Have A Phobia? - What They Are And How You Can Get Rid Of Them Using Nlp

2007-07-10 Word Count: 1201 Category: Health & Fitness

DEFINITION AND SYMPTOMS OF PHOBIAS:
A phobia can be defined as a fear not based in reality. When a person has a phobic attack, they get worried feelings; their breathing and heart rates increase; they may experience feeling choked up like their heart is in their throat; their palms may get sweaty; they may hear the sound of ringing in their ears; and they often find that they are unable to take part in an activity. These feelings cause the individual to avoid the situations and environments that trigger them.

SOME EXAMPLES OF PHOBIAS:
For instance, if someone has a driving phobia, that person would show evidence of these symptoms when they try to drive, or maybe even when they think about driving. Or a freight attack may ensue only when driving in certain places like under bridges.

Stage freight is a fairly common phobia. The anxious feelings appear when the sufferer attempts to talk in front of a person that they are intimidated by, or they might have phobic feelings only in front of a group of other people. The number of people in the group can differ. This irrational fear can be set off by fears of inadequacy, or a lack of self-esteem.

Those who suffer from social phobias can get extremely jumpy just being around other folks, even people that they know. It's a fear that they will be criticized or evaluated by others. This fear can be set off by almost any kind of social relations. A person could be waiting on line at a checkout and get phobic feelings as they imagine having to talk to the cashier as they checkout.

The fear of test taking (generally known as test anxiety) is a very common phobia. Testing phobias are rooted in comparing yourself to other folks, and is deeply rooted in a fear of failing.

People have developed phobias to every kind of experience and environment under the sun. For example: Bugs; animals; snakes; high places; flying; small enclosed places; and even the great outdoors.

Agoraphobia is generally defined as a fear of open spaces. However, this definition is extremely deceptive because Agoraphobics are really afraid of having a panic attack, wherever they may happen to be. Agoraphobia develops when a person begins to avoid places or situations they have associated with anxiety. For example, they could have a panic attack at home, church, or in a gas station.

For many, once their panic attacks have begun, they begin to anticipate them to take place. And this anticipation in reality causes them to occur with increasing frequency. Other folks experience fearful feelings on a continuous basis. These feelings cause an overall sense of discomfort, rather than panic.

OBTAINABLE FORMS OF TREATMENT

DRUGS:
Some doctors treat their patients by means of sedatives, which can make the phobia worse over prolonged usage. Sedatives don't work on the core origin of a phobia; they only mask some of the symptoms.

TALK THERAPY:
Some counselors prescribe "Talk Therapy." Talk therapy is just talking about what is bothering you. Unfortunately, talking about or even thinking about a situation or environment that sets off a panic attack can trigger a panic attack!

HYPNOTHERAPY CDS:
Traditional self-hypnosis has been used to treat phobias, but with only meager success. Traditional hypnotic therapy is accomplished when the therapist guides the client into a relaxed state of hypnosis and gives the subject post-hypnotic suggestions or commands. Since most people in this generation question and resist direct suggestions, they also reject the notion that they will be more relaxed and at ease when they encounter the environment or situation that sets off their panic attacks.

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION:
Systematic Desensitization is the practice of slowly desensitizing a person to the environment or condition that sets off a phobic attack. For instance, if a woman wants to dive from a high board but she fears it, she is asked to first dive from a height that she feels confident about. She dives in and realizes that she didn't get hurt and that she is secure.

Next she is asked to dive from the bottom step of the ladder going up to the high board. Again, she dives in and realizes that she was not hurt and that she is safe.

Over a period of time the phobic is asked to dive in from gradually higher and higher steps on the ladder. Each time she dives in and realizes that she did not get hurt and that she is safe, she is able to move up to the next rung. If she experiences fear, then she is asked to move back down one rung on the ladder and dive from there until she feels complete comfort and security. Ultimately she makes it to the top of the ladder and is able to dive in from the high board itself.

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION WHILE IN THE STATE OF HYPNOSIS:
Systematic Desensitization can be done literally while in the state of hypnosis with as good as or better results. While in a relaxed hypnotized state, the woman would be asked to envision herself diving in from each step on the ladder. She would be asked to see herself feeling relaxed and confident as she watches herself dive in. Since she is in a disassociated state while picturing herself, she is unable to cause a phobic attack.

Next she is asked to associate, in other words to put the camera inside of her head so she would see what she would see through her eyes if she was actually diving in from each step of the ladder. She is asked to imagine feeling safe and relaxed as she dives in.

Just as in a live (in vivo) systematic desensitization, if she feels any anxiety she is told to go back to the previous lower step on the ladder and imagine diving in from there. The phobic might be taught to create a kinesthetic (feeling or touch) "anchor" for feelings of safety and security. She could then activate that anchor while imagining that she is diving, and the feelings of safety and security could be subjectively transferred to the act of diving.

Systematic Desensitization while in a hypnotic state can be awfully powerful and totally successful, but is can also be slow and take several hypnotic sessions to bring about a cure.

NLP (NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING) V/K DISASSOCIATION:
NLP is basically the study of how we create our reality. The V/K stands for visual / kinesthetic. The V/K Disassociation is a technique that allows a trained NLP Practitioner to guide a subject through specific imagery that quickly and in many cases instantly disconnects or disassociates the feelings of fear from the irrational fear that causes them. The V/K Disassociation is known as the "One session phobia cure" in NLP circles, and with good cause.

CONCLUSION:
Phobias are very common in our culture. They are fears that aren't founded in reality. There are many techniques for treating phobias, but so far in my belief, the best finest available are Systematic Desensitization while in the state of self-hypnosis, and the NLP V/K Disassociation technique.

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Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner who has been in practice since 1978. He can be contacted through his Neuro-VISION Self Hypnosis website which offers hypnosis and NLP CDs for phobias. Visit his hypnosis repository, or download a free MP3. www.neuro-vision.us/