Phobias & Fears
How does Strategic Hypnotherapy work with Fears or Phobias?
Rather than focusing on removing the symptoms of your fear or phobia (calming the mind and focusing on the present), Strategic Hypnotherapy is more concerned with working with the ongoing cause of your phobia. Our primary focus is on teaching you how to not run this phobia in the first place rather than focusing on what to do with your phobia once you get it. ........it just makes sense....... Understanding where your perceptual filter currently sits will determine your levels of sensitivity to risk and how you are perceiving it - in your world. The reason you are running your phobia where others aren't is because you are seeing risk where there isn't any. It is simply your perception of your world. Strategic Hypnotherapy will teach you new skills and new ways to perceive the world around you. You will fundamentally engage in the world with a new set of risk assessment skills which more accurately reflect the reality of your world. We will change the way you see risk as well as minimising the amount of catastrophising you do.
For you to get maximum benefits from your Phobia or Fear Clinical Hypnotherapy sessions, typically allow for between 3 - 6 Sessions depending on the levels of these and any underlying comorbid mental health concerns
Types of Phobias or Fears
There are four general types of phobias and fears:
Animal phobias such as the fear of snakes, spiders, rodents, and dogs.
Natural environment phobias such as a fear of heights, storms, water, and of the dark.
Situational phobias (fears triggered by a specific situation) including the fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), flying, driving, tunnels, and bridges.
Blood-Injection-Injury phobia, the fear of blood, injury, illness, needles, or other medical procedures.
Some phobias, however, don't fall into one of the four common categories. These include fear of choking, fear of getting a disease such as cancer, and fear of clowns.
Other Fears or Phobias
Other common phobias that don't fit neatly into any of the four categories include:
Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, is fear of social situations where you may be embarrassed or judged.
Fear of public speaking—an extremely common phobia—is a type of social phobia. Other fears associated with social phobia include fear of eating or drinking in public, talking to strangers, taking exams, mingling at a party, or being called on in class.
Agoraphobia was traditionally thought to involve a fear of public places and open spaces, but is now believed to develop as a complication of panic attacks.
Symptoms of Fear or Phobia
Signs to look out for which may indicate you need assistance with your fears or phobias are:
PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS
A person with a phobia will typically experience the following symptoms. The following symptoms are common across the majority of phobias:
a sensation of uncontrollable anxiety when exposed to the source of fear
a feeling that the source of that fear must be avoided at all costs
not being able to function properly when exposed to the trigger
acknowledgment that the fear is irrational, unreasonable, and exaggerated, combined with an inability to control the feelings
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
A person is likely to experience feelings of panic and intense anxiety when exposed to the object of their phobia. The physical effects of these sensations may include:
sweating
abnormal breathing
accelerated heartbeat
trembling
hot flushes or chills
a choking sensation
chest pains or tightness
butterflies in the stomach
pins and needles
dry mouth
confusion and disorientation
nausea
dizziness
headache
COMMON PHOBIAS
The most common specific phobias include:
Claustrophobia: Fear of being in constricted, confined spaces
Aerophobia: Fear of flying
Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders
Driving phobia: Fear of driving a car
Emetophobia: Fear of vomiting
Erythrophobia: Fear of blushing
Hypochondria: Fear of becoming ill
Zoophobia: Fear of animals
Aquaphobia: Fear of water
Acrophobia: Fear of heights
Blood, injury, and injection (BII) phobia: Fear of injuries involving blood
Escalaphobia: Fear of escalators
Tunnel phobia: Fear of tunnels
Contact Us
Having an irrational emotional response to a trigger that affects and / or controls critical aspects of your life can be debilitating and isolating. Overcoming this behavioural response requires reaching out for support and making changes to the way you process those triggers and rationalise that process.
For a no obligation chat book a free 15 minute session via the booking button below.