Conquering Your Fears

Your Hypnotherapist’s Guide to Beating Phobias.

We are all aware of a few things that make us nervous. But phobias are in a different league. Characteristically, they are more intense. Physically, they trigger symptoms like sweating, rapid heartbeat, and even panic attacks. Whether it’s a fear of heights (acrophobia) or spiders (arachnophobia), phobias can significantly curtail our enjoyment of things. Often, they can create genuine hazards in other areas of our lives.

A client I saw recently, we will call Claire, came to see me as her intense fear of spiders meant that she felt out of control with other tasks such as having the confidence to clean her house, or being able to bathe her children with the confidence that she wouldn’t have to run away and leave them unattended if she saw a spider and could not cope. You see, the phobia had led to other intrusive thoughts and anxieties. The good news is there’s a great deal of hope! Hypnotherapy offers a powerful set of tools to overcome these anxieties and reclaim your confidence.

Over four sessions, Claire was able to gain freedom over her phobia of spiders, so they no longer troubled her and the confidence she needed to go about her tasks and parenting duties feeling more calm and relaxed.

The major advantage of using Hypnotherapy is that these changes that take place at a subconscious level happen when you are in a safe and controlled environment where there is no need whatsoever to gradually increase your exposure to the thing that causes the phobic response. Yet it works powerfully.

I explained Hypnosis to Claire. Hypnosis allows us to access this subconscious mind. In a relaxed state, I can guide you to revisit the initial experience that triggered the phobia. This doesn’t have to be a scary process. In fact, it is very relaxing. We can reframe the memory and hence the future response, replacing negative emotions with feelings of empowerment and control.

After the Initial Consultation, Claire had a general session that focused on reducing anxiety and discussing other pieces of information about how the brain works. A recorded hypnosis track was sent to Claire to listen to.

In the session that followed, Claire took her first step to conquer her phobia by understanding its root cause. Often, phobias stem from negative experiences in childhood. Maybe you fell from a swing as a child, leading to a fear of heights. Or perhaps a distressing encounter with a spider sparked a lifelong aversion. Often, because of how the brain works, there is no inciting incident. The phobia could have roots in a story you’ve heard or some similar third-hand kind of experience or knowledge.

Our subconscious mind holds onto these experiences whether they were real or imagined, creating a mental association between the object of fear and a feeling of intense danger. This association can be so fierce that even the thought of the phobic stimulus triggers a fight-or-flight response.

Hypnotherapy can also help you develop coping mechanisms. Visualizing these scenarios under hypnosis while you remain entirely safe and in complete control can be empowering, you can build your confidence and resilience in the comfort of my therapy room and remain completely in control.

During her hypnosis, Claire was able to ‘rewind’ the trigger while having control and remaining at a distance from the events which she felt led to her fear.

On the final session, I asked Claire to invent a scenario where a spider was introduced and then while in her hypnosis, Claire was able to reframe her response to the spider and alter her reactions, emotions and behaviour to how she would want it to be.

The sessions also taught Claire deep breathing exercises, meditation techniques, and progressive muscle relaxation which can all help manage anxiety in the moment.

Claire came back one month later to report she had cleared out the garage and removed some dead and living spiders in the process! Additionally, she was sleeping better and had her confidence back.