Phobias

Overcoming a Phobia with Hypnotherapy & other techniques

What is a phobia?

There are many different types of phobia. The word phobia comes from the Greek meaning 'fear' or 'dread'. You may experience fear of a specific situation because it gives rise to certain uncomfortable symptoms. Consequently you try very hard to avoid it. In many cases the symptoms become the focus of anxiety rather than the situation itself. The result is a persistent fear of the situation, out of proportion to the reality of the danger.

If your day-to-day life is not affected by your phobia, then you may not require treatment. If, however, you find it takes up a lot of your time, you think about it obsessively, and it forces you to do things the hard way, then you should seek treatment for overcoming your phobia.

Simple phobias & social phobias

Simple phobias relate to an object or an event like an animal, object, or illness/injury. The elaborate steps you take to avoid the trigger for your phobia can seriously restrict your quality of life. For example, phobias of flying or other modes of travel can prevent you from taking journeys such as holidays or visits to friends or relatives who live overseas.

Social phobias are fears of events which involve contact with other people - such as speaking, eating, or drinking - and often result from low self-esteem. The fear of public embarrassment can be very strong.

Agoraphobia (which translates as 'fear of the market place') is an increasingly common phobia. The anxiety suffered often relates to how far you are from home (and perceived safety) and the possibility of a disaster or embarrassing event happening while you are out in public. There is also a fear of the symptoms present in these situations (a 'fear of the fear').

If you have a simple or social phobia, you may refuse to go out in order to avoid potential problems. A full-blown anxiety attack may occur when in a feared situation, or even when just thinking about it. The bodily responses may include rapid heart rate, sweating, trembling and nausea. Obviously, when a phobia is this overpowering, it can have a severely detrimental effect on your physical and mental health.

Why do people suffer from phobias?

The exact cause of phobias is not known but can often relate to childhood events, or from expectations resulting from parental or peer conditioning. It may be transmitted from another person, especially a parent, with an existing phobia. Sometimes it can result as a subconscious way of avoiding situations which are causing anxiety, such as an abusive relationship or a stressful job. It may be the product of a series of traumatic experiences occurring over a number of years.

How to overcome a phobia with hypnotherapy

You can treat yourself by 'unlearning' the fear through gradual desensitization, or seek professional treatment. The EFT technique can rid people of phobias within minutes, and utilizing modern hypnosis techniques and combining them with Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), the old 'phobic' programming in the brain can be interrupted and a new programme established enabling the mind to respond differently in the future. For most people, a phobia can be dealt with, very quickly and simply, within one or two sessions of therapy.

For more information on how I use hypnosis and other techniques to vanquish your phobia and change your life, contact me now.