Fears and phobias limit your ability to get the most out of your life.
In certain cases the fear can prevent you from living even a relatively normal life.
In almost all cases the “fear” can be overcome – not necessarily with treatment, but through learning how to manage your own thoughts and feelings.
We focus on providing generative change rather that just a remedial solution.
Most single issue phobias and “fears” can be resolved in a short period of time using NLP and Time Line Therapy™.
More complex phobias such as fear of flying or claustrophobia may require a more extended time frame.
Panic attacks and what is often called “social phobia” tend to be symptoms of different forms of stress and are likely to need a more thorough approach – and longer time – than a phobia to resolve.
What is fear?
We experience “fear” when we believe we do not have the ability to cope with something.
The fear may be grounded in reality, such being frightened of being knocked down by a car when trying to cross a busy road, or the fear may be irrational such as when we see a small spider.
Many of our fears, even social phobia, are a mix of reality and a misinterpretation of our ability to cope. If there is a large degree of misinterpretation it is likely that the problem is a phobia and not a fear.
What is a phobia?
A “phobia” is mainly an irrational fear of something.
It is important to recognize that a phobia is not an illness nor a mental disorder.
A phobia does not exist because of a lack of will power.
A phobia can make a person’s life miserable, cause acute embarrassment, and undermine a person’s self-confidence and self-esteem.
Types of phobias
A phobia list can appear to be endless! Simple phobias include the fear of a single stimulus, for example, fear of heights, ladders, frogs, enclosed places, and so on.
Complex phobias: such as a fear of a number of stimuli. In fear of flying, for example, the person may be afraid of crashing, being enclosed in the plane, losing self-control, and so on.
Social phobias: normally indicate you are afraid of what might occur when in the company of other people.
This can include fear of blushing, losing self-control, forgetting what you are about to say, fear of trembling, and so on.
Panic attacks: a panic attack can be a terrifying ordeal unless you understand what is happening and why it is happening.
Panic attacks are very common and appear to affect people who normally give an impression of being confident, reliable and dependable.
Agoraphobia: literally “fear of the market place” and, until recently the term was used to describe people who were afraid of open spaces.
It is now used to describe people who experience increasing nervousness the further they travel from their own home. In severe cases some people may not have enough confidence to venture from their home at all.
Background Information
Our minds receive information through the senses but the emotional impact of the information depends on whether we actively associate with the represenation of the information or experience the information without emotionally engaging with it by disassociating.
You associate by experiencing an event looking through your own eyes – you are literally inside the experience and process it from the perspective of what you see, hear, and feel, when you actually experience the emotions of the event.
You disassociate by taking a different perspective as if you are an observer outside of your own body. You “watch” yourself going through the experience.
Associated experiences have a more powerful emotional impact than disassociated experiences. You are attached rather than detached to the event.
It’s the difference between imagining yourself looking out the front car of a roller coaster as you speed around the track or viewing an image of yourself at a distance taking the ride.
NLP and hypnosis can help you to safely confront phobias and fears by disassociating and reframing your experience.
The method is essentially a desensitization technique performed in a short space of time.
We offer phone coaching as an alternative, practical solution if you prefer this approach.
However, one-on-one in person coaching for all areas of coaching and personal assistance is better and is always available.