Hitchcock's thriller, "The Birds". Other possible triggers for ornithophobia might be having a bird fly a little too close, a goose protecting her family, or something as basic as the sudden rush of a flock of birds as they take flight.

In some cases, it might not have been a bird at all that triggered the fear. It might have been something waved in front of their faces as infants or as young children. Sometimes, the most seemingly innocent action can trigger a phobia.

For one woman, a fluffy toy was shaken in front of her face while she lay in her crib. From this experience, she developed a phobia about birds. Her solution is to get away from any situation that triggers her phobia, however this is the worst thing she can do.

By fleeing, she is opening herself up to more anxiety because she is not controlling it. She is simply running from it. Only by exposing herself to her fear can she eventually learn to take back control and enjoy the anxiety relief that naturally follows.

When I was about five years old, my mother took me to Piccadilly Square. As we began to make our way into the thousands of pigeons walking and pecking the ground, I pulled back. My mother asked what was wrong and I told her I was afraid of the birds. Her very simple and straightforward response might have been the one thing that prevented me from developing ornithophobia.

She said, "They're more afraid of you than you are of them."

With that one statement, I was able to put the situation into perspective. Although small, I was much bigger than the pigeons. I fought my fear and walked into the midst of the pigeons. By the time we exited the flock, any fear that I might have had was gone, never to return. Had she responded by taking me around the Square to avoid the birds, the outcome could have been much different.