Hypnotherapy and Overcoming Phobias

Are you suffering with phobias?

What is it that causes your heart to start racing?

… That causes you to breakout into a cold sweat?

… That causes you to causes your skin to crawl?

Intellectually, you know the plane isn’t going to crash. In your head, you know that nothing will harm you when you leave your house. You know that spider does not want to bite you. But when you think of flying on a plane, going to the store or seeing a spider, your heart pounds. Your hands shake, and your breath becomes labored. You may feel faint. The fear may not be rational, but it’s real. And you’re terrified. You’ll do whatever you need to avoid the situation, person, animal or thing.

That’s when your phobia interferes with your life. It changes your actions, behavior and thoughts. Whatever your fear is, it’s holding you back from experiencing all life has to offer.

Hypnotherapy is probably the single, most effective treatment for overcoming fears and phobias. This is because the phobic response is created at the subconscious level, even though it is experienced consciously.

What is a phobia?

Phobias seem to be an expression of a natural defense mechanism within humans. Our genetic code is programmed with primal fears, such as the fear of animals, insects, heights, being trapped in small enclosed spaces, falling, avoiding pain, etc. These primal fears or phobias are an expression of our sympathetic nervous system or the fight-or-flight response survival mechanism in our brains.

We have the ability to learn certain things very quickly. A baby usually learns the first time that touching something orange and glowing will hurt. The infant does not need to be taught any theory about fire. From the first time she touches a flame, she will automatically feel something, like fear or aversion, whenever she comes near a flame. In fact, she will find as she grows older that she can’t touch a flame even if she wants to. She will have a strong physical aversion.

Fear is an important survival mechanism. It helps us respond physically even before we recognize the danger. If you were walking down a wooded path and something fell out of a tree and onto the ground in front of you, you would jump back three feet in defense before you could tell if it was a snake or a piece of bark. Your pupils would dilate. Your breathing would become rapid and shallow. Adrenaline would pump into your system, making you shake with nervous energy.
Phobias seem to be the result of a similar process, except the fear becomes exaggerated. When something frightens a person, a whole range of uncomfortable body chemistry is triggered. Every time that same item (the cause of the phobia) is encountered, the same uncomfortable feelings return. All of this happens on a subconscious level. Over time, the phobia grows stronger, and we may even forget the original cause of the fear.

Phobias seem to be the result of a similar process, except the fear becomes exaggerated. When something frightens a person, a whole range of uncomfortable body chemistry is triggered. Every time that same item (the cause of the phobia) is encountered, the same uncomfortable feelings return. All of this happens on a subconscious level. Over time, the phobia grows stronger, and we may even forget the original cause of the fear.

How does hypnosis help someone overcome phobias?

We have found that most phobias, even those that have lasted an entire lifetime, can be overcome in a few sessions. Most phobias are initiated as part of a “one time learning” process. That is, some single event initiated the phobia, and it is stored in the subconscious mind where it repeats like an endless tape. Using hypnosis, we can use this natural learning process to unlearn the phobia, often just as quickly as it was created.
Your hypnotist will provide you with the tools to remove the fear permanently. Sometimes the approach involves getting to the root of the fear so you can understand and eliminate it. In other situations, they can help you break the stimulus-response pattern that’s been set up so that what used to scare you just doesn’t anymore.

Depending on the client and the fear, eliminating a phobia normally takes two to four sessions.

Our goal is to help you achieve results from the very first session.  If your phobia stops you from living your life, please call us at 888-890-2110 or fill out our CONTACT FORM to discuss how hypnosis can help you live a life without fear.

“… hypnosis often is used to modify behavior and overcome phobias and bad habits — it can help you make changes that you’ve been unable to make otherwise.”
- National Women’s Health Resource Center 11/03