Fears & Phobias
Fear is a normal and healthy reaction that we all have to danger. It’s an instinct to help us avoid and escape life-threatening situations. Phobias, are a bit different. Phobias tend to be more intense than fears , and some people even experience panic attacks because of them.
Phobias are created when someone has a magnified or irrational fear surrounding a certain object or situation. If this happens to be something common in day-to-day life, the phobia can limit a person’s life, keeping them from doing what they want to do and causing a lot of stress.
Many phobias exist in our subconscious and are learned responses. This makes them particularly vulnerable to hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy can help you unlearn the fear response, build up your exposure to the phobia and in time ease the associated anxiety.
When you come across the source of your phobia, you’re likely to feel incredibly scared, nervous and anxious. You may also feel physical symptoms of fear and anxiety, such as:
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dizziness/lightheadedness
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sweating
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fast heartbeat and/or palpitations
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nausea
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shaking
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an upset stomach
Phobias work on a subconscious level. This means that no matter how much we tell ourselves that XYZ isn’t life-threatening, our minds and bodies still react with fear. The aim of hypnotherapy is to communicate with the subconscious and change the way you feel and behave towards your phobia.
The process itself involves putting you into a very relaxed, hypnotic state. Your hypnotherapist will talk you through this and you’ll be in control the whole time. If you’re unsure where your phobia came from, you may spend some time getting to the root of the phobia and remembering the event that triggered it (if there was one).
Your therapist can then move on to using different techniques to help change your response. Often this will involve you gradually and gently confronting your phobia whilst being in a calm state. It's really as easy as it sounds!