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Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy

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“Occasionally, when I feel confident, I tell people about my problem, but they just look puzzled or they give me advice. They don't understand what it's like.”

The word “Phobia” comes from the Greek φόβος "fear"), it is an irrational, persistent fear of certain situations, objects, activities, or persons. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive, unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject.

Phobias can vary in their intensity – in their effect on peoples' lives; from being an inconvenience, to completely restricting, as in the case of Agoraphobia.

There is no cause for despair however, as people who suffer from phobias can be successfully treated and overcome their fears.

A phobia is a persistent fear of a genuine or perceived danger normally stemming from childhood, the causes fall into three categories:

Fear of a specific object

The most common are:

The fear of spiders, the fear of snakes, insects, needles, cats, dogs, horses, feathers, fish, rats, blood, pigeons.

The fear comes from a previous frightening incident, e.g., bitten by a dog, or an incident that has been witnessed and identified with, e.g., a spider put down someones' back as a prank and the subsequent humiliation caused. A phobia can also be a learned behavior from a family member perhaps, e.g.,”don't touch that (object) it's filthy!”, said in an overly scornful manner. A bad emotional experience can be anchored to an object.

Fear of situation or place

Fear of heights, fear of flying, lifts (elevators) supermarkets, shopping malls. This originates from a frightening incident, e.g., having been trapped in a lift. A social phobia is more complex, sufferers normally have a lack of confidence, fear of large crowds and getting close emotionally or physically with others. This type of phobia is often associated with a life changing event. From the past, the perceived danger or actual trauma is often repressed and transferred to other situations.

Fear of Illness or Death

This occurs when sufferers themselves have witnessed, heard about or read about death or illness and have identified with it. e.g., illness or death of a family member. The illness is then associated with themselves. This is often connected to feelings of insecurity and loss of control, especially in childhood.

Give me a call, Hypnotherapy can and does help with a whole range of different phobias.

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