Do you find that buttons make you feel a little queasy or unwell? For many people a phobia of buttons is real and distressing. You may also have a fear of holes or round objects such as skin spots or even holes in food such as crumpets. I use phobia of buttons hypnotherapy to reduce this anxiety, that might be stopping you enjoying life to the fullest. Get in touch to find out about London phobia sessions.
Phobia of buttons hypnotherapy in London
A button phobia, also known as koumpounophobia, refers to the disgust or anxiety felt around buttons. For people who know nothing about this it’s a bit of surprise that people do feel such an aversion to buttons. Yet, even more surprising is just how common this phobia actually is. Since button phobia is a kind of anxiety disorder, it is treated by therapy and hypnotherapy. I use hypnotherapy and also NLP, Neuro – linguistic programming, to reduce this phobia at my London practice.
Research has shown that medication or pharmacological treatment is simply less effective for a phobia of button. The effective treatment needs to be about shifting thoughts and beliefs about buttons. So therefore psychological therapy is the best course of action. Again, a fear of buttons could be related to a fear of holes and I have helped many people reduce and even eliminate their phobia. I hope I can help you also.
How does phobia hypnotherapy work?
Often sessions will involve a conversation to delve more deeply into why you have this phobia. This may be asking questions and offering interpretations to help you (and me) get to understand why this phobia if buttons is there in the first place. Hypnotherapy for button phobia aims to supports an individual to acquire new positive thoughts and behaviours. We might also consider some relaxation techniques, so you can feel calmer in certain triggering situations.
One method, which I do not use often is called, Flooding. When phobia of buttons hypnotherapy uses Flooding, this will be a prolonged exposure treatment. Though it can be effective for phobias and anxiety, Flooding can run the risk of a person feeling overwhelmed too quickly and so I do not usually use it. Flooding aims to expose the sufferers to their feared object for a longer duration in a safe and controlled manner. So, someone afraid of buttons will be exposed to a variety of buttons for a long duration, so that their fear toward the objects becomes less. However I have found that in practice it runs the risk of backfiring, since we really need to first dig deeper into why the phobia is there. During phobia of buttons hypnotherapy sessions I take a more ‘slow and steady’ approach which is often far more effective.
Hypnotherapy and CBT for phobias
I will also use some aspects of CBT, Cognitive behavioural therapy (commonly known as CBT). CBT aims to uncover, understand, and then help you change thoughts or dislikes that cause problems related to anxiety. As such we look at thoughts around buttons and re-examine them. CBT, Cognitive behavioural therapy, however does not suit all because of the extra effort and work that is needed for it to be most effective. Though when you combine CBT with hypnotherapy, you do have a winning combination. We can really make some really deep lasting positive changes and help you feel more relaxed around buttons or anything else.
The theory of CBT is that when you consider what you think (cognition), a relationship will be seen with what you feel and behave. CBT for phobias tries to help you figure out why you react in the ways you do. This can then help you change unhelpful thought patterns, or overcome mental barriers.
Some therapists will use Virtual Reality Exposure (VRE) therapy to reduce phobias. I do not use this since it may not really pinpoint the phobia accurately. Remember that a phobia is really residing in your imagination, your unconscious and in those unsettling pictures you have created about buttons. I want to look directly at where the phobia truly is and not introduce external ‘man made’ computer generated images that aren’t truly inline with your own imagination. So though computerised CBT and computer simulation is the latest technique used for phobias, I do not feel it is the best course of action. Yes, I’m sure it can help many people. However with current technology it is an overly complex answer when more simple and direct ‘cures’ are available.
During VR therapy the fear object can be exposed actually or made to be imagined. So, for example, it allows a user to be an active participant within a computer generated three-dimensional virtual world. Virtual reality can help desensitise a person toward the objects causing fear. However phobia of buttons hypnotherapy already does that, and I would argue in a much more realistic, direct and effective manner. Unfortunately frequently many individuals believe in looking for a magical cure or miracles that may change them without too many sacrifices or effort.
Fear of buttons sessions in London
Often during sessions we need to focus on exposing a person’s unconscious thoughts, and in so doing, alleviate the fear. I would say that my hypnotherapy sessions for button phobia may significantly differ from other hypnotherapists and many other therapeutic approaches, as I aim to achieve deep-seated change in both emotional development and thought patterns. Since buttons are harmless and do not pose a threat, we may need to uncover those irrational anxious thoughts directed toward the object in question. An important question is where do they come from. Sometimes they can be traced back to traumatic experience(s) in recent past or in childhood.
If you suffer from a button phobia, you will appreciate how inconvenient it is. Being anxious around buttons, can make life is very complicated. Perhaps clothing has to be fastened in other ways such as zips or Velcro. The good news is that this phobia responds extremely well to hypnotherapy. Often this involves taking a person back to the original incident which was responsible for development of the phobia. Sometimes a person actually is able to identify the precise origin of the phobia, but for others it is harder to do so.
A simple example could be that the phobia grew from when a mother asking a small child (our client now) to pass a button to her. Unfortunately the child knocks the button box onto the floor and the buttons scatter and some roll underneath a table or wardrobe. Trying to retrieve the buttons the child hurts themselves or feels judged or criticised by the mother. So we now have an association of shame, guilt or pain with buttons. Since it was such a young memory, the incident had been forgotten but the association had not. As the story is retold in hypnosis the emotions are released and this sets the person free from the phobia.
This is one possibility. But as you can understand, buttons in some way have been unconsciously connected to negative or unhelpful thoughts or emotions. Very often it really isn’t always possible to identify the original trauma. In these cases, as a hypnotherapist, I allow the phobia sufferer the freedom to explore their past to try and find any associations which might be connected to the cause of their problem. If that is not possible there are plenty of other more symptom focussed hypnotherapy and NLP or CBT approaches we can take.
Sometimes these anxious problems cannot be discussed with anybody due to embarrassment and the feeling of shame. Sessions need to feel safe and a environment where a person can talk feely without feeling judged and can discuss problems without any fear or shame. The anxiety about buttons can be seen through the lens of “repression” theory, which means the emotional experience in the unconscious part of the brain.
Book phobia of buttons hypnotherapy today
If you would like help to reduce anxiety or feelings of unease around buttons, get in touch. Sessions will involve hypnotherapy, which is an effective and safe treatment. Hypnotherapy for button phobia, sometimes called suggestion therapy, is about positive change work carried out whilst in a gentle sate of relaxation. As well as dealing with symptoms of the phobia, we will look at causes and you will also imagine yourself in a more positive and confident manner.
I also use Neurolinguistic programming (NLP). NLP provides techniques that enable a person to change the way that he/she thinks, view past events, and how they approach life challenges. NLP can educate the phobia of buttons sufferer on how to control their mind better. NLP uses various techniques such as building rapport, anchoring, content re-framing. These all contribute to reprogramme the mind. So NLP techniques can be a powerful assert and will help either to decrease or eradicate button phobia altogether.
If you would like to try phobia of buttons hypnotherapy sessions in London, get in touch today.
