DEFINITION AND SYMPTOMS OF PHOBIAS: A phobia can be defined as an irrational fear. When a person has a phobic attack, they get terrified feelings; their breathing and heart rates raise; they may feel choked up like their heart is in their throat; their palms may get sweaty; they may experience a sound of ringing in their ears; and they quite often find that they are unable to take part in an activity. These feelings push the individual to avoid the activities and environments that trigger them.

SOME EXAMPLES OF COMMON PHOBIAS: For instance, if a person has a driving phobia, they would display these symptoms when they make an effort to drive their car, or probably even when they just think about driving. Or a panic attack may perhaps take place just while driving in specific places like across railroad tracks.

The fear of talking in front of a group of people is a fairly common phobia. The phobic feelings appear when the individual tries to talk in front of a person that they are intimidated by, or they might have panicky feelings only while in front of an assembly of people. The number of people in the group may differ. This irrational fear can be set off by fears of inadequacy, or a lack of self-confidence.

Those who suffer from social anxiety disorder can get tremendously nervous just being around other folks, even folks that they recognize. It's a fear that they will be criticized or evaluated by other people. This fear can be caused by any kind of social dealings. A person could be standing on line at a supermarket and get stressful feelings as they imagine having to talk to the cashier during checkout.

The fear of test taking (frequently known as test anxiety) is a common phobia. Testing phobias are rooted in comparing yourself to other folks, and is deeply rooted in a fear of failure.

People have developed phobias to every sort of situation under the sun. For instance: High places; animals; small enclosed places; relationships; flying; bugs; snakes; and even the great outdoors.

Agoraphobia is generally defined as a fear of open spaces. However, this definition is quite confusing because Agoraphobics are really afraid of having a panic attack, wherever they are. Agoraphobia develops when a person begins to avoid places or situations they have associated with anxiety. For example, they could have a panic attack at the drycleaners, at home, or at a supermarket.

For many phobia sufferers, once their panic attacks have started, they begin to expect them to take place. And this expectation in reality causes them to occur with increasing frequency. Other folks experience fearful feelings on a continuous basis. These feelings cause an overall discomfort, rather than panic.

AVAILABLE FORMS OF TREATMENT

DRUGS: Some physicians treat patients with sedatives, which can make the phobia worse over protracted treatment. Sedatives don't treat the core origin of a phobia; they only camouflage some of the symptoms.

TALK THERAPY: Some therapists advocate "Talk Therapy." Talk therapy is only talking about what is bothering you. Unfortunately, thinking about or talking about a situation or environment that causes a panic attack can trigger one!

HYPNOTHERAPY: Traditional hypnosis has been used to treat phobias, but with only meager success. Traditional hypnotherapy is accomplished when the hypnotherapist places the patient in a relaxed state of hypnosis and then gives the client post-hypnotic suggestions or commands. Since most people in this generation question and resist direct post-hypnotic suggestions, they also reject the idea that they will be more relaxed and at ease when they encounter the situation or environment that sets off their panic attacks.

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION: Systematic Desensitization is the process of gradually desensitizing a person to the environment or situation that causes a phobic attack. For instance, if a person wanted to dive from a high board but fears it, she is asked to first dive from a height that she feels safe with. She dives in and realizes that nothing bad happened and that she is secure.

Next she is asked to dive from the bottom step of the ladder going up to the diving board. Again, she dives in and realizes that she wasn't hurt and that she is again safe.

Over a period of time the woman is asked to dive in from incrementally higher and higher steps on the ladder. Each time she dives in and realizes that she wasn't hurt and that she is safe and sound, she is able to move up to the next rung of the ladder. If she experiences fear, then she is asked to move back down one rung on the ladder and dive from there until she feels complete comfort and security. In due course she makes it to the top of the ladder and is able to dive in from the high board.

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION WHILE IN THE STATE OF HYPNOSIS: Systematic Desensitization can be done literally while in the state of hypnosis with as good as or better results. While in a relaxed state of hypnosis, the woman would be asked to visualize herself diving in from each step on the ladder. She would be asked to visualize herself feeling confident and relaxed as she dives in. Since she is in a disassociated state while picturing herself, she is unable to cause a panic attack.

Next she is asked to associate, in other words to put the camera inside of her head so she would see what she would see through her eyes if she was actually diving in from each step of the ladder. She is asked to imagine feeling safe and relaxed as she dives in.

Just as in a live (in vivo) systematic desensitization, if she feels any anxiety she is told to go back to the previous lower step on the ladder and visualize diving in from that rung. The woman might be taught to create a kinesthetic (feeling or touch) "anchor" of feelings of security and safety. She could then set off that anchor while picturing that she is diving, and the feelings of safety and security could be subjectively transferred to the act of diving.

Systematic Desensitization while in a hypnotic state can be awfully useful and totally successful, but is can also be slow and take several hypnotic sessions to bring about a cure.

NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING V/K DISASSOCIATION: Neuro-Linguistic Programming is the study and practice of how we create our reality. The V/K stands for visual / kinesthetic. The V/K Disassociation is a method that enables a trained NLP Practitioner to guide a subject through specific visual imagery that quickly and in many cases instantly disconnects or disassociates the feelings of terror from the irrational fear that causes them. The V/K Disassociation is known as the "One session phobia cure" in Neuro-Linguistic Programming circles, and with good reason.

CONCLUSION: Irrational fears are very common in our culture. They are fears that aren't founded in reality. There are many treatments for phobias, but so far in my opinion, the best finest available are Systematic Desensitization while in the hypnotic state, and the Neuro-Linguistic Programming V/K Disassociation technique.