Fears and Phobias can be resolved with hypnosis and hypnotherapy
What are Fears and Phobias?
There are probably very few of us that do not have any
fears or phobias, even if it’s as simple as being a little fearful of
spiders, or perhaps liking to sleep with a little light shining
somewhere nearby as the dark is not comfortable. Many such fears are
manageable and the majority of us experience them at some point in our
lives with little impact.
However, some people have fears of phobias that limit
their opportunities in life: the person with a fear of flying may find
being in a plane uncomfortable, however someone with a more serious
fear, or phobia, of flying may completely avoid going on, or perhaps
even seeing, an airplane; equally, someone with a fear of open spaces
may avoid large parks, fields and sports grounds, however someone with a
more serious fear, or perhaps agoraphobia, may never leave their
house.
Below is a list of the more common fears and phobias that we get consulted about:
Spiders - Arachnophobia
Flying - aviatopophobia
Water - Hydrophobia
Heights - Acrophobia
Enclosed spaces - Claustrophobia
Open spaces - Agorophobia
Crowds - Demophobia
Darkness - Nyctophobia
Dentists - Odontophobia
Speaking in public - Glossophobia
Needles - Aichmophobia
Death or dying - Thanatophobia
Being sick – Emetophobia or Emetephobia (may also be known as phagophobia, vomitophobia, vomit phobia, sickness phobia)
Being judged or put on the spot - Social Phobia, or Scopophobia.
Urinating in front of others, shy bladder, paruresis, toilet anxiety or toilet phobia
Defecating (either alone, or in earshot of others), stools and losing bowel control – Coprophobia, or Corporophobia
The list of fears and phobias is endless as people really can be fearful of anything
in their thoughts and lives so please don’t think that we can’t help
you if your fear or phobia is not listed above. What is important is
that, if your fear or phobia is having a negative impact upon you, or
if it is limiting your full participation in life, or if your fear or
phobia is becoming more severe and is beginning to dominate your life
then it is probably time to do something about it and take steps to rid
yourself of your fear or phobia.
How Hypnotherapy Can Help To Over Come Fears And Phobias?
Having a phobia of any type can have make life difficult and unpleasant.
A great form of therapy that can help someone overcome a phobia is
hypnotherapy. To help understand how hypnotherapy can help someone
overcome a phobia and what a typical hypnotherapy session would be like
for someone that has a phobia. What type of impact can a phobia have on someone's overall life?
"A phobia, by definition is an intense fear that interferes with ones'
functioning and/or emotional well-being. So phobias can have very
disruptive, discomforting, and debilitating effects on one's life. The
level of impact depends on a number of different factors, which include
such variables as, the severity of the phobia, the frequency of exposure
to the stimulus, and the prevalence of the stimulus (the probability of
exposure). Phobias are dystonic and debilitating for those who suffer
from them. I emphasize this because I think those not having the
condition often don't realize the gravity of phobias. This can make
things even more difficult for the phobic person. For example sometimes
well-meaning people might advise the sufferer to, ' -- stop allowing
your fears to run your life. You just need to make up your mind and face
them'. This leaves the sufferer feeling even worse. They are not
'allowing' their fears to run their lives. If they could ' -- make up
their mind and face their fears' they, by definition, would not have a
phobia."
How can hypnotherapy help someone overcome a phobia?
To best answer this question, it is essential to first
differentiate between a hypnotist and a hypnotherapist. A hypnotherapist
is a licensed psychotherapist who (depending on the client's needs and
desires) utilizes hypnosis as a component within the psychotherapeutic
process. A hypnotist is a person trained in the art of hypnosis and uses
the technique to help people achieve certain goals.
Therefore,
when dealing with mental health issues the treatment needs to involve
psychotherapy/hypnotherapy. A hypnotist is not qualified to treat mental
health conditions. Because phobias are mental health disorders and not a
'lack of fortitude', they need to be treated as such. In other words,
in hypnotherapy, hypnosis is used to enhance and augment other
psychotherapeutic interventions.
Fear is our emotional response
to perceived danger or threat of such, (and phobic fear is a reaction to
a psychogenic perception of life-threatening danger) so the client's
instinctual fight or flight reaction can reduce the viability and
efficacy of therapeutic interventions. In other words, when you perceive
that your life is in immanent danger, it is difficult to focus on
anything other than safety and survival. As such, psychotherapeutic
techniques (for treating phobias) can be made more efficacious through
creating a 'safer environment' with the adjunct of hypnosis. For
example, one psychotherapeutic technique often used to treat phobias is
systematic desensitization. This involves incrementally exposing the
client to the phobic stimulus. Although this technique is not usually
conducted in the field, even when simulated through the use of pictures
or other representations of the stimulus- the process is at best a
difficult one for clients to endure, and at worst can be
re-traumatizing. Through hypnosis the client can experience the exposure
while feeling protected. For example, if the person suffers from
cynophobia (fear of dogs), utilizing hypnotic trance the first increment
of exposure can be while he is invisible to the animal, or wearing a
'dog-proof' suit."
The treatment thereafter would involve a combination of hypnosis and
psychotherapy the ratio of which is determined by the needs of the
client. For example, a client might talk for ¾ of a session with the
remaining ¼ involving hypnosis, and vice-a-versa. Again, depending on
the needs of the client, individualized hypnotic techniques would be
employed. For example, age regression, ego strengthening, metaphorical
excursions, guided imagery, in-direct and direct suggestions, controlled
dissociation, etc."
What last words would you like to leave for
someone who is considering hypnotherapy to help him or her overcome
their phobia? "In order for a client to benefit from
hypnotherapy, it is essential to dispel the prevailing myths and
misconceptions surrounding hypnosis. Hypnosis is not something that is
done to the client; rather, it is something done with the client.
Hypnosis is in itself not the change agent, but a vehicle for change.
The change agent is the client's subconscious mind. In other words,
hypnosis is a means of helping the client to access and utilize the
power of his or her own subconscious mind. Therefore, hypnosis is not
about being controlled, but about being empowered."
