Stress, Anxiety and Phobia
A phobia is an irrational and unfounded fear which causes anxiety, stress and panic, or can lead you to avoid the feared thing. From an evolutionary standpoint, there are reasons why panic, fear, anxiety and stress exist; if thousands of years ago you found yourself in the vicinity of a vicious animal, and had no means of protecting yourself, then your instinct to run was correct. Fear, anxiety and stress, in historical terms, led us to avoid dangerous things, which meant that we were more likely to survive and to reproduce. The ability to become anxious sometimes has a purpose, in that it leads to avoidance of something which it IS rational and sensible to avoid. However, all too often when we are fearful it is the fear itself which harms us. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy allow you to overcome your fears.
There are two types of phobia – simple (or specific) phobias, and complex phobias; both can be treated by hypnosis and hypnotherapy. Simple phobias concern a single situation, object, living thing or situation – fear of spiders, needle phobia, dental phobia, fear of flying, vomiting phobia, fear of enclosed spaces. Such phobias are very common in children, who generally grow out of them; however where such a fear develops in later life, or where a child does not lose his reaction to the object of fear, this can cause difficulties. Those individuals who suffer from simple phobias are unlikely to have any other sort of mental health or psychological difficulty, although they may be more prone to suffering from stress and anxiety. Agoraphobia is a complex phobia, involving a number of anxieties – fear of crowds and public places, fear of various means of transport, and ear of being unable to get safely back home. Whilst such phobias are much less common than simple phobias, they are often found in individuals who have other psychological disorders.
Most people who suffer from a phobia deal with it by avoiding what they fear. By avoiding what they fear they can also avoid the unpleasant symptoms of panic and anxiety. However, this can make life difficult in the case of simple phobias and near to impossible in the case of complex phobias. You may feel unable to have simple medical treatment or tests because of a needle phobia, or a dental phobia may mean that you cannot have preventative treatment or regular check ups. This can lead to serious problems – many individuals who have needle or dental phobia suffer much more serious problems than would otherwise be the case, as their fear prevents them from going to the dentist or doctor at an early stage. Some women even put off having a baby because of a fear of needles. Fear of flying stops many people from flying, or prevents them from really enjoying their holiday. People even refuse promotions because the new job would mean having to fly.
You can find out more information about phobias at Anxiety UK.
How can hypnosis and hypnotherapy help with a phobia?
We develop phobias because we have an inbuilt tendency to organize our thoughts into categories, and once we have experienced panic when faced with a particular thing, we associate that thing with panic. Our fears are learnt. Fortunately, this means that they can also be unlearnt. Whilst in hypnosis you will be taught to visualise the feared object whilst in a state of total relaxation. By doing this you will learn to associate the thing you fear with a calm mind and a lack of unpleasant symptoms. Gradually, you will be encouraged to actually come into contact with the subject of your phobia, again whilst practising the relaxation techniques which you have been taught whilst in hypnosis. You will also be encouraged to use self hypnosis to reinforce your new beliefs.
Facing your fears
You will have learnt in the first sessions of hypnosis to associate the former object of your fear with positive, relaxed and calm thoughts. This is not magic – it is just a normal result of practising more positive thinking. When you get to the stage of facing your fear in reality, your mind will also recognise and remember that being in contact with the subject of your phobia does NOT actually cause you any harm. You will have learnt that panic and anxiety are not inevitable, and that there are other ways of reacting to the thing you once had such a fear of. Your life will be much easier, too, as you will not have to take steps to avoid those situations any more, or be anxious that you might be placed in a situation where you have to face something which will cause stress, anxiety or panic.
