For those of you unfamiliar with me, I am a clinical hypnotherapist and Director of a remote practice; I hold a post graduate degree in clinical hypnosis. My work and personal experience have given me a lot of education and insight on this topic that I'd like to share with you today. I'll do this succinctly for posting's sake...

• Fear: A fear has a core reason or event that causes this reaction. For example, a dog bit you and now you're afraid of dogs, you had a scary experience flying and now airplanes and being on them scares you, etc. Fears can be linked with a why. The 'why' in question doesn't need to be logical or reasonable, it simply is; it should be added, perfectly valid to your Self at that time.
• Resolution: Fears are traditionally resolved via some manner of exposure therapy, the classic 'face your fears' scenario. In some forms of therapy this is done by literally exposing one to their fear (heights, spiders, etc.) to such an extreme that it seemingly shorts out the fear response. In hypnotherapy this is generally done via something called circle therapy whereupon the subconscious mind recalls and removes at will the fear, dulling the response in repetition. It is something that I have found to be very effective and nowhere near as... exciting as full exposure therapy.
• Phobia: A phobia has no reason to exist, simply put. That's not to say that it isn't very real to the individual experiencing it, but a phobia just seems to occur at random. Sometimes it truly is random and sometimes it is the expression of a subconscious association or connection. The way this is experience is functional identical to a fear, it is only the root which differs.
• Resolution: Phobias cannot be resolved in the same manner as a fear. In fact, attempting to do so will often result in an increase in the response to the phobia. The way a phobia is resolved is either much simpler or much more complex, depending on a single factor: is the phobia a response/outside emotion or is it spontaneous? In the case of the former, the root association needs to be addressed and, in the latter, the phobia simply needs to be let go, subconsciously. This is done by communication with the subconscious mind via its own language, that of imagery and metaphor.

I hope this has been helpful in understanding both the difference between a fear and a phobia in yourselves as well as your potential options for resolving this in your life. Don't be afraid to reach out to a professional. I did for my phobia of spiders, and I'm stunned to this day by the impact. Anyone is welcome to ask any questions they may have for me, and I'll be happy to answer, and my inbox is open if you do not wish to discuss your issue in public chat.