|
Phobias - What They Are And How You Can Wipe Them Away With NLP & Hypnosis |
Written by Alan B. Densky, CH
Saturday, 16 June 2007
|
DEFINITION AND SYMPTOMS OF PHOBIAS: A phobia is defined as a fear not based in reality. When a person has a panic attack, they get panicky feelings; their breathing and heart rates raise; they may experience feeling choked up like their heart is in their throat; the palms of their hands often get sweaty; they may experience the sound of ringing in their ears; and they very often find that they are unable to participate in an activity. These feelings motivate the individual to try to avoid the situations and environments that cause them. SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF PHOBIAS: For instance, if a person has a driving phobia, that individual would exhibit these symptoms when they try to drive, or possibly even when they just think about driving. Or a panic attack might ensue simply when driving in certain places like in heavy traffic. Stage freight is a very common phobia. The panicky feelings appear when the person starts to talk in front of a person that they are frightened by, or they may perhaps experience fearful feelings only when in front of an assembly of other people. The number of people in the group will differ. This phobia can be triggered by fears of inadequacy, or a lack of self-confidence. Those who suffer from social anxiety disorder can get dreadfully worried just being around other folks, even people that they know. It's a fear of being criticized or evaluated by other people. This fear can be caused by any type of social relations. A person could be waiting on line at a restaurant and get stressful feelings as they imagine having to talk to the checker while they checkout. The fear of test taking (which is universally known as test anxiety) is a common phobia. Testing phobias are rooted in comparing yourself to other folks, and is deeply rooted in a fear of failure. People have developed phobias to every type of situation under the sun. For example: High places; animals; small enclosed places; relationships; flying; bugs; snakes; and even the great outdoors. Agoraphobia is generally considered to be a fear of open spaces. However, this definition is extremely deceptive because Agoraphobics are really afraid of having a panic attack, wherever they are. This phobia is developed when a person begins to avoid places or situations they have associated with anxiety. For example, they could have a panic attack at the drycleaners, at home, or at a grocery store. For people who suffer with phobias, once their panic attacks have begun to occur, they begin to expect them to happen. And this anticipation actually 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. AVAILABLE FORMS OF TREATMENT DRUGS: Some physicians treat patients with sedatives, which can make the condition worse over prolonged treatment. Sedatives do not work on the underlying cause of a phobia; they only camouflage some of the symptoms. TALK THERAPY: Some schools of therapy advocate "Talk Therapy." Talk therapy is merely talking about what is bothering you. Unfortunately, thinking about or talking about a situation or environment that causes a panic attack can trigger one! HYPNOSIS: Traditional self hypnosis has been used to treat phobias, but with only meager success. Traditional hypnotherapy is accomplished when the therapist places the patient in a relaxed state of self-hypnosis and gives her post-hypnotic commands or suggestions. Since most people of our generation question and resist direct suggestions, they also reject the concept that they will be more relaxed and at ease when they encounter the situation or environment that triggers their panic attacks. SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION: Systematic Desensitization is the practice of progressively desensitizing a person to the situation or environment that causes a panic attack. For instance, if a woman wants to dive from a high diving 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 did not get hurt and that she is secure. Next she is asked to dive from the first step of the ladder going up to the diving board. Again, she dives in and realizes that nothing bad happened and that she is again safe and sound. Over a period of time the phobic is asked to dive in from gradually higher and higher steps on the ladder going up to the diving board. Each time she dives in and realizes that nothing bad happened and that she is safe and sound, she is able to move up to the next rung of the ladder. If she experiences fear, then she is asked to step 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 virtually while in the state of hypnosis with as good as or better results. While in a relaxed state of hypnosis, the woman would be asked to visualize herself diving in from each rung of the ladder. She would be asked to picture herself feeling confident and relaxed as she watches herself dive in. Since she is in a disassociated state while seeing herself, she is unable to trigger a panic attack. Next she is asked to associate, in other words to imagine the camera inside of her head so she would be seeing what she would see through her eyes if she was actually diving in from each rung 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 rung on the ladder and picture diving in from that rung. The phobic might be trained to generate a kinesthetic (feeling or touch) "anchor" of feelings of safety and security. She could then set off 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 hypnosis can be especially effective 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 fundamentally the study of how we create our reality. The V/K stands for visual / kinesthetic. The V/K Disassociation is a technique that enables a trained NLP Practitioner to guide a subject through specific imagery that quickly and in many cases instantly disconnects or disassociates the feelings of horror from the trigger or phobia that causes them. The V/K Disassociation is known as the "One session phobia cure" in NLP circles, and with good reason. CONCLUSION: Irrational fears are very common in our society. They are fears that aren't based in reality. There are many ways of treating phobias, but so far in my view, the best finest are Systematic Desensitization while a hypnotic state, and the NLP V/K Disassociation technique. Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com |
About The Author:
Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotist and NLP Practitioner who has been in practice since 1978. He can be contacted through his Neuro-VISION Hypnosis site where he offers NLP CDs for phobias. Visit his hypnosis research library, or download a free MP3.
Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotist and NLP Practitioner who has been in practice since 1978. He can be contacted through his Neuro-VISION Hypnosis site where he offers NLP CDs for phobias. Visit his hypnosis research library, or download a free MP3. You are welcome to publish this article free of charge on your website, newsletter, or e-zine, provided:
- You don't change the article in any way
- You include the entire article, including the "about the author" box
- All hyperlinks must remain intact, including email addresses, and the link to ArticleBlast.com at the bottom
- In doing so you agree to indemnify the article's author, and ArticleBlast.com and its directors, officers, employees and agents from and against all losses, claims, damages and liabilities which arise out of its use
- It is also recommended that you provide a courtesy copy of your publication to the author of the article
