Treat Fears and Phobias with Hypnotherapy
Treat fears and phobias with hypnotherapy
Fears and Phobias and How to Treat Them with Hypnotherapy
Millions of people in the UK suffer from a fear or phobia of some kind. A fear or phobia can be awful to live with and can really limit your quality of life. Fears and phobias are not just a problem when you are in the presence of the issue i.e. a spider, but also when you think about the issue too.
So what is a fear or phobia? It is usually a conditioned response to a stimulus that was likely to have been set in your childhood. What this means is that something bad happened when you were young and you now have a response to this that you cannot control. This response might be screaming, running away, crying or even shaking through fear. Panic attacks are very common for people who suffer with social phobias.
Our minds work like a filing system, when something new or extraordinary happens then it is stored away ready to be called up when needed in future. By cataloguing experiences we learn about the environment around us, essentially this learning is to keep us safe and so we don’t make the same mistake again. Typically by the age of 7- 10 we have a wide range of memories stored for the future so we know what is safe and what isn’t.
An example would be if a child is bitten by a dog at an early age. This is very scary event for them and it will be committed to their memory. Even if the child had been exposed to dogs before, this is likely to overwrite the existing memory due to it being extraordinary. From this event onwards when the child sees a dog it will generate a fight or flight response in their body as all dogs are seen as harmful. Even if a friendly dog comes up to them, they will still feel scared because of the past experience.
All of our memories have two main components: information and emotion. The information is the pictures, the sound and touch and the emotion is the feeling it brings up. For example if you had a fear of spiders then the information may be how they look and the feel of their legs when walking on you. The emotion in this memory may be your stomach knotting and shivers down your spine.
Millions of people in the UK suffer from a fear or phobia of some kind. A fear or phobia can be awful to live with and can really limit your quality of life. Fears and phobias are not just a problem when you are in the presence of the issue i.e. a spider, but also when you think about the issue too.
So what is a fear or phobia? It is usually a conditioned response to a stimulus that was likely to have been set in your childhood. What this means is that something bad happened when you were young and you now have a response to this that you cannot control. This response might be screaming, running away, crying or even shaking through fear. Panic attacks are very common for people who suffer with social phobias.
Our minds work like a filing system, when something new or extraordinary happens then it is stored away ready to be called up when needed in future. By cataloguing experiences we learn about the environment around us, essentially this learning is to keep us safe and so we don’t make the same mistake again. Typically by the age of 7- 10 we have a wide range of memories stored for the future so we know what is safe and what isn’t.
An example would be if a child is bitten by a dog at an early age. This is very scary event for them and it will be committed to their memory. Even if the child had been exposed to dogs before, this is likely to overwrite the existing memory due to it being extraordinary. From this event onwards when the child sees a dog it will generate a fight or flight response in their body as all dogs are seen as harmful. Even if a friendly dog comes up to them, they will still feel scared because of the past experience.
All of our memories have two main components: information and emotion. The information is the pictures, the sound and touch and the emotion is the feeling it brings up. For example if you had a fear of spiders then the information may be how they look and the feel of their legs when walking on you. The emotion in this memory may be your stomach knotting and shivers down your spine.
The problems and symptoms it can present
Fears and phobias cause both physical and emotional symptoms including;
- Shortness of breath or smothering sensation
- Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Trembling or shaking
- Feeling of choking
- Sweating
- Nausea or stomach distress
- Feeling unsteady, dizzy, lightheaded, or faint
- Feelings of unreality or of being detached from yourself
- Numbness or tingling sensations
- Hot or cold flashes
- Fainting
- Panic attacks
How does hypnotherapy help?
In hypnosis we can separate out the information from the emotion, learn from the information and neutralise the emotion. What this gives you is freedom in life, so that your decisions today are based on what is happening now and not what happened in your past. We do what we feel like, so when we don’t like the feeling of something then we avoid the task, or if we do it is usually not pleasant.
An example would be a client of mine who suffered from a fear of flying. His mum had a fear of flying and when he was young she would constantly tell him stories of how unsafe planes are and how likely you are to crash. As he was conditioned from a child he developed a phobia of flying and therefore was not able to board a plane.
It wasn’t until his brother moved to the other side of the world did he ever see the need to go on a plane, this is when he came to see me. I was able to remove the painful emotions connected with planes and flying and replace them with a feeling of fun as he was going to see his brother. The next month he got on his fist plane aged 37 and he had a great time. He said that he wished he had done it years before as he had missed out on seeing a lot of the world.
Fears and phobias are just a stress response to a thing (spider, buttons etc) or environment (social, public speaking, heights etc). By removing the anxiety from the situation you in effect remove the phobia. Hypnotherapy is a very quick and effective way of removing fears and phobias and it is 100% drug free.
How many sessions does it take?
A minimum of 2 sessions is required. The first session is 90 minutes in length with follow on sessions lasting 45 minutes.
What should I do next?
You can call 07968 420330 and leave a message on our answer machine. We will get back to you ASAP. You can also fill out the below table below to arrange a free phone consultation. We will fully discuss what it is you want to achieve and we will clearly explain how we can help you. We will also answer any questions that you may have.