Fears & Phobias

Imagine a typical day. You get out of bed, go to the bathroom, wash, dress, eat breakfast, go to work, school or spend the day leisurely. Perhaps you drive or take a bus. On your route you see a dog, some balloons in a shop; you might see a bird or an insect, think about the party you are going to or your winter sun holiday. Sounds good, doesn't it? For some people though, every one of those activities causes real fear, a panic or phobia.

A phobia is a persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it. The activities I have mentioned above are a snapshot of some of the fears and phobias I see in my hypnotherapy practice - and yes, some will sound very strange. But can you imagine being so frightened of sleeping on a mattress that you sleep on a fold up camp bed, or afraid of stepping onto a bus or terrified of driving a car and unable to fly away to that sunny beach? What about going to a party? Fears of balloons are not unusual - think about how many times you see a balloon in the course of a week. This time of year can be especially challenging if you are scared of fireworks and loud bangs.

In fact, if you have a phobia your mind is actually doing a really clever thing! Think about it - once, just once, something frightened you. You might not even have been aware at the time that you had been scared by that thing. Perhaps you heard someone scream when you saw a spider and your mind decided that spiders were something to be frightened of, or you developed a fear of driving after an accident. Whatever it was that caused that fear, you learnt it once and then your mind has remembered it ever since. You don't even need to think about it, it just happens every time you are faced with or even think about it. Isn't that clever? You might forget to pick up your door keys on your way out, something you do every day, often several times a day. But that fear, there it is, remembered every time!

For some people, their fears hold them back from leading the life the want to live. But, you know, it really does not have to be this way. If your mind can learn a fear with just one incident and then remember it, don't you think it makes sense that your mind can learn not to have that fear? With the right help, you really can be free of those old fears!

There are many fears and phobias, and many different ways to treat them. I use several different techniques - each client's requirement is different, so even for an identical phobia, I don't always use an identical treatment. I can promise though that I will always ensure that you feel safe and secure - there will be no scary confronting you with your fears head-on the second you arrive in my therapy room.

The most important thing is that you are ready and willing to deal with that old fear or phobia. Don't be frightened, if there is something worrying or scaring you, you really can conquer it!

If you would like more information on fear and phobias or hypnotherapy, do please call me for a chat!

Lindsay Shepherd 01202 5011096, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it www.lindsayshepherdhypnotherapy.co.uk