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Healing Phobias with Hypnotherapy

A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal.

Phobias are more pronounced than fears. They develop when a person has an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object.

If a phobia becomes very severe, a person may organize their life around avoiding the thing that's causing them anxiety. As well as restricting their day-to-day life, it can also cause a lot of distress.

Symptoms

You may not experience any symptoms until you come into contact with the source of your phobia.  However, in some cases, even thinking about the source of a phobia can make a person feel anxious or panicky in anticipation.

Symptoms may include:

  • unsteadiness, dizziness and lightheadedness

  • nausea

  • sweating

  • increased heart rate or palpitations

  • shortness of breath

  • trembling or shaking

  • an upset stomach

 

If you don't come into contact with the source of your phobia very often, it may not affect your everyday life. However, if you have a complex phobia, such as agoraphobia, leading a normal life may be very difficult.

Types of phobia

There are a wide variety of objects or situations that someone could develop a phobia about. However, phobias can be divided into 2 main categories:

  • specific or simple phobias

  • complex phobias

 

Specific or simple phobias

Specific or simple phobias center around a particular object, animal, situation or activity.   Common examples include animal, environmental, situational, bodily and sexual.​

 

Complex phobias

Complex phobias tend to be more disabling than simple phobias. They usually develop during adulthood and are often associated with a deep-rooted fear or anxiety about a particular situation or circumstance.

The 2 most common complex phobias are:

  • agoraphobia

  • social phobia 

 

What causes phobias?

Phobias don't have a single cause, but there are a number of associated factors. For example:

  • a phobia may be associated with a particular incident or trauma

  • a phobia may be a learned response that a person develops early in life from a parent or sibling (brother or sister)

  • genetics may play a role – there's evidence to suggest that some people are born with a tendency to be more anxious than others

Hypnosis can effectively provide relief for phobias, sometimes in as little as one session in cases of specific or simple phobias.

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