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Phobias and fears

 

A phobia is an intense fear of something, that in reality, poses little or no danger. Whilst a phobia to the outside world may see irrational it is a real fear to the phobic who may suffer terror and an overwhelming feelings of anxiety and stress. A phobia to many could also be an intense or extreme fear. 

 

What is the difference between fear and phobias?

 

Fear is seen as a normal and adaptive response in dangerous situations, to keep us safe and for us to respond in emergencies. It is known as the â€˜fight or flight’ response, when the body goes into attack or defensive mode for us to deal with the situation.  

 

A phobia on the other hand is a greatly exaggerated or nonexistent response to a stimuli, which is similar to extreme fear. Examples of Phobias and extreme fears could be avoiding going somewhere because fear. Examples of phobic and extreme fear responses could be:

 

  • Avoiding necessary dental treatment because you are terrified of dentists

  • Avoiding socialising at work in case you say something stupid

  • Avoiding traveling in a car in case you break down. 

  • Turning down a great job as it’s on the 8th floor and you hate heights

  • Avoiding travelling on public transport as you are terrified of catching an illness

  • A fear of enclosed spaces

  • Intense fear upon seeing a spider or other insect or animal that causes you great anxiety

  • Avoiding open spaces in case you may hyperventilate or pass out.

  • Fainting at the sight of needles or blood

  • Avoiding crowds

  • Avoiding flying or public transport because you think you will have a panic attack and/or feelings of a loss of control

  • 'Freezing' on the spot in terror when you are faced with something that causes you great fear or anxiety

  • Feelings of wetting yourself 

  • Feelings of making yourself look stupid 

 

The list is endless ut what is important the affect the extreme fear/phobia has on you, and how it may prevent you from doing things in life. 

 

What are the physical and emotional symptoms of a Phobia?

 

Someone with a phobia may suffer from any of the following:

 

  • Difficulty breathing 

  • Feeling dizzy 

  • Racing heartbeat

  • Fainting 

  • Trembling

  • Sweating 

  • A churning stomach/butterflies in the tummy 

  • Clammy hands

  • Going hot

  • Shivering

  • Urgency to go the toilet

  • Wetting yourself 

 

The emotions you feel could be:

 

  • An overwhelming feeling of panic

  • An overwhelming feeling of anxiety

  • A desire to escape Fear of losing control

  • Sadness

  • Anger

 

You may experience extreme thoughts when you are suffering extreme fear and phobias such as:

 

  • The need to escape

  • Thoughts that you are going to die

  • Thoughts that you are going to look 'stupid'

  • Feelings of suicide

  • The thoughts of doing something 'stupid'

  • Wanting to go and away and hide

  • Feigning illness to avoid doing something which causes you great fear

  • Feelings of hopelessness 

 

How can hypnosis help with Phobias?

 

Hypnosis can help by first relaxing you. This is important as when someone is relaxed the ‘fight and flight’ response is at 'baseline'. It is  due to our physiological systems that we cannot be stressed and relaxed at the same time. 

 

You will be shown how to relax using the progressive muscles relaxation (PMR), and how this brings your breathing back under control. I will explore ways of coping and give positive suggestions whilst under hypnosis. This will help you to manage behavioural responses in order to bring a phobic response under control. This could be by using powerful visual imagery where you are rehearsing e.g. going on a journey or viewing an object which causes you great distress from a distance. We then can bring the object closer or get you to explore a venue or place for you to be comfortable with it. The aim is to reduce the physical and emotional symptoms to make them more manageable. 

 

Sometimes there is an underlying cause of the phobic response that may need exploring. If this is the case then hypnoanalsyis will be used. This involves regressing the client back to the point to the event that caused the phobic response.

 

How many sessions will I need to have?

 

This depends on the individual and how long they have been suffering with the phobia but usually I recommend at least 4-6 sessions. Most clients report feeling more in control after the second session. If the disorder has been present for a longer duration then more sessions would be needed. I will discuss this with the client at the initial consultation and through the course of hypnotherapy.

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