Phobias can develop around anything; I once had a client who was phobic about bananas! Yes, they are irrational, there are in fact only TWO natural fears: the fear of loud noises and the fear of falling. All other fears are learnt patterns no matter how long you have held them. Yet if a phobia becomes very severe, you may organise your life around avoiding the thing that’s causing anxiety. Avoidant behaviours can become overwhelming and debilitating restricting your day-to-day life and causing considerable anguish. If you don’t encounter the source of your phobia very often, it may not overly affect your everyday life. However, if you have a complex phobia such as agoraphobia, or social phobia leading a normal life may be very difficult and you are likely to need professional help.
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. You may not experience any symptoms until you encounter the source of your phobia. However, in some cases, even thinking about the source of a phobia can make you feel anxious or panicky. This is known as anticipatory anxiety.
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Almost all phobias can be successfully treated and cured using a combination of neurolinguistic programming and hypnosis.
“Neuro-Linguistic Programming is an attitude and a methodology, which leaves behind a trail of techniques”
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can help with phobias by altering the negative thought patterns and associated behaviours linked to the fear, essentially ‘reframing’ the experience to create a more positive response to the phobic stimulus, allowing individuals to gradually face their fears with less anxiety through techniques like visualisation, anchoring, and reframing. We are likely to use what is known as the Fast Phobia Cure in combination with –
Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis in a clinical setting.
During your hypnotherapy session, I will use relaxation techniques to help you reach a state where the conscious part of your mind is relaxed, and your subconscious part is more open to suggestion. Then, utilising the power of suggestion I will ‘talk’ directly to your subconscious mind to activate the changes you’re looking for.
In relatively few steps you can overcome problems that have been stopping you live your life as you truly want to. The first step is for us to have a chat so I can understand how stress is playing out in your life.
A combination hypnosis and neurolinguistic programming is usually the treatment of choice for phobias. Whatever else we do we will use NLP Fast Phobia Cure and hypnosis to help you relax and to change your mind set. Nevertheless, during our initial consultation I will thoroughly explore all the possibilities. I’ll take your history to ascertain any triggering event which set off the phobia in the first place. It may unfold that it would be best to first tackle the root cause, working together we’ll decide the best approach, whatever else, the session will always be tailor made to YOU, based upon your needs!
However, since phobias are an anxiety disorder we will include an element of relaxation. Sessions are as individual as you, however one of the most thorough pieces of research on self-hypnosis (and ALL hypnosis IS self-hypnosis as you are the one that is in control) was done over a 6-week period in the outpatient department of a psychiatric hospital revealed that an astounding 60% of the trial group needed no therapeutic intervention beyond the relaxation programme.
Relaxation is underrated in the world today and will always feature somewhere in the work we do together. It is for this same reason that I offer self-hypnosis and meditation classes and have related self-help products alongside my private practice.
Your session will be specific to your situation, beginning by looking at the big picture. Something that has built up over several years can take a bit of unpicking while other things are straight forward and surprisingly simple to deal with. It will become clear as we talk it through.
I can also come to your event or workplace to deliver an informal, yet informative talk pitched at whatever issue you are currently looking to tackle.
All sessions are private and confidential.
I am accredited by the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapists and work to their ethical standards.
As a therapist I love it when a client phones me with aviophobia because I know they’re going to get results. The range of results can vary from “okay I can do it now, but I still don’t like it” to “I love it and I got on a plane to Australia from Scotland with my knickers in the air!”
I’ll explain using three short case studies.
The first case study is Kate who previously had to dose herself to the eyeballs to go on a flight. Kate was on retreat with me and volunteered for a demonstration I was giving. I regressed her to the time she had ‘that awful flight’ and even though it was only a short demo session with no follow ups Kate is now able to fly without drugs. She still doesn’t like it, but she can do it.
