Good news: Most phobias even ones you’ve had your entire life can be cured.
The most common type of phobia is specific phobia which is fear of a particular animal, object or situation such as spiders and flying. This type of phobia may develop after a traumatic experience while others may develop a phobia as a result of observing other people’s traumatic experience called vicarious learning such as seeing someone else get bitten by a dog.
Psychologists believe that people who are prone to phobias are ones with a high emotional reactivity which may be genetic. They react to stressful events more intensely and quickly learn to avoid the situation that triggered those highly unpleasant emotions.
Specific phobias are successfully treated by hypnosis which exposes the individual through imagery to the highly stressful situation. This is done through exposure in imagery to a graduated hierarchy of situations leading up to the most stressful event. The hypnotist will expose the individual to each image starting with the lowest in the hierarchy. The length of treatment will depend on the individual’s tolerance of each step leading up to the most anxious event. Usually the hypnotist will know by the end of the first session whether or not the individual is a good candidate for hypnosis.
If you suffer from a phobia and avoid situations that might cause anxiety, please feel free to call me at 361.442.9590 or email at holtadams2002@yahoo.com. I am happy to talk to you about your situation and to see if hypnosis might be the right tool for you. There is no need to keep avoiding situations in life that you think might create too much anxiety.