Have you struggled with a lifelong phobia that has prevented you from living your life to its fullest? Well, you’re definitely not alone. Around 19 million Americans suffer from phobias, ranging from mild to severe.

Now, living with a phobia can be quite challenging. Phobias often have far-reaching psychological and emotional effects that can create difficulties in many areas of your life. They can cause severe anxiety and can make a person feel embarrassed, helpless and isolated.

However, it’s important to know that phobias work on a subconscious level, which means that there are certain ways of overcoming them – with hypnotherapy being one of the most effective ones.

With the New Year fast approaching, we’ll tell you how you can use hypnotherapy to overcome your deepest, darkest fears, and turn over a new leaf.

What is a Phobia?

Phobia is the term generally used to describe the fear of a particular situation, or object. However, it can be categorized into three main forms: social phobia, specific phobia, and agoraphobia.

Specific phobia is the extreme, sometimes irrational, fear of a particular triggering object or situation. Social phobia, or social anxiety as it’s commonly referred to, is the fear of being in large gatherings or public spaces where you may embarrass yourself or be judged by others. Agoraphobia, on the other hand, is a fear of certain situations that can cause distress or panic as they’re difficult to escape from. Claustrophobia and acrophobia both fall under the heading of agoraphobia.

What Causes Phobias?

Phobias are usually developed during the early stages of childhood. There’s a multitude of contributing factors, including a particularly traumatic experience and stressful situation that’s encountered frequently. A phobia can even be passed onto you by a family member or a close acquaintance.

How Hypnotherapy Can Help You Overcome Phobias

Like we’ve mentioned above, phobias work on a subconscious level, which means that no matter how many times you tell yourself that a situation isn’t life-threatening, your body and mind will till react with fear. Hypnotherapy changes the way you feel about it and react to your phobia by communicating with your subconscious.

The process itself involves relaxing your mind and body before putting it in a hypnotic state. The hypnotherapist will directly question your subconscious and try to identify the event that triggered it.

Once the root cause of your phobia has been identified, your therapist will use different techniques to help change your response. This typically involves gently and gradually confronting your phobia while being in a calm state.

Rekha Shrivastava at Blossom Hypnosis provides subconscious mind therapy using hypnosis for individuals wishing to overcome phobias and fears. She also helps in treating anxiety and other psychological conditions. Book a free consultation at our office in Rochester, NY. Rekha also offers Skype sessions for clients not residing in Rochester, NY.