The fear of heights, known as acrophobia, is an extremely common phobia experienced by people of all ages. In fact, studies have shown that to some extent, a fear of heights is natural for many humans and mammals. What transforms a common fear of heights into a phobia is that the feeling is so severe that it is viewed as overblown, or it gets in the way of a person's daily activities. In an attempt to evade heights, individuals with acrophobia often refuse to go near tall buildings, balconies, and other common areas and situations. In many people, just thinking about heights can be enough to trigger a panic attack.
Acrophobia can be triggered in any high-up location that makes a person feel anxious. This includes rooftops, ladders, bridges, staircases, roller coasters, and many other areas we encounter in day-to-day life. Some individuals with a phobia of heights feel comfortable in some areas, like their own two-story home, but get scared in other places, such as when they are climbing up a ladder.
The fear of heights can trigger very intense symptoms, including nausea, dizziness, anxiety attacks, fainting, shaking, sweating, and several others. Unlike many common phobias, many individuals with a fear of heights don't respond by getting "hysterical," but instead become "petrified" or frozen with fear. For example, a person might ascend a ladder, but suddenly become too scared to get down and become trapped in this manner.
Acrophobia can be especially debilitating because sufferers may find themselves panicking in situations where they need to keep calm and relaxed in order to keep safe. People who find themselves in an elevated place, such as the top of a staircase or a ladder, may suffer an anxiety attack which causes physical injury. Or, a sufferer might start trembling so violently that they risk falling and getting hurt. It is thus crucial for people whose fear of heights could be harmful to get treatment for their fear.
In the past, treatments included repeatedly exposing a patient to heights so they would to "confront their fear." This method proves traumatic and unsuccessful for most people. Other, more functional options include medication and counseling. Hypnotherapy is an ideal option because it is safe, effective, and non-invasive.
Conventional hypnosis works through direct post-hypnotic suggestions. In modern times, this approach often proves ineffective. Today, people are very independent minded and will resist post-hypnotic suggestions by unconsciously refusing their orders. Skilled hypnotists now utilize more advanced Ericksonian hypnosis techniques to circumvent this problem.
Ericksonian hypnosis, as developed by Milton Erickson, MD, is a greatly more effective form of hypnotherapy than traditional methods. It uses indirect suggestions rooted in conversation, metaphors, and stories to direct the unconscious mind into a different, phobia-free thought process. This is effective because it is far more difficult for the unconscious mind to resist suggestions set in a dialogue, than direct post-hypnotic suggestions that are apparent to the mind.
A well-designed hypnotherapy program combines a multitude of techniques to ensure its effectiveness for every individual. The combination of many Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques is ideal for virtually everyone trying to rid him or herself of a phobia.
The combined program begins with a relaxation therapy session. Once your mind is calm and clear, NLP techniques can be used to cure a phobia. All phobias stem from the same thought process, so all it takes is a single hypnotherapy program with the right design to vanquish any phobia, or even more than one phobia.
Summary: Several types of therapy depend on conscious effort to treat a phobia, but this often does not work because phobias are rooted deep in the unconscious mind. The techniques found in Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP are especially effective at curing phobias because they operate at the unconscious level of the mind. Phobias are triggered when the emotion of fear is unconsciously connected to mental imagery, such as the view from a high position. By separating or disassociating the emotion of fear from the image, certain hypnotic and NLP techniques can permanently eliminate an anxiety disorder very rapidly.
Hypnotherapy sessions can help a person rapidly and easily defeat a fear of heights. Hypnosis therapy is one of the safest kinds of phobia remedies ever designed, with no side effects. For men and women trying to beat acrophobia or any other phobia, hypnotherapy provides a well-balanced form of stress-free phobia relief.
Many people have emetophobia, but this fear is rarely brought up or discussed. This phobia is the fear of vomit. People afflicted with severe emetophobia will do anything to avoid vomiting or the sight of vomit. Although emetophobics usually cope by avoiding the source of their fear, it can be eliminated using techniques like Ericksonian hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Emetophobia is an extremely common phobia with many consequences for its sufferers. Some people will not dine out or with guests out of fear of acquiring a stomach ailment. Expectant women with emetophobia are often terrified of developing morning sickness. The phobia also makes it hard for mothers and fathers to tend to their infants or care for their young kids if they fall ill.
The phobia can interfere with an individual's willingness or ability to go on trips and vacations. A person might dread the thought of visiting another country and falling ill. Many individuals will avoid public areas because they fear falling ill or even witnessing someone else who feels sick. The phobia also interferes with one's ability to work in some careers, such as medicine and healthcare.
The phobia is often rooted in childhood cases of vomiting. Sufferers may recall the unpleasant experience of being ill and wish to avoid it at all times. They may also fear illness because they link it with a loss of physical control. The phobia affects many people of every age.
Emetophobia can lead to other anxiety disorders and phobias. Many sufferers will develop agoraphobia, a fear of unfamiliar places which can confine a person to their own home. People with emetophobia may also possess a strong fear of germs or hospitals. What starts as emetophobia can quickly escalate into a number of serious conditions caused by the original fear.
Some sufferers try to deal with their emetophobia by avoiding it whenever possible, but the phobia can be successfully cured with options ranging from therapy to medication. However, there are a number of challenges involved with treating emetophobia. The phobia usually becomes strongly associated with overwhelmingly negative imagery in the unconscious. The feeling is so deeply rooted that it cannot be regulated by willpower or conscious effort alone. People with emetophobia may realize that their fear is overblown, but continue to feel helpless to do anything about their fear.
Hypnosis therapy is a perfect tool for curing phobias because it can dissociate the sensation of fear from negative imagery in the unconscious mind. It is a proven form of safe and non-invasive therapy that provides a permanent phobia cure.
Hypnotic treatments often take the form of a program broken down into many, easy-to-understand sessions. A thorough program starts with relaxation therapy. This has a calming effect and helps make the mind more receptive to hypnotherapy. Once a person is relaxed and anxiety-free, hypnosis directs the unconscious mind into a new, phobia-free thinking process.
Ericksonian hypnosis is ideal for independent minded thinkers, such as the many emetophobia sufferers who always try to control over their own health and well-being. It uses indirect suggestions embedded in stories, metaphors, and dialogues. It offers an alternative to conventional hypnosis techniques, which use direct post-hypnotic suggestions to treat individual phobias. These traditional techniques may fail because people have a tendency to question and resist direct suggestions. These issues can be circumvented using Ericksonian hypnosis.
Because emetophobia frequently occurs other anxiety disorders such as germophobia and agoraphobia, it is important for a good treatment program to work for all these issues. Ericksonian hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques work more effectively than conventional hypnosis programs because they are not phobia specific; they can be used to cure any phobia, or even multiple phobias. Moreover, the combined program will work for most users because it contains a wide range of techniques to suit any person.
People are often amazed at how easily they achieve results using hypnosis. It has allowed many people quickly beat their phobias and it's a leading form of phobia treatment. The techniques found in Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP are successful treatments for many fears and anxiety disorders. The techniques have the answer for helping many emetophobia sufferers vanquish their fears and feel comfortable and in control.