Hypnosis and Fears

Welcome to my 17th blog post. Wow time has flown since I started this blog in April 2013. It just shows how many things hypnosis can be used for; when I am just getting around to talking about 'Fears' now, which is the third most common reason people book an appointment with me. Fears are quite common, with people coming to see me for help with a 'fear of spiders'; 'fear of flying'; 'fear of dogs' and even 'fear of having a fear'! Some famous people even have debilitating fears including Dutch footballer Dennis Bergkamp (flying); Blink182 drummer Travis Barker (flying); Nicole Kidman (Butterflys) and Johnny Depp (Spiders), to name a few.

None of us are born with 'fears' (except the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises). Fears are actually something that we 'learn' (usually from parents) and take on as we grow up and experience life. Last Halloween for example, a group of children knocked on my door playing 'trick or treat'. They were wearing the scariest masks you ever seen .... and I answered with my 6 month old daughter in my arms, and unlike me, who for a split second was admittedly taken aback by very real masks of werewolves, witches and Jason from Friday the 13th!, my daughter playfully attempted to grab the masks that they were wearing, while wearing a big smile. No fear at all. 

Unfortunately we pick up a lot of fears from those people that influence us at that very suggestible age between 3-10. A few months back I witnessed one of my family members screaming 'SPIDER! SPIDER! SPIDER!' in the presence of her little son, who looked very afraid. At that point I stepped in and told him that 'the spider was lost' and 'he is much more afraid of us than we are of him', and 'shall we bring him home to his mommy and daddy who will be worrying about him?' I then proceeded to get an empty glass and a piece of paper and, gently removed our eight legged friend from the wall and placed him safe and sound out in the back garden. All the while the fascinated little boy, following me to see what I was up to. A few weeks passed and I then heard back that all of a sudden it seemed that for the while it seemed like this little boys mission to save spiders! 

In saying all that above, it might surprise people that on most occasions I do not do an age regression back to the (usually uncomfortable) situation in which a person picked up a fear. Instead I help people detach from the emotions of their fears, making them seem insignificant. Just thinking about it differently in the present moment. Helping people to have a new automatic way of thinking and therefore feeling. Change is permanent because it happens at the subconscious level. I also teach my clients techniques like 'mindfulness' and a simple 'breathing exercise' to help them be in control in any vulnerable situations. Even using a hypnotic induction like 'progressive muscle relaxation' will help my clients to take control over their bodies. Whatever technique I use, they usually see a dramatic improvement in their ability to function and think regarding the fear situation. 

It is important to note though that we all have fears at some level and sometimes they serve a purpose and keep us out of harms way. However the key is that fear should be our 'servant' and not 'our master'. In many cases I am not looking to remove the fear completely (although if that happens great!), but instead to reduce it, by 20% or up to 80%, sometimes more. For someone with a 'fear of spiders' for example, I am not asking them to go to the pet shop

and buy a pet tarantula once the session is finished. What is important is that the majority of my clients notice that they are less fearful and can control their thoughts and emotions. What's important is that we have utilized the trance state to address their fear.

My 'Hypnosis for Fears' program consists of 3 sessions and costs 195 euros.

Well folks that is all for this time around. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and please tune in soon for my 18th blog post.

© Trevor Eivers 2014

 
My name is Trevor Eivers and I am based in Waterford, Ireland. I am a Certified Consulting Hypnotist (since 2010) with the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH), which is the largest hypnosis body in the world with over 14,000 members in 83 different countries worldwide. I am also a Certified NLP practitioner. I love my job in which I help everyday people with everyday issues. Contact me at 086-8211677 or check me out online at waterford-hypnosis.com or Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trevor-Eivers-Hypnosis/177881245578285