Phobias
The definition of a phobia is “an irrational, obsessive, and intense fear that is focused on a specific circumstance, idea or thing.” If you have a phobia you can experience an overwhelming fear and desire to avoid that trigger situation. Phobias are part of the fight or flight response to things or situations that the body perceives as a danger. It’s as if the brain’s safety alarm system has become over sensitive and triggers when there is not really any real danger or threat. It is more common than you think. In the UK around 70 percent experience a mild phobic response and about 20 percent of those have a serious enough issue to fit the above definition. Treating phobias with Hypnotherapy is an effective and safe method of minimizing those feelings of fear and getting you back in control again.
No-one is born with a phobia. A phobia is a learnt behaviour. Your mind and body learn to associate the object of your phobia with feelings of anxiety, panic and disgust. Fear is a natural response caused by real danger. For example, we are all scared of coming face to face with a wild, hungry animal, and fear is a survival instinct which warns us against certain things or situations. A phobia, on the other hand, is a completely irrational fear of an object or situation that causes little or no danger.
Maybe you’ve been told something is horrific, or dangerous, or perhaps you’ve seen someone else react with panic to that thing. Once your body is used to giving you a shot of adrenaline in that situation, chances are it will do it next time, too. Suddenly you have a phobia!
Contrary to popular belief, most phobias are not caused by a single traumatic event, so don’t worry if you can’t remember why or when it started. The most important thing is not how it started but how to stop it.
How can hypnotherapy help with Phobias?
Phobias are displaced fears and because they are not rational, they can be dealt with. Hypnotherapy works by accessing the underlying cause of the phobia and eliminating the person’s conditioned response to the stimulus. When hypnotherapy is used to treat a phobia, the initial goal of the hypnotherapist is to discover the initial event from which the phobia developed. The cause is often a traumatic event which occurred at an earlier time in the person’s life.
Often the phobic individual does not remember this event. It may be a memory which has been repressed for many years. Repression is a protective mechanism our mind utilises by keeping memory of the trauma out of our conscious mind until we are ready and able to deal with it.
Further Reading
Common Emotional Effects of Phobias
Here are five examples of the emotional effects some people experience as a result of their phobia.
Life-Limiting and Severe Anxiety
One of the main criteria for diagnosing a phobia is that it is life-limiting in nature. Depending on what your phobia is, you might find it a real struggle to run errands, go out with friends, or even make it to work every day. In other words, a specific phobia can significantly impair your education, your career, and your overall quality of life.
Isolation
Limitations associated with phobias can make you experience social isolation. You may wonder why you are not like everybody else. This can affect your relationships with family and friends, which could contribute to you becoming reclusive and depressed.
Embarrassment
Phobias can create awkward and embarrassing situations. For example, how do you explain to your best friend that you can never visit her home because she owns a dog? How do you turn down a trip to the Bahamas with a new love because you can’t bring yourself to get on a plane?
Perhaps one of the worst emotional components of a phobia is the out-of-control feeling. You may understand that your phobia is irrational and/or excessive, but no matter how hard you try, you cannot get it under control.
Helplessness
Helplessness may appear when you realize that your phobia has affected several or even all aspects of your life, like your job, social life, and general happiness. You may feel that there is nothing you can do to heal. You may assume that you will always have your phobia. You may wish things were different, but feel that they never will be.