Cognitive Hypnotherapy For Phobias

Overcoming Irrational Fears and Fight-or-Flight Responses

"Phobia (noun) - An extreme or irrational fear of something" - Oxford English Dictionary (Compact version)

That's a pretty dry and rather vague definition of a widespread health problem that is estimated to affect up to 90% of people at some point in their lives (with 70% being mildly phobic about something and 20% having a full-on phobia).

A stimulus of some kind (such as being in a particular situation or perceiving something regarded by the observer as potentially threatening or dangerous) matches a previous "encounter" in our memory, which is accessed via our subconscious (which is always attempting to keep us safe).

This triggers our fight-or-flight response, which in turn causes a cascade of physical and mental symptoms - raised heart rate, increased metabolic rate, faster breathing, sharper / narrower focus, restricted thinking etc. We are ready to fight the problem, or run away from it, even though in reality it may be harmless.

Simple vs. Complex Phobias

Cognitive Hypnotherapy is cutting-edge therapy that can be used to help successfully treat many different types of phobia by using the wide variety of tools and techniques at our disposal. Bear in mind that some phobias are straightforward to deal with (usually have simple and easily identifiable origins), whereas others have more complex roots in the subconscious (perhaps connected to areas such as control, conflict etc.) that can take a little longer to resolve.

Although people can become phobic towards almost anything, the most common phobias (I have worked with patients presenting with all of these) include:

  • Fear of spiders (Arachnophobia)
  • Fear of flying (Pteromerhanophobia, Aviophobia)
  • Fear of heights (Acrophobia, sometimes linked to flying)
  • Fear of unusual open spaces such as leaving home (Agoraphobia)
  • Fear of dogs (Cynophobia)
  • Fear of thunder or lightning (Astraphobia, Brontophobia)
  • Fear of injections or taking blood (Trypanophobia)
  • Fear of social situations (Sociophobia, often linked to social anxiety)
  • Fear of germs or dirt (Mysophobia, often linked to OCD)
  • Fear of dentists (Dentophobia, Odontophobia)
  • Fear of enclosed spaces (Claustrophobia)
  • Fear of vomit (Emetophobia)
  • Fear of cancer (Carcinophobia)
  • Fear of death or dead things (Necrophobia, Thanatophobia)
  • Fear of water (Aquaphobia)
  • Fear of public speaking (Glossophobia)
  • Fear of wasps or bees (Spheksophobia, Apiphobia)

Practice Locations Across London, Kent & Remote Hypnotherapy

If you are looking for local in-person support to overcome an intrusive fear or phobia, I offer confidential, professional Cognitive Hypnotherapy sessions at my practices in Sevenoaks (Four Elms), Tunbridge Wells, Chelsea, Bexleyheath, London Bridge, and Clapham (conveniently providing hypnotherapy for surrounding South London neighbourhoods like Herne Hill, Denmark Hill, West Norwood, and Tulse Hill), as well as conducting comprehensive Online sessions for those who prefer remote care.