Fears, Phobias and Anxieties

Fears, Phobias and Anxieties

 

A major part of my work is helping clients to overcome fears, phobias and anxieties. These clients have a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no danger in reality. There may be no real danger, but the subconscious will respond to what it believes to be true. So if the subconscious mind thinks there is a danger it uses the fear to protect them from that “danger.” This source of “danger” may not be a problem for most other people, and even the person with the fear might say that it doesn’t make sense – even so, it is very real in the mind of the person with the fear. If the fear keep on growing it may become a panic attack.

 

For these clients, their fear:
• Limits their ability to enjoy life to the full
• Is something that is not understood by people who don’t have that fear
• Can be laughed at by others who don’t understand that fear
• Is something that they try to hide from other people

 

It is actually amazing just how many people have, for example, a:
• Fear of flying
• Fear of heights
• Fear of going to the dentist
• Fear of exams – including driving tests
• Fear of driving

Many clients say that their fears control their lives – and what they really want is to control their fears so that they can be in control of their lives once again. Instead of feeling fear, they want to feel safe and secure again.

 

Social Phobias
And then there is a whole range of Social Phobias. These are not based on the subconscious sensing a physical threat, but sensing a psychological threat – usually their fear includes a feeling of embarrassment. In many cases there is a belief that they are being judged unfairly. Often they fear what other people might think about them. Again, it is a matter of what the person believes to be true. Social phobias can include, for example:
• Speaking or performing in public
• Speaking in groups of people
• Talking with people they don’t know
• Eating or drinking where others can see them
• Traveling by bus, tram or train

 

Often this sort of fear can show itself by blushing or by a lack of self-confidence.

 

What happens is that over the years, a person learns a way of responding to something that the subconscious sees as a threat, and responds by avoiding that “threat.” In other words, their behaviour and their fears become a habit, something they do without even thinking about it.

 

But, the good news is that all habits can be changed and replaced by different behaviour. Sometimes that means changing what we believe about that “threat” to understand it in a different way. Sometimes that can mean changing our response from “fear” and avoidance to something more like calmness in that situation. But because the “fear” and “sense of danger” comes from our subconscious, which controls our instinctive reactions, then it makes sense that talking directly to the subconscious is the best way to change the way we respond to our fears. And that is exactly what hypnotherapy does, and why hypnotherapy is so successful here.

 

Anxiety

Anxiety generally presents itself as a worry or sense of unease. For many clients with anxiety this worrying is often at a reasonably low level, yet it seems to be there most of the time. And the more they worry, the more there seems to be to worry about – so the more they worry. Some clients say that there is nothing specific that worries them, but that they feel worried all the time and, so, they start to expect the worst to happen. In therapy, often what is needed is simply a sense of gaining a greater measure of control over situations and, with that, an increase in confidence and a more positive outlook.

 

Remember: As a Complementary Therapy, Hypnotherapy works alongside, not instead of, your health professional. Therefore, if there is any reason to think that there might be a health issue associated with your issue, you will need to produce a note from your health professional to say it is suitable for me to proceed with hypnotherapy.

 

Language: All sessions are in English.

 

To book a hypnotherapy session, call me on +372 53038068, or email me on info@hypnoterapeut.ee – English language only, please.