Phobias - What They Are And How To Eliminate Them Using Nlp

DEFINITION AND SYMPTOMS OF PHOBIAS:
A phobia can be defined as an unfounded fear or dread. When a person has a panic attack, they get terrified feelings; their respiration and heart rates increase; they may feel choked up like their heart is in their throat; the palms of their hands often get sweaty; they may hear a sound of ringing in their ears; and they quite often find that they are unable to participate in an activity. These feelings push the individual to avoid the situations and places that trigger them.

SOME EXAMPLES OF PHOBIAS:
For example, if an individual has a fear of driving, they would display these symptoms whenever they try to drive, or perhaps even when they think about driving. Or a terror attack may well come to pass simply when driving in specific places like in heavy traffic.

The irrational fear of talking in front of a group of people is a comparatively widespread phobia. The phobic feelings appear when the individual begins to talk in front of a person that they are intimidated by, or they may perhaps have alarmed feelings only while in front of a group of people. The number of people in the assembly of people will vary. This phobia can be set off by fears of inadequacy, or a lack of self-confidence.

Those who suffer from a social phobia can get dreadfully panicky just being around other folks, even folks they are acquainted with. It is a fear that they will be criticized or evaluated by other people. This fear can be set off by almost any type of social relations. A person could be waiting on line at a checkout and get phobic feelings as they imagine having to talk to the checker as they checkout.

The fear of taking a test (which is regularly known as test anxiety) is quite a common phobia. A phobia to taking tests is rooted in comparing yourself to other folks, and is deeply rooted in a fear of failing.

People have experienced irrational fears to every kind of experience under the sun. For example: Bugs; animals; snakes; high places; flying; small enclosed places; and even the great outdoors.

Agoraphobia is generally thought to be a fear of open spaces. However, this definition is quite deceptive because Agoraphobics are really afraid of having a panic attack, wherever they may happen to be. This phobia is developed when a person begins to avoid places or situations they have associated with anxiety. For example, they could have a panic attack at home, church, or in a grocery store.

For many phobics, once their panic attacks have begun, they begin to wait for them to happen. And this expectation actually causes them to occur with increasing frequency. Other folks experience fearful feelings on a continuous basis. These feelings cause an overall discomfort, rather than panic.

FORMS OF TREATMENT OBTAINABLE

DRUGS:
Some physicians treat their patients by means of sedatives, which can make the phobia worse over protracted treatment. Sedatives don't work on the underlying root of a phobia; they only camouflage some of the symptoms.

TALK THERAPY:
Some schools of therapy recommend "Talk Therapy." Talk therapy is only talking about what is bothering you. Unfortunately, talking about or even thinking about a situation or environment that triggers a phobic attach can trigger a phobic attack!

HYPNOSIS:
Traditional self hypnosis has been used to treat phobias, but with very little success. Traditional hypnotic therapy is accomplished when the therapist places the client in a relaxed state of self hypnosis and then gives her post-hypnotic suggestions or commands. Since most people of our generation question and resist direct post-hypnotic suggestions, they also reject the notion that they will be more relaxed and at ease when they encounter the situation or environment that triggers their panic attacks.

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION:
Systematic Desensitization is the process of progressively desensitizing a phobic person to the environment or situation that triggers a panic attack. For example, if a woman wants to dive from a high diving board but fears it, she is asked to first dive from a height that she feels confident about. She dives in and realizes that she did not get hurt and that she is secure.

Next she is asked to dive from the lowest step of the ladder going up to the high diving board. Again, she dives in and realizes that she wasn't hurt and that she is again safe and secure.

Over a period of time the phobic is asked to dive in from progressively higher steps on the ladder. Each time she dives in and realizes that nothing bad happened to her and that she is safe and secure, she is able to move up to the next rung on the ladder. If she experiences the sensation of fear, then she is told to move back down one rung on the ladder and dive from there until she feels complete comfort and security. Sooner or later she makes it to the top of the ladder and is able to dive in from the high board.

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION WHILE IN THE STATE OF HYPNOSIS:
Systematic Desensitization can be done literally while in a hypnotic state with as good as or even better results. While in a relaxed state of self hypnosis, the woman would be told to picture herself diving in from each step on the ladder. She would be told to visualize herself feeling confident and relaxed as she watches herself dive in. Since she is in fact disassociated while visualizing herself, she is unable to experience a phobic attack.

Next she is told to associate, or put the camera inside of her head so she would be seeing what she would see through her eyes if she was actually diving in from each rung of the ladder. She is told to imagine feeling safe and relaxed as she dives in.

Just as in a live (in vivo) systematic desensitization, if she feels any anxiety she is told to go back to the previous lower rung on the ladder and visualize diving in from that step. She might be taught to generate a kinesthetic (feeling or touch) "anchor" for feelings of safety and security. She could then trigger that anchor while visualizing that she is diving, and the feelings of safety and security could be subjectively transferred to the act of diving.

Systematic Desensitization while in hypnosis can be exceptionally useful and successful, but is can also be slow and take several hypnotic sessions to bring about a cure.

NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING V/K DISASSOCIATION:
Neuro-Linguistic Programming is fundamentally the study of how we create our reality. The V/K stands for visual / kinesthetic. The V/K Disassociation is a technique that allows a trained NLP Practitioner to guide a subject through specific visual imagery that quickly and in many cases instantly disconnects or disassociates the feelings of terror from the irrational fear that causes them. The V/K Disassociation is known as the "One session phobia cure" in Neuro-Linguistic Programming circles, and with good reason.

CONCLUSION:
Irrational fears are very common in our civilization. They are fears that aren't based in reality. There are many methods for treating phobias, but so far in my opinion, the best treatments are Systematic Desensitization while hypnotized, and the Neuro-Linguistic Programming V/K Disassociation technique.