Cognitive Hypnotherapy for Phobias | Online UK & West London
Fear is a natural and protective emotion. However, when it is irrational, it can severely limit our ability to live life to the full and prevent us from doing the things we love- for example, a phobia of flying can prevent us from going on holiday, a fear of the dentist can affect our health, and a phobia of public speaking can hold us back professionally for years.
Phobias are persisting and unrealistic fears of objects or situations. They are distressing, cause avoidance, and create excessive and disproportionate emotional reactions. And they can be reversed.
Some of the most common phobias include-
Claustrophobia- fear of enclosed spaces
Agoraphobia- fear of open spaces
Dentophobia- fear of going to the dentist
Glossophobia- fear of public speaking
Aerophobia- fear of flying
Aquaphobia- fear of water
Arachnophobia- fear of spiders
Some of the least common phobias include-
Globophobia- fear of balloons
Emetophobia- fear of sickness, and of being sick
Trypophobia- fear of objects with clusters of holes in
Eisoptrophobia- fear of seeing yourself in a mirror
Plutophobia- fear of money
Somniphobia- fear of falling asleep
Chaetophobia- fear of hair
If your phobia isn't listed here, please do get in touch- phobias of all kinds respond well to this approach, however unusual they may seem.
Why do phobias develop?
Phobias are learned responses- usually formed in the subconscious mind in response to a specific experience, or sometimes developed gradually through repeated avoidance. Once formed, the subconscious treats the trigger as a genuine threat, firing a full fight, flight or freeze response every time it is encountered, regardless of whether any real danger is present.
This is why telling yourself a phobia is irrational rarely helps. You already know that. The response is coming from a part of the mind that operates below conscious reasoning- and so that is exactly where the work needs to happen.
How Cognitive Hypnotherapy helps with phobias
Cognitive Hypnotherapy can gently address and unwind the subconscious root cause of a phobia- allowing the excessive fear to drop away and letting you live a fulfilling, fear-free life.
Rather than requiring repeated exposure to the feared object or situation, Cognitive Hypnotherapy works with the subconscious memory and emotional response maintaining the phobia. Most clients find that the fear response reduces significantly- often within just a small number of sessions- and that triggers which previously caused panic can be met with calm.
Eye Movement Integration can also be particularly effective for phobias, helping the brain process and update the emotional memory at the root of the fear response.
This work forms part of the wider Breath Body Mind Method.
“Ella has helped so much with my fear of spiders. I have gone from total horror to complete calm, all thanks to her amazing guidance.
Thank you, Ella!”