If you have a strong fear of something, for example heights, spiders, buttons, blood or enclosed places, this might be a phobia. How do you overcome phobias? Well, I hope this article will be helpful to explain more. I help people overcome phobia using hypnotherapy. Often one session is enough. If you do have a phobia find out about my sessions in central London or online.
How do you overcome phobias?
To overcome a phobia, hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy have been shown to be highly effective. I use both of these in my work with clients.
Let’s look at what a phobia is. A phobia is an excessive fear of something specific. You might have it frequently or experience the anxiety only in certain circumstances. Examples of phobias include a fear of snakes, heights, public transport, or other objects or situations. This feeling can lead a person to either avoid the thing they fear or experience great distress when they encounter it. It is totally possible to get over a phobia with treatment and strategies. I frequently help people with phobias. I myself have experienced phobias and hypnotherapy helped me. I hope it can help you also. Specific phobias call fall into a type of anxiety disorder. Roughly 12.5% of adults in the United States will have a specific phobia at some point in their lives.
Is it a phobia or a fear?
A phobia is more severe than a fear. Really a phobia is an irrational fear that is out of proportion compared to the actual threat itself. There may be little threat or even no threat at all. Yet the person could experience symptoms of anxiety all the same. A person with a phobia may experience a fight-or-flight response in the presence of the object they’re afraid of. When this happens, stress hormones are released. These cause symptoms such as increased heart rate, dizziness, hot flashes or chills, chest pain or tightness, and butterflies in the stomach. Other common symptoms can include difficulty breathing, nausea, sweating, confusion, or disorientation.
Fear, on the other hand, is more of an intense emotion in response to a threat, in the moment. A person experiencing fear may have some of the same symptoms. Yet they only occur in response to a real threat or something that most people would perceive as a threat. So, unlike a phobia, a fear response won’t happen that often enough to interfere with a person’s quality of life.
So, how do you overcome phobias?
There are several different types of phobias. A specific phobia is viewed as an anxiety disorder that includes five types of phobias. Often overlooked as phobia a social phobia is also an anxiety disorder. However it is not classified as one of the five specific phobias.
The five types of specific phobias include:
- Animal type
- Natural environment type
- Blood-injection-injury type
- Situational type
- Other type
Let’s look in more detail at these different types of phobia. I have found that hypnotherapy can be really helpful, so if you are asking, how do you overcome phobias? Hypnotherapy can really help.
Animal Type
People with this type of phobia will have an intense anxiety about animals or insects. Examples include a phobia of dogs, cats, birds, mice, snakes, butterflies, and spiders. I do find that with hypnotherapy these are phobias which can be resolved quite quickly.
Natural Environment Type
People with this type of phobia have an anxiety about objects that make up natural surroundings. Common examples include deep water, heights, lightning, or storms. These too can be resolved quite quickly. However they can involve some deeper work and so usually may take a few sessions of hypnotherapy.
Blood-Injection-Injury Type
People can have a strong anxiety about injury, blood, or injections. Unfortunately this can be a little harder to shift Of course if you need an operation or blood test, having such a phobia can be quite annoying or even distressing. Hypnotherapy can help too. Sometimes people have had bad experiences involving blood needles, so hypnotherapy will look at those memories if required.
Situational Type
People with this type of phobia have an intense fear of certain experiences such as elevators, enclosed places, flying, driving, animatronics, and public transportation. I do see a lot of people for these phobia and can be about deeper issues or resultant from an accident or traumatic experience in the past.
Other Type
This category is about phobias which do not fall in to the other ones we have spoken about. Examples include choking, germs or getting sick, time, vomiting, dolls, ghosts, or loud noises.
What about social anxiety?
A social phobia or social anxiety involves self-consciousness and a significant fear of being judged and embarrassed. It can lead to either avoidance or acute distress when in those situations. Social
Treatment for phobias
A phobia can also be treated. I use hypnotherapy. There are other ways to address phobias, including cognitive behaviour lathery (CBT) or even medication.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy for phobias is medication free and even enjoyable. In just a couple of session you could be phobia free. Hypnotherapy is about guiding you into a relaxed state. In that state I use visualisations to help you overcome thoughts, images and memories connected with the phobia. How do you overcome phobias? Hypnotherapy is a great option.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT combines talk therapy with exposure therapy. This is about addressing your thoughts and then gently confronting the anxiety in small steps, in a controlled and safe environment. As well as hypnotherapy, I often use aspects of CBT in my phobia work. CBT also teaches strategies for understanding your feelings and coping with what you’re afraid of. People undergoing CBT learn positive ways to reframe their thinking.
Medication
For some, medication may also be used along with talk therapy. This type of treatment does not really help you overcome the phobia. It can relieve some of the symptoms. Medication is usually prescribed only for use in very specific situations and only in the short term. For example, someone with a fear of flying may need to take medication if they have to get on an airplane.
There are a few types of medication, such as:
- Beta-blockers: These can help reduce the effects of adrenaline, such as a racing heart and shaking hands.
- Antidepressants: These medications help regulate chemicals in your brain that
- contribute to mood and behavior.
- Sedatives: These will have a calming effect and can reduce anxiety.
Since medications can be addictive, ensure you look at other options too. Ensure you follow advice of your healthcare provider always.
How do you overcome phobias? Book hypnotherapy
I hope this article has been helpful for answering how do you overcome phobias? I use hypnotherapy for phobias at my London office in King’s Cross. I also provide sessions online. Get in touch to find out more. Click here for details of my hypnotherapy for phobias.
