Fear is perfectly natural and a safeguard in many occasions, we are afraid to go too near the edge of a cliff, afraid perhaps of snakes, or to go too near the fire! Perfectly natural and helping to preserve life, but not totally controlling us. When the fear affects our behaviour in a totally controlling way, it has become a phobia! That is something which is feared to the extent that behaviour has to be changed in order to be safe.
Many phobias start in our early lives, ages up to ten or twelve years old are particularly habit forming, and when accompanied by strong negative emotion become programmed into our subconscious minds. There are two main types of phobia, specific ones like fear of spiders, snakes, dogs and other definable sources, or social phobias where one is embarrassed in certain gatherings or meetings where one has to “perform” in front of others. Public speaking, the most common one of all, close encounters with groups or speaking to an audience.
A new born baby has only two fears, that of falling and of loud noise but soon largely out grows these. It will happily play with a spider but if it grows up seeing a parent or friend shake with fear on seeing the little creatures, a strong fear develops. Deepened by repetition. Locked in the subconscious mind. Any pattern repeated becomes more deeply entrenched in the mind. Consciously one can actually know that the fear is illogical, but that is not how the mind works.
So, how does the mind work? Nobody has actually seen a mind but psychology has suggested that the mind is in two parts, a conscious and a sub conscious without going into the realm of the super conscious which receives intuition or spirit communication, depending on your belief. But that’s another subject! The conscious mind has an ability to accept or reject suggestion, if I am with you in a hot room and say it is freezing cold, your conscious mind will not accept that suggestion. The sub conscious is merely a computer which stores information, virtually everything from birth is there somewhere. It is a remarkable computer, however, whose limits we do not understand, its capabilities immeasurable. When the top mind is relaxed, into alpha rhythm, suggestions may be made, and accepted by, the deeper part of mind, as long as the suggestions are acceptable to the recipient. Obviously, when one is coming for Hypnotherapy, the suggestions are always given in a positive form whilst the subject is in a relaxed state. Sometimes regression into the cause of the phobia is required, other times suggestion may suffice. The regression allows the client to re-enact an earlier incident and adopt a different perception of the event and its influences. All registered therapists must act by a strict code of practice in these instances. Safeguards must be acknowledged as to who is taken on as a client, with regard to previous psychological treatments if they are to be accepted.
I would be very interested to hear of any of your experiences with genuine hypnotherapy, and to answer any questions which you may have, on 01983 866999 or email: denclare3@gmail.com