The Conscious and Subconscious Facets Of A Phobia

One of the top 5 Issues that I see in my Hypnotherapy practice is Phobias.  It includes, but isn't limited to, a fear of animals (mostly dogs), fear of heights, fear of driving and the fear of flying. Some clients have retreated from living a 'normal' life because they feel debilitated by their particular fear.  And it's sad to hear a client say she has not driven in years and has to diligently plan how to schedule her life around the transit system.  This, to me, with ANY phobia, is a loss of independence and a loss of self trust. 

A fear/phobias, however strange, is a symptom of a deep rooted emotion imprinted in the subconscious mind that goes back to childhood.  And it's imprinted in the Subconscious Mind, which is an extremely powerful and goal oriented mechanism.,  And it has one job and that is to protect you from PERCEIVED danger, emotional or physical.  The Subconscious Mind has found that the fear toward the object (of  fear) is a way to protect the person from danger.  It is a fear based emotion that has NOTHING to do with the object of your fear, certainly not rationally.  It`s just that the fear triggers the memory of another time when the person felt fear due to perhaps feeling unsafe (physically or emotionally) or alone, unloved, helpless, etc. And in that moment in time, a belief was formed in the child's mind.  "I'm helpless, unlovable, incapable, unworthy). And the Subconscious Mind protects this original belief (for some clients, that`s been that they are helpless, unimportant, unloved)  It's not rational, because that's not the job of the subconscious mind.  It is your `feeling mind` and is driven by emotion only.  Many clients have thought that they knew why they felt the way they did on an analytical level (consciously), but it’s the Subconscious Mind that truly knows (it makes up 95% of your mind) and feeds the behavior

As with all the treatment methods that prove to be useful with Phobias, hypnosis strikes the root of the phobic disorder. Hence, it is being practiced with immense success with helping people overcome their fear(s).

Phobias are caused by a powerful link between a fearsome stimulant and a panic response. This linkage is so strong that it overrides all rational behavior whenever presented with the slightest hint of the phobic stimulant. Let us examine how this link gets established in the brain in the first place.

Phobias can broadly be grouped into two categories based on their origin of formation. These categories are direct and indirect phobias. In case of direct phobias, the person has often suffered a traumatizing experience in the past.

As a consequence of the impact of such a painful event, the fear response is deeply embedded in the mind in association with a particular object or situation. Often the person suffering from such direct phobias may not remember the actual event which caused it in the remote past which may very well go back to his childhood days.

The course of an indirect phobia is more complex. Indirect phobias are caused by long term anxiety originating from a number of different factors. The subconscious mind attributes these negative feelings to a particular stimulant which may or may not have any direct association with the actual cause. The patients of indirect phobia therefore, suffer from a distorted form of phobic response.

Whatever the form of your phobia, it is clear that it exists on two different levels – conscious and subconscious. Consciously you are aware of an all consuming fear, its detrimental effect on your life and your powerlessness against it. Subconsciously your mind is protecting you from a deep-rooted trauma.

Hypnosis is natural state of mind that bypasses your logic which allows access into your subconscious self to bring this ingrained causative event to the forefront. Once your conscious mind recognizes what lies in the subconscious, the task is simple. In many cases, a deep hypnotic state called “regression” proves to be useful and effective. Regression therapy (therapy at that deep level of the subconscious mind) probes the subconscious mind to re-examine seemingly forgotten experiences that may be the germ of a phobic disorder. Hypnotic techniques can then replace the negative emotions by reframing the event with a positive perspective as well as with more positive suggestions.

This positive perspective will now change your perception in relation to the problematic stimulant.  When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.  Hence, hypnosis can break the link that is at the root of your phobia. It can do away with negative emotions that have been blocked for so long and free the passage for healthy subconscious functioning.

Repeated sessions can eliminate phobias with ease and surprising quickness. Hypnosis can liberate you from the clutches of your phobia within a short span! Think months versus the years that you could still be living in fear.  This treatment approach refocuses the very origin of the problem in a positive light, spares you all the ill effects of medication and does away with the phobia, often permanently.

 

Rosa Livingstone, CHt; CI;  “The Mind Coach”

Clinical Hypnotherapist; Certified Instructor

A Load Off Your Mind Hypnotherapy

www.aloadoffyourmind.com

Mind Coaching 101 blog:   http://mindcoaching101.blogspot.com

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