Irrational Fears - What They Are And How To Get Rid Of Them Using Hypnosis

DEFINITION AND SYMPTOMS OF PHOBIAS:
A phobia is defined as an illogical fear or dread. When a person experiences a panic attack, they get panicky feelings; their respiration and heart rates increase; they may feel choked up like their heart is in their throat; their palms very often get sweaty; they may hear the sound of ringing in their ears; and they quite often find that they are unable to partake in an activity. These feelings push the individual to avoid the activities and places that cause them.

SOME EXAMPLES OF COMMON PHOBIAS:
For example, if a person has a driving phobia, that person would exhibit these symptoms when they endeavor to drive their car, or possibly even when they think about driving. Or a freight attack may occur simply when driving in certain places like under bridges.

Stage freight is a comparatively common phobia. The panicky feelings appear when the sufferer attempts to talk in front of a person that they are afraid of, or they might well experience phobic feelings only in front of an assembly of people. The number of people in the crowd of people will differ. This irrational fear can be set off by fears of inadequacy, or a lack of self-esteem.

Those who suffer from a social phobia can get awfully stressed just being around other folks, even people they are familiar with. It is a fear that they will be criticized or evaluated by others. This fear can be set off by any variety of social interaction. A person could be waiting on line at a variety store and get panicky feelings as they imagine having to talk to the checker while they checkout.

The fear of taking tests (which is frequently known as test anxiety) is a frequent phobia. A phobia to taking tests is rooted in comparing yourself to other folks, and is deeply rooted in a fear of failing.

People have developed phobias to every kind of experience and environment under the sun. For instance: High places; animals; small enclosed places; relationships; flying; bugs; snakes; and even the great outdoors.

Agoraphobia is generally thought to be a fear of open spaces. However, this definition is very ambiguous because Agoraphobics are really afraid of having a panic attack, wherever they are. Agoraphobia develops when a person begins to avoid places or situations they have associated with anxiety. For example, they could have a panic attack at the drycleaners, at home, or at a grocery store.

For many, once their panic attacks have begun, they start to expect them to come about. And this anticipation in reality triggers them with increasing frequency. Other folks experience fearful feelings on a continuous basis. These feelings cause an overall discomfort, rather than panic.

FORMS OF TREATMENT OBTAINABLE

DRUGS:
Some physicians treat patients by means of sedatives, which can make the condition worse over protracted treatment. Sedatives do not work on the core cause of a phobia; they only disguise some of the symptoms.

TALK THERAPY:
Some counselors prescribe "Talk Therapy." Talk therapy is merely talking about what is bothering you. Unfortunately, thinking about or talking about a situation or environment that causes a phobic attach can trigger one!

HYPNOTHERAPY CDS:
Traditional self hypnosis has been used to treat phobias, but with severely limited success. Traditional hypnotic therapy is accomplished when the hypnotherapist guides the patient into a relaxed state of hypnosis and then gives the client post-hypnotic commands or suggestions. Since most people of our generation question and resist direct post-hypnotic suggestions, they also reject the notion that they will be more relaxed and at ease when they encounter the environment or situation that sets off their panic attacks.

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION:
Systematic Desensitization is the practice of gradually desensitizing a person to the situation or environment that causes a panic attack. For example, if a woman wants to dive from a high board but she fears it, she is asked to first dive from a height that she feels confident about. She dives in and realizes that she didn't get hurt and that she is safe.

The next thing she is asked is to dive in from the bottom step of the ladder going up to the high board. Again, she dives in and realizes that she was not hurt and that she is safe.

Over a period of time the subject is asked to dive in from increasingly higher and higher steps on the ladder going up to the board. Each time she dives in and realizes that nothing bad happened and that she is safe and secure, she is able to move up to the next rung on the ladder. If she experiences fear, then she is told to step back down one rung on the ladder and dive from there until she feels complete comfort and security. Sooner or later she makes it to the top of the ladder and is able to dive in from the high board.

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION WHILE IN THE STATE OF HYPNOSIS:
Systematic Desensitization can be done literally while in a hypnotic state with as good as or even better results. While in a relaxed hypnotized state, the woman would be told to envision herself diving in from each step on the ladder. She would be told to visualize herself feeling confident and relaxed as she watches herself dive in. Since she is in fact disassociated while visualizing herself, she is unable to experience a phobic attack.

Next she is told to associate, in other words to put the camera inside of her head so she would be seeing what she would see through her own eyes if she was actually diving in from each step of the ladder. She is told to imagine feeling safe and relaxed as she dives in.

Just as in a live (in vivo) systematic desensitization, if she feels any panic she is told to go back to the previous lower step on the ladder and visualize diving in from there. The phobic might be taught to generate a kinesthetic (feeling or touch) "anchor" of feelings of security and safety. She could then trigger that anchor while imagining that she is diving, and the feelings of security and safety could be subjectively transferred to the act of diving.

Systematic Desensitization while in self hypnosis can be incredibly powerful and successful, but is can also be slow and take several hypnotic sessions to bring about a cure.

NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING V/K DISASSOCIATION:
NLP is fundamentally the study of how we create our reality. The V/K stands for visual / kinesthetic. The V/K Disassociation is a method that enables a trained NLP Practitioner to guide a subject through specific visual imagery that quickly and in many cases instantly disconnects or disassociates the feelings of fear from the irrational fear that causes them. The V/K Disassociation is known as the "One session phobia cure" in NLP circles, and with good reason.

CONCLUSION:
Irrational fears are very common in our society. They are fears that are not based in reality. There are many treatments for phobias, but so far in my belief, the best finest available are Systematic Desensitization while a hypnotic state, and the NLP V/K Disassociation technique.

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Alan B. Densky, CH is a trained hypnotist and NLP Practitioner who's been in practice since 1978. He can be contacted through his Neuro-VISION Self-Hypnosis website which offers NLP CDs for phobias. Visit his hypnosis article index, or download a free MP3.

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