DHP. Lazzaro Pisu: Using Hypnotherapy to Cure Phobias

How to use hypnosis to overcome phobias.

A phobia is an irrational fear of something that’s unlikely to cause harm. The word itself comes from the Greek word phobos, which means fear or horror. Hydrophobia, for example, literally translates to fear of water.

When someone has a phobia, they experience intense fear of a certain object or situation. Phobias are different than regular fears because they cause significant distress, possibly interfering with life at home, work, or school.

People with phobias actively avoid the phobic object or situation, or endure it within intense fear or anxiety. Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are very common. They’re estimated to affect more than 30 percent of U.S. adults at some time in their lives.

What will I learn in this blog?

• That almost all phobias can be cured

• Gradual exposure to a phobia can quickly get results

• Mental Calmness and Physical Relaxation are the key

• That hypnosis can help you get a better perspective

What causes phobias?

According to mind.org.uk, there doesn’t seem to be one particular cause of phobias. There are various factors that might contribute to developing a phobia. But there is not often a clear reason why it starts.

Examples of causes of phobias

• Past incidents or traumas. Certain situations might have a lasting effect on how you feel about them. For example, if you experienced a lot of turbulence on a plane at a young age, you might develop a phobia of flying. Or if you were injured by a dog some years ago, you might develop a phobia of dogs.

• Learned responses from early life. Your phobia may develop from factors in your childhood environment. For example you might have parents or guardians who are very worried or anxious. This may affect how you cope with anxiety in later life. You might develop the same specific phobia as a parent or older sibling. If they have a severe reaction to something they fear, this might influence you to feel the same way.

• Reactions and responses to panic or fear. You might have a strong reaction, or a panic attack, in response to a situation or object. You may find yourself feeling embarrassed by this. Especially if people around you react strongly to your response. You could develop even more intense anxiety about the idea of this happening again.

• Experiencing long-term stress. Stress can cause feelings of anxiety and depression. It can reduce your ability to cope in particular situations. This might make you feel more fearful or anxious about being in those situations again. Over a long period, this could develop into a phobia.

• Genetic factors. Research suggests that some people are more vulnerable to developing a phobia than others.

So what do I do to change all this?

Whatever it is that scares you, here are 10 ways from the NHS to help you cope with day-to-day fears and anxieties

• Take time out. It’s impossible to think clearly when you’re flooded with fear or anxiety. The first thing to do is take time out so you can physically calm down. Distract yourself from the worry for 15 minutes by walking around the block, making a cup of tea or having a bath.

• Breathe through panic. If you start to get a faster heartbeat or sweating palms, the best thing is not to fight it. Stay where you are and simply feel the panic without trying to distract yourself. Place the palm of your hand on your stomach and breathe slowly and deeply. The goal is to help the mind get used to coping with panic, which takes the fear of fear away. Try this breathing technique for stress

• Face your fears. Avoiding fears only makes them scarier. Whatever your fear, if you face it, it should start to fade. If you panic one day getting into a lift, for example, it’s best to get back into a lift the next day.

• Imagine the worst. Try imagining the worst thing that can happen – perhaps it’s panicking and having a heart attack. Then try to think yourself into having a heart attack. It’s just not possible. The fear will run away the more you chase it.

• Look at the evidence. It sometimes helps to challenge fearful thoughts. For example, if you’re scared of getting trapped in a lift and suffocating, ask yourself if you have ever heard of this happening to someone. Ask yourself what you would say to a friend who had a similar fear.

• Don’t try to be perfect. Life is full of stresses, yet many of us feel that our lives must be perfect. Bad days and setbacks will always happen, and it’s important to remember that life is messy.

• Visualize a happy place. Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine a place of safety and calm. It could be a picture of you walking on a beautiful beach, or snuggled up in bed with the cat next to you, or a happy memory from childhood. Let the positive feelings soothe you until you feel more relaxed.

• Talk about it. Sharing fears takes away a lot of their scariness.

• Go back to basics. Lots of people turn to alcohol or drugs to self-treat anxiety, but this will only make matters worse. Simple, everyday things like a good night’s sleep, a wholesome meal and a walk are often the best cures for anxiety.

Ok – sounds great – now tell me about how hypnosis can help me.

At my clinic, I do a lot of great work with people who have phobic responses. You see, hypnotherapy is all about helping you to see things in their true perspective and not to get things out of proportion.

Take a fear of flying for example, you’re far safer on an airplane than you are in a car, so see things are they really are. What about a fear of spiders? Well, OK, not many people actively like spiders. They aren’t very … cuddly, but they pose you very little or no threat, so see things in a better perspective.

I work in helping to reset your fears and put them into better proportion to reality. These are some of the key ingredients you will need to have a more balanced emotional response to whatever is scaring you:

Increase mental calmness so that you can experience things correctly

Feel more physically relaxed and at ease

Have bags of confidence in your safety and ability to cope

Be better at seeing a true perspective

Of course, each person has different expectations and challenges, so each treatment is individual to you. In addition to your regular hypnotherapy sessions, I keep in touch in-between to make sure that you are managing to conquer your fears and feel more calm and relaxed.

For help:

Take the next step and book your session with DHP. Lazzaro Pisu in Vancouver, today,

Call 604 202 7938.

Lazzaro is dedicated to help your mental health. Contact him today.

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