"It Seems so Simple"

"It seems so simple".....  a recent client of mine must have repeated this several times as we completed her appointment for an almost lifelong phobia of frogs.  Post session she knew inside that something had changed, the thought of frogs no longer gave her that old panicked fight or flight response she had had for decades up until just over an hour ago. And now, well, now she wants to test it and is lamenting that it's not the right time of year for frogs!

A few days later, I receive an email from my client telling me about how a frog had shown up in her garden unexpectedly - and her response?  Markedly different, curious, remaining calm and at peace - entirely different from her previous reactions only a few days before.

I Almost find Myself Preempting my Clients Scepticism

Now, I'm no magician and I possess no magical abilities, however I almost find myself preempting my clients scepticism as I explain that there may be a very rapid and comfortable fix available for their phobia.  After all, isn't this something which the person has lived with for years, possibly decades and as far back as they can remember?  Something that has hung around for that long often tends to feel like it's a part of you now.  So if I hadn't experienced it myself, I'd be a massive sceptic too.  Cure this lifelong debilitating and life limiting phobia in an hour?  I'd tell the person they must be having a laugh.

Now, I'm as honest and straight talking as they come and I proudly announce that actually...

...yes it can be that simple, and I know it's that simple because I've witnessed it countless times with my clients.

A client with a long term flying phobia texts me euphorically from Italy the next day after her session following a comfortable and enjoyable flight, or the woman who has had a needle phobia (she used to faint around needles) since her teens actually feeling excited about having her bloods taken, when it happens watching the procedure with curiosity and going on to administer IVF drugs for herself easily.

These are not made up accounts, these are real people who were amazed and astounded at their personal transformations.

So, Put Simply, Here is what is Happening with a Phobic Response..

A phobia is often classed as an irrational fear - a fear or something which logically (if you really think about it) holds no danger to you.  However, the amygdala response - that fight or flight part that has successfully kept our ancestors safe from saber toothed tigers and facilitated the human race to continue, well it has the exact same response to the phobic trigger.

How?  Well, phobias are often laid down when we are very young and the original memory of that first experience is often outside of our conscious memory - and at the time when it was laid down, the amygdala tagged it and said:

"dogs / needles / frogs / water / childbirth (add phobia of your choice here) are dangerous, run/freeze/fight every time..."

So that's what happens.  Many people can't consciously remember where this irrational and powerful fear came from, they just know that their phobic response has been uncomfortable and uncontrollable and bypassed all conscious thought up until now.  Simply put, a phobia is triggered, the amygdala screams to keep safe sending a person into fight, flight or freeze mode and the conscious mind has absolutely no say in the response - it's pure instinctive survival mode.

How Does Hypnosis Work to Achieve a More Comfortable Response?

That old memory, and it doesn't even have to be the first memory - just the strongest one in your memory of a time when your phobic response has been triggered - this is what we work with.  In a state of deep relaxation you can reprocess that memory so it takes its place among all the other long term memories and, therefore, altering your response in  the now.

The process unhooks that old memory from the amygdala and lifts those old associated feelings.  You will find a new perspective, a new set of resources and behaviours which allow you to surprise yourself when you next find yourself in a situation where you're in close quarters to that old phobia trigger.

I'm Always Delighted, and Rarely Surprised by my Clients Achievements.

As I said before, I'm no magician, but I am a learner through experience - and in my experience Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool when it comes to curing extreme phobic responses.