Fighting Your Phobias With Hypnosis: One Fantastic Phobia-Busting Trick

Written By Julie Sulter

Let’s talk about phobias. After all, they affect around 15% of Australians and nearly 13% of US adults, which means many of us will experience or know someone who’s experiencing some kind of phobia during our lives.

And boy, phobias really do come in all shapes and sizes. Here are some of the weird and whacky phobias that people have opened up about having:

  • Arachibutyrophobia: Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth

  • Nomophobia: fear of being without your mobile phone

  • Arithmophobia: Fear of numbers

  • Plutophobia: Fear of money

  • Xanthophobia: Fear of the colour yellow

  • Ablutophobia: Fear of bathing

All jokes aside, phobias are nasty conditions that can make us feel physically unwell. Your heart races, your blood pressure rises, and you feel sick to your stomach. And all of this can happen without any actual threat of danger or harm.

In fact, a phobia is an anxiety-related disorder where there is no real danger, but an excessive threat is perceived.

Now for the good news. No matter how deep-rooted your phobia may be, hypnosis can help. By shifting your subconscious and moving you away from thoughts and behaviours that cause you to feel threatened, you can finally free yourself from ‘phobia prison’ and be liberated to step into your most fabulous life.

Today, I’m going to share with you one phenomenal phobia-busting technique that can allow you to quickly and effectively gain control over your phobia response and recognise your true potential so you can overcome the fear.

Revolutionizing Phobia Treatment: Exploring Effective Alternatives to Conquer Fears

When it comes to addressing specific phobias, traditional treatment options often revolve around exposure therapy, a form of psychotherapy. While additional therapies or medication may be suggested by your doctor, the primary focus is on tackling the avoidance behavior that has developed over time, rather than dwelling on the root cause. However, it's no surprise that exposure therapy has a sky-high dropout rate ranging from 0-41%. After all, if your fear involves facing the very thing you're terrified of, it's only natural to hesitate and question the approach.

Hypnotherapy offers effective treatment for phobias by targeting unconscious rituals and conditioned emotional responses.

Several studies demonstrate the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in specific cases:

  1. Hypno-Dissociative Strategies during Dental Treatment: Dentists employ various methods, including hypnosis, to help patients overcome severe dental phobia and receive necessary care.

  2. Hypnotherapeutic Olfactory Conditioning (HOC): This technique utilizes scents to evoke positive emotional responses. During hypnosis, patients associate pleasant smells with feelings of security and self-control.

  3. Functional Changes in Brain Activity after Hypnosis: Neurobiological studies using brain imaging techniques confirm that hypnosis can successfully inhibit fear circuitry structures, leading to significant changes in brain activity.

  4. Hypnotic Intervention with School-Phobic Children: Hypnosis has shown promising results in helping school-phobic children return to a school environment more quickly compared to traditional methods.

  5. Covert Conditioning in Hypnotherapy: Covert conditioning techniques, involving imagery manipulation, are explored for modifying behaviors related to phobias, alcoholism, overeating, and other deviations. The study compares covert conditioning with hypnotic induction procedures.

  6. Agoraphobia: A case study highlights the successful treatment of a 58-year-old woman with a long history of agoraphobia using ego-supportive direct suggestion and hypnoanalytic techniques.

For more in-depth information, refer to the provided links.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis and needs support, there are organizations available to provide assistance.

Here are a few options:

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Here’s my number one phobia-beating trick based on hypnosis: The Fast Phobia Technique

The fast phobia technique was developed by Richard Bandler, who’s been leading the field in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and the self-help industry more generally.

The fast phobia technique is a visualisation exercise that allows you to create a scenario in your mind which lets you quickly gain clarity into the reality of the situation and see your phobia for what it really is - nothing but a figment of your imagination which you can choose to step away from.

How to practice the fast phobia technique

Ok, by now you’re probably wondering just how exactly this magical technique works. Here’s how to perform the fast phobia technique any time you feel threatened by your fear:

I want you to start by picturing a movie theatre in your mind - imagine the big screen, the tiered seats, even the smell of the popcorn. Now, walk into your imaginary cinema and sit right up in the front row.

Get really comfortable in your front-row seat. Put your feet up, drink a soda and feast on all the imaginary popcorn you like! Enjoying yourself? Perfect.

Ok, now I want you to float up out of your body and take a position in the back row, so you can now see yourself watching the screen. And you start to notice that the movie that’s playing on the screen is showing your phobia.

However, the picture is grey and pixelated and seems to be going too fast. You’re going to mentally freeze the movie - and once you’ve done that, you’re going to choose a song you know really well. It could be Happy Birthday or Row Row Row Your Boat - anything that’s familiar to you.

Got the song in your head? Great. Now rewind the movie very quickly, all the while focusing on the song in your head. Repeat this process again.

Now focus your attention on the ‘you’ who’s sitting in the front row watching the movie. You’re relaxed, eating your popcorn, and unfazed by what’s on the screen.

Float back down into your body and try to replay your phobia movie. I bet you’ll find it hard to feel the same way about your phobia as you did at the beginning. Your fear has been diminished and you’ve seen that your phobia is nothing but an illusion projected and enlarged in your mind.

By engaging in this technique, you’re able to see the world around you for what it really is. You’ve harnessed your creativity and used it to recognise your human potential.

Isn’t that a wonderful feeling?

Julie Sulter
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