Phobias
Stop Suffering
What is it with spiders and snakes? High places? Enclosed spaces? Wide open spaces? What brings on those full-blown panic attacks that can be crippling in their terrifying intensity? It’s more than just a natural aversion to being bitten, or falling, or being trapped, or seeing “too much” sky. These might make us uncomfortable, but we can usually move past the momentary discomfort and continue with our regular activities. When it becomes impossible to do this—when our normal functioning is seriously impaired by terror which overrides our rationality—this is when we need help.
A phobia is a fear that has gone beyond reasonable expectations. Naturally, we accord a tiger in its native habitat a high degree of negative respect. That is, we would all agree that a tiger might reasonably be expected to pose a serious hazard to our physical safety, if not restrained by the bars of a zoo cage. But what if our fearful reaction to a tiger were of such intensity that we felt incapable of even visiting a zoo? What if the very thought of a tiger sent us into a paroxysm of trembling anxiety? When we experience this latter type of fear response, that healthy and reasonable negative respect—a rational consideration for our personal safety—has expanded beyond reasonable expectations and become a phobia. Or, even more inexplicable, what if this intense, incapacitating fear were triggered not only by tigers, but by any cat at all, even a docile domestic feline, or a small, playful kitten? (It’s called ailurophobia, and a surprising number of people suffer from it.)
Phobias are, by definition, irrational fears. The word “irrational” in its essential form simply means ‘experienced outside of the intellect’. Phobias, therefore, are fears that have no intellectually perceptible origin, so it is virtually impossible to confront them at the conscious level of mind. You could sit down with a friend who is deathly afraid of earthworms and patiently point out the innocuous, harmless, and indeed beneficial aspects of earthworms until both of you grew exhausted and fell asleep, and be no closer to a solution to your friend’s phobic reaction than when you began.
An irrational fear has, by its very nature, an irrational origin, and it requires a creative approach—a therapeutic solution that is outside of the intellect, just as the source of the fear lies outside of the intellect—outside of the conscious level of mind. With hypnosis, irrational fears are successfully confronted at their place of origin—the subconscious level of mind. And what is revealed there is often quite surprising and certainly fascinating, because, invariably, the genesis of an irrational fear turns out not to be what we might, rationally, have expected.
In alleviating phobias, facilitating behavioral modifications of all sorts, and improving quality of life and general wellbeing, hypnosis utilizes the most efficient goal-achieving mechanism in existence—the subconscious mind—to effect powerful, lasting changes in the way we perceive our world. It allows us to use our minds creatively in the service of our own personal fulfillment and happiness. Relieved clients have likened the hypnotic process described here to “flipping a switch” in describing their responses to the combined deep, soothing healing process, neural pathway effects, and release/relief mechanism of the experience. “Why didn’t I do this sooner?” and “Why doesn’t everyone in the world know about this?” are the most frequent comments we hear.
There is virtually no end to the types of phobias hypnosis can successfully address. Here are just a few:
Fear of Flying (Aerophobia) in aircraft, might be narrowing your opportunities in business by keeping you “grounded” and unable to meet and make new customers.
Fear of Water (Aquaphobia) could be hampering your ability to enjoy summer water sports, from simply having a relaxing swim to making it impossible for you to participate in the fun adventure of boating, rafting or fishing.
Fear of Heights (Acrophobia) is especially unfortunate for those of us who live in Colorado and love the outdoors, but dare not venture into the mountains, even for a pleasant afternoon’s drive, much less enjoy the freedom and exhilaration of hiking a mountain trail.
Fear of Enclosed Spaces (Claustrophobia) can induce a panic attack in a crowded movie theater, making one who suffers from it avoid enjoyable entertainment possibilities, not to mention, using elevators. Claustrophobia is also associated with fear of flying and may be a contributing factor to keeping people from enjoying vacations where driving is not feasible. Claustrophobia interferes with essential medical procedures such as MRI and is regularly one of the reasons—and a necessity—that clients come in for relief.
Fear of driving, often the result of an accident or “close call” while on the highway, can create a type of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that hypnosis can treat very successfully.
Fear of Spiders (Arachnophobia). We attribute to all spiders some deadly potential or intent, even though most are harmless. Their very appearance is abhorrent to us and we go in terror of meeting one in our homes or place of business, hardly the way to live a full, happy life
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder which manifests in many ways. It is most commonly associated with an inability to leave one’s home. However, Agoraphobia is a complex issue and may also be characterized as a fear of being helpless in a situation and unable to escape. This can result in a fear of crowds, bridges, being outside alone, and more.
It must be emphasized that there is nothing to be ashamed of in suffering from a phobia. No matter how trivial it might seem to someone else, if it matters to YOU, it matters to us, and we will meet your needs with understanding, compassion and skill to allow you to overcome your fears and move ahead with your life.
Though phobias may seem vastly different, each one responds to hypnosis in the same powerful and unprecedented manner that enables the desired result—freedom—to occur.