Many people have things that they are slightly fearful of, however some people have fears of phobias that limit their opportunities in life: the person with a fear of flying may find being on a plane uncomfortable, however someone with a more serious fear (or phobia) of flying may completely avoid going anywhere near an airplane. Equally, someone with a fear of open spaces may avoid large parks, fields and sports grounds, however someone with a more serious fear, or perhaps agoraphobia, may never leave their house.
Below is a list of the more common fears and phobias:
- Spiders – Arachnophobia
- Flying – aviatopophobia
- Water – Hydrophobia
- Heights – Acrophobia
- Enclosed spaces – Claustrophobia
- Open spaces – Agorophobia
- Being judged or put on the spot – Social Phobia, or Scopophobia. For more info on social phobia,
- Dentists – Odontophobia
- Darkness – Nyctophobia
- Speaking in public – Glossophobia
- Needles – Aichmophobia
- Death or dying – Thanatophobia
- Being sick – Emetophobia or Emetephobia
- Crowds – Demophobia
The list of fears and phobias is endless as people really can be fearful of anything in their thoughts and lives, so please don’t think that we can’t help you if your fear or phobia is not listed above. What is important is that, if your fear or phobia is having a negative impact upon you, or if it is limiting your full participation in life, or if your fear or phobia is becoming more severe and is beginning to dominate your life then its probably time to do something about it and take steps to rid yourself of your fear or phobia for good.
Phobias often develop during childhood and become aggravated during adulthood. People often carry them around for many years, unaware that they can be easily eliminated using hypnosis. The fears are usually exaggerated, and when you have a phobia you feel as though you have no control over those feelings, even though you know on a conscious level that the fear is irrational.
Phobias bring about feelings of fear and anxiety, and inconvenience the victim by limiting their activities as they build their life “around” the phobia. If left untreated, phobias can lead to further detrimental effects, incapacitating the victim in situations that trigger the fear.
Phobias are actually examples of the mind “mis-wiring” two unassociated things together, creating an erroneous association between the object (spider, plane, audience, etc.) and the feeling (the fear reaction). The irrationality of the fear or phobia is easy to see, since prior to developing the phobia many people had no fear of the particular thing or situation at all, so they understand that the object that triggers their fear is not inherently dangerous or frightening. And yet, until the association in their mind is released, they do not feel that they have control over experiencing the fear reaction. This lack of control leads to a fear of feeling the fear itself, and this can become more limiting than the original fear of the trigger itself.
Some Phobia symptoms
The most common indication of a phobia is a feeling of fear or anxiety when exposed to the situation or thing which triggers the fear. Common symptoms include accelerated heart beat, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, chest pain, hot/cold flashes, numbness or tingling sensation, trembling, chocking, fear of fainting or losing control of oneself.
This is the result of the fight-or-flight reaction, which is triggered unconsciously in the brain. Hypnotherapy helps people in two ways: first, by desensitizing you to your specific trigger (breaking the association); and second, by training you how to create the relaxation response on command.
How hypnotherapy can relieve phobias
Hypnosis is a process to get you into a relaxed state of mind, where the brainwaves slow down and the subconscious mind can be engaged. It is a focused state of relaxation. You are in hypnosis every day, whether you realize it or not.
Simple daydreaming is a hypnotic state, and so is “highway hypnosis” where you can’t remember the last fifteen minutes or so of your drive. In hypnosis, the subconscious mind is able to receive and implement suggestions for positive change, and therefore change can be created much more quickly than through conscious methods. Hypnotherapy helps you to overcome phobias by reprogramming your mind’s reaction to the trigger.
You no longer need to live in fear of certain places or situations. Hypnotherapy can help you to regain control of your life, Click Here to take the first step and arrange a call.