The next client I’m going to bring is Alison, a most fantastic story, really. As a matter of course I have to say to my client is there any particular reason why you are frightened of flying. Nine times out of ten there is no event that causes it, and the fear or phobia is based on anything rooted from deep anxiety to mild anxiety about flying which often comes with a smattering of agoraphobia and claustrophobia. I certainly didn’t expect the answer that this young woman gave me. Thank goodness my trainer trained me well. Alison responded that she was in two plane crashes in one day!!! The odds are so stacked against that happening. Again, I did a regression, not a full psychological regression as I sometimes do, this was a very clear case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We went back and released the emotional charge; then I helped her reframe the situation. I fully expected to revisit at the follow-up session, having two plane crashes in the same day was something that blew my mind. However, when she came back, she was fine, and her second session was simply confidence building and relaxation. This young woman had no choice but to fly because of her job and she had taken flights between her first session and second session, so we knew, that was it, job done!
The third one is my favourite. I can’t remember her name but still remember the sadness in her face when she told me all her grandchildren lived abroad and she couldn’t visit because of her fear of flying, I could have cried for her. She absolutely could not get on a flight. However, with one set of grandchildren in Australia and another in South Africa she was determined to face her fear. She felt it wasn’t fair for her young family to have to fly to Scotland all the time and it was her job to get on the flight and go do her ‘grannying’ in foreign shores. At the time I was working in Bannatyne’s Health Club, there was an elevator there which was going to be useful with the smattering of claustrophobia present in this woman’s case. As I laughed and joked during the pre-session warm up, don’t ask me how, but we got to the subject of red knickers. It became a standing joke between us, so I made an anchor of the red knickers. It just so happens that red is the colour of the base chakra, it’s very grounding and so there were even esoteric foundations behind the red knicker story 😊
We had several sessions, building up to the point where she could get in the elevator, yes, with her red knickers on. I had set it up so the first time she arrived on the first floor she was greeted with a round of applause from the good-looking young fitness instructors there that day. That created a very positive and funny experience for her. Handsome young men, red knickers and success was a winning combination. She then learned self-hypnosis, I put in some very good suggestions, she already had the motivational goal – to see her grandchildren. This woman had all the motivation she needed so her success story was not only “I can do it” but “I love it!”.
I often wonder what else this granny achieved in life. Over so many years of practice I do occasionally bang into someone who has worked with me in the past and love to hear tales of how mastering that small fear or phobia leads them onto mastering so much more in life.
If you have any questions about your fear of flying or indeed, anything else please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.
Fear of spiders or arachnophobia is when someone feels uneasy in any area where there could be spiders or that has visible signs of their presence, such as webs. If arachnophobics see a spider, they may not enter the general vicinity until they have overcome the panic attack that is often associated with this phobia. Some people scream, cry, have trouble breathing, have excessive sweating or even heart trouble when they come in close to an area near spiders or their webs. In some extreme cases, even a picture or drawing of a spider can also trigger fear.
I love dealing with GLOSSOPHOBIA -or fear of talking in public – the second most common phobia, I love it because it is so easily dealt with and contrary to popular belief, it is possible to speak publicly and have a smooth, successful, enjoyable experience. There may of course be underlying anxiety so here are some tips that will change the whole experience for you.
First let’s start with debunking these common myths-
No, not exactly. Practice your speech repeatedly, I usually write, rewrite, re-edit, speak it out loud, edit again… and then never actually look at the script on the day, it’s there in front of me but having put in the hours I in invariably never need it. So, yes, you do need to put in the hours, in fact they say 20 hours of practice for 5 minutes of talking, but it’s more effective to memorise concepts than words. Every audience is different and if you are clear on the concepts and have put in the work, you will find that it flows on the night.
Yes, they are. The audience need to be prepared and receptive to your message. Get someone else to make the introductions, after writing them carefully yourself!
Rubbish, best thing is to ensure there are no barriers between you and your audience. Ditch the lectern, desk or anything else that impedes connection! Connect with your audience energetically.
No, doing so makes you appear stiff and uptight. Purposeful, authentic animation increases the audience’s and your own energy. You can also emphasise and anchor key points.
‘Fraid not, they may not be there by choice. To keep everyone’s attention, engage with them through eye contact, movement, keep your information meaningful and your style natural.
On the contrary, some nervousness is good, keeping you on your toes and energised.
Speak to individuals one at a time, no matter how many are in the seats.
Your speech is not about you. It’s about your audience. Keep your focus on what they need.
Don’t assume anything! Check equipment, bring back-up materials, prepare for the unexpected.
Yes they would if you can help people make money, get over a problem, enrich their lives, have an authentic story they can relate to!
