Have A Phobia? - What They Are And How To Get Rid Of Them With NLP

DEFINITION AND SYMPTOMS OF PHOBIAS:
A phobia can be defined as a fear not based in reality. When a person has a panic attack, they get terrified feelings; their respiration and heart rates raise; they may feel choked up like their heart is in their throat; their palms often get sweaty; they may experience the sound of ringing in their ears; and they very often find that they are unable to partake in an activity. These feelings cause the individual to avoid the activities and environments that cause them.

EXAMPLES OF COMMON PHOBIAS:
For instance, if an individual has a fear of driving, that individual would display these symptoms whenever they try to drive, or probably even when they just think about driving. Or a phobic attack may perhaps ensue just when driving in specific places like across railroad tracks.

The fear of talking in front of a group of people, also known as stage freight is a fairly common phobia. The anxious feelings appear when the individual begins to talk in front of a person that they are intimidated by, or they might well experience alarmed feelings only while in front of an assembly of people. The size of the group of people will differ. This fear can be triggered by fears of inadequacy, or a lack of self-confidence.

Those who suffer from a social phobia can get terribly anxious just being around other people, even people that they are acquainted with. It is a fear that they will be criticized or evaluated by others. This fear can be triggered in any type of social interaction. A person could be waiting on line at a variety store and get panicky feelings as they imagine having to talk to the checker as they checkout.

The fear of taking tests (frequently known as test anxiety) is a frequent phobia. Phobias to taking tests are rooted in comparing yourself to other people, and is deeply rooted in a fear of failure.

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

Agoraphobia is generally thought to be a fear of open spaces. However, this definition is extremely ambiguous because Agoraphobics are really afraid of having a panic attack, wherever and whenever. 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 grocery store.

For many phobia sufferers, once their panic attacks have begun to take place, they begin to expect them to happen. And this anticipation actually triggers them with increasing frequency. Other people experience fearful feelings on a continuous basis. These feelings cause an overall discomfort, rather than panic.

FORMS OF TREATMENT AVAILABLE

DRUGS:
Some physicians treat their patients by means of sedatives, which can make the condition worse over extended usage. Sedatives do not take care of the core cause of a phobia; they only disguise some of the symptoms.

TALK THERAPY:
Some counselors recommend "Talk Therapy." Talk therapy is simply talking about what is bothering you. Unfortunately, thinking about or talking about the situation or environment that sets off a phobic attach can trigger one!

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

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION:
Systematic Desensitization is the process of gradually desensitizing a person to the environment or situation that sets off a panic attack. For instance, if a person wanted 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 did not get hurt and that she is secure.

The next thing she is asked to do is to dive from the first 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 again safe and sound.

Over a period of time the person is asked to dive in from increasingly higher and higher steps on the ladder. 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 on the ladder. If she experiences fear, then she's asked to move back down one rung on the ladder and dive from there until she feels complete comfort and security. In due course she makes it to the top of the ladder and dives in from the high board.

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 picture herself diving in from each rung of the ladder. She would be asked to see herself feeling confident and relaxed as she dives in. Since she is in fact disassociated while picturing herself, she is not able to experience a panic attack.

Next she's 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 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 panic she's asked to go back to the previous lower rung on the ladder and visualize diving in from that step.

She might be taught to create a kinesthetic (feeling or touch) "anchor" of feelings of safety and security. She could then activate that anchor while visualizing that she's diving, and the feelings of safety and security could be subjectively transferred to the act of diving.

Systematic Desensitization while in self-hypnosis can be very useful 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 the study of how we create our reality. The V/K stands for visual / kinesthetic. The V/K Disassociation is a method 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 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 culture. They are fears that are not founded in reality. There are many treatments for phobias, but so far in my judgment, the best treatments available are Systematic Desensitization while hypnotized, and the NLP V/K Disassociation technique.

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