Fears and Phobias

Although it may be hard to believe, fear is actually a perfectly normal, and indeed, beneficial part of being human. It is there to literally keep you alive. Our prehistoric ancestors would have been very grateful for this amazing, instinctive ability to recognize and respond to threats, since it helped them to survive in a world in which immediate physical danger was a part of everyday life.

Of course, we inhabit a very different world these days. Although dangers certainly exist, they are much less immediate. Very few of us face being eaten by large predators on a daily basis, thankfully! Nevertheless, we have retained the instincts of our ancestors and the capacity for developing a heightened fear reflex, or phobia.

Many people who suffer from a phobia recognize that their fear is irrational and yet remain unable to control it. This is because the phobic reaction is an entirely instinctive, subconscious reaction. It couldn’t really be any other way. If our ancestors had had to consciously think about whether or not something was a threat, they would probably have been eaten! When the phobia kicks in, the subconscious mind takes over and the rational mind is virtually powerless to intervene.

The good news is that this means that fears and phobias are uniquely susceptible to hypnotic intervention, since hypnotherapy is a way of dealing directly with the subconscious mind. Although the details will vary according to the particular phobia under consideration, all hypnotic phobia cures essentially work the same way – by updating the subconscious mind with new information, allowing it to perceive the phobic object in a new and more realistic way, as something that is not an immediate, physical threat. When this happens, there is no longer any need for the instinctive fear response to be activated.

Our self hypnosis CD's and MP3 downloads have been designed to help you to:

• Unlearn fears and phobias at a deep, subconscious level.
• Calmly distance yourself from any uncomfortable memories.
• Re-frame any unhelpful ideas that may have caused your phobia.
• Rapidly change the interpretation you give to any fearful situations.
• Effectively “reprogram” your mind to be completely free of any phobias.

To achieve the best results possible with our self hypnosis CD's and MP3 downloads we use a combination of pure hypnotic suggestion, desensitization and flooding techniques, various forms of NLP along with other advanced hypnotherapy techniques. Of course, a different approach is needed depending upon the specific fear or phobia being treated.

In essence, most fears and phobias are the result of a powerful learning experience – one which tells you that the spider, dog, confined space or whatever is a genuine and immediate danger to your physical safety. It doesn’t matter that this learning experience is entirely wrong. Your subconscious mind is taking no chances. Once a situation has been labelled as “threat”, the fear response will kick in every time you encounter it. Of course, this becomes self-perpetuating, as every time you feel afraid in a situation, you are reinforcing the message that this is a situation in which you need to be afraid.

Genetics do play a role, but these patterns usually develop as the result of a one-off trauma, such as a painful childhood visit to the dentist, or as the result of prolonged, low-level conditioning. If you spent a lot of time as a child with someone who was scared of spiders, for instance, it is highly likely that you will have developed a fear of spiders too. This is perfectly natural, since all mammals learn what they need to be afraid of from their parents. Fears and phobias, then, are normal human responses that are just happening at inappropriate times.

The short answer is “none”, since “phobia” is just the Greek word for “fear”. However, we tend to think of phobias as being more extreme sorts of fear. You can be afraid of spiders, for example, but still be able to scoop one up in a glass and throw it out the window. A truly arachnophobic person would not be able to do this, since the very thought of a spider can be enough to induce a state of intense fear.

It’s important to note that a phobia isn’t just being a bit anxious about something. It is genuine, mortal terror, since the subconscious mind has convinced itself that you are faced with something that is an immediate and serious threat to your very life and reacted accordingly, even if, in reality, the situation is quite harmless.

All of our self hypnosis CD's and MP3 downloads use the very latest hypnotherapy techniques to ensure that you are deeply relaxed and that you remain deeply relaxed before you even begin to contemplate your phobia. Although it is possible, in rare instances, for someone to feel a little uncomfortable whilst listening to our hypnotherapy recordings, our aim is to help you deal with your fears and phobias in perfect calm and safety. You can listen to all of our self hypnosis CD's and MP3 downloads with full confidence.

This is fine! When dealing with any sort of fear, it is not necessary for you to end up loving whatever it is you happen to be afraid of. You just have to be able to deal with it should you encounter it in your daily life. For example, our “Fear of Spiders” self hypnosis CD / MP3 download will help you to keep your house spider-free, because you’ll be able to feel calm enough to remove them. But you don't have to end up loving spiders and encourage them to wander in!

People can develop a phobia of just about anything, from buttons to balloons. As such, it would be impossible for us to produce a self hypnosis recording for every single possible phobia. Although we have confined ourselves to the most common fears, we have also produced an “Overcome Fears and Phobias” self hypnosis CD / MP3 download, which can be used very successfully for any type of fear that you may have.

Please also be aware that we may have an audio program that is suitable for you, but it may not be listed within our fears and phobias category. For example, if your fears is of social situations, such as public speaking, then please see our "Public Speaking Confidence" self hypnosis CD / MP3 download.

We have over 175 different audio programs to choose from, so if you cannot find anything suitable on this page then we recommend you browse our full range of self hypnosis CD's and MP3 downloads.

A professional hypnotherapist will work with you as an individual, taking account of your own circumstances, resources and goals. We cannot tailor our self hypnosis CD's and downloads in quite the same way. However, a pre-recorded hypnotherapy recording has many advantages, especially if the idea of going to a therapist to confront a phobia seems too daunting. Our self hypnosis CD's / MP3 downloads can be listened to in the safety and privacy of your own home, as many times as you like. This helps to reinforce positive change through repetition.

The pace of change will be different for everyone, since everyone has their own goals and expectations. Sometimes the change is almost instant, sometimes it’s a case of the fear reducing by degrees. Also, it sometimes happens that it takes a little while for people to realize that their phobia has gone, since they still expect it to be there.

However, all of our self hypnosis CD's and downloads are designed to produce noticeable changes that are meaningful to you, whenever you happen to experience them.

Sadly, hypnosis is not a miracle cure and there are no magic words we can use that will work for absolutely everybody every single time. Human beings are far too complex and individual for that, and the roots of a particular fear or phobia might be too deep to be disentangled by self hypnosis alone.

That said, our hypnotherapy recordings have been created by our team of professional hypnotherapists with huge experience in this area, so we believe that repeated listening to our CD's and MP3 downloads can give you the best possible chance to overcome your fears and phobias.