Panic Attacks - What Causes Them And How You Can Get Rid Of Them Using Hypnotherapy

DEFINITION AND SYMPTOMS OF PHOBIAS: A phobia is defined as a fear not based in a real situation. When a person has a panic attack, they get terrified feelings; their respiration and heart rates increase; they may feel choked up like their heart is in their throat; the palms of their hands very often get sweaty; they may experience a sound of ringing in their ears; and they very often find that they are unable to participate in an activity. These feelings cause the individual to avoid the situations and places that trigger them.

SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF PHOBIAS: For instance, if someone has a fear of driving, they would exhibit these symptoms whenever they try to drive, or maybe even when they just think about driving. Or a freight attack may possibly occur only while driving in specific places like across railroad tracks.

Stage freight is a comparatively widespread phobia. The frightened feelings appear when the person starts to talk in front of a person that they are intimidated by, or they might have frightened feelings only in front of a group of other people. The size of the crowd can differ. This irrational fear can be set off by fears of inadequacy, or a lack of self-confidence.

Those who suffer from a social phobia can get terribly tense just being around other folks, even folks that they know. It’s a fear that they will be criticized or evaluated by other people. This fear can be caused by any type of social interaction. A person could be waiting on line at a supermarket and get phobic feelings as they think about having to talk to the cashier while they checkout.

The fear of taking tests (which is commonly known as test anxiety) is quite a very common phobia. Test anxiety is rooted in comparing yourself to other folks, and is deeply rooted in a fear of failing.

People have developed phobias to every type of experience under the sun. For example: Bugs; animals; snakes; high places; flying; small enclosed places; and even the great outdoors.

Agoraphobia is generally defined as a fear of open spaces. However, this definition is quite ambiguous because Agoraphobics are really afraid of having a panic attack, wherever and whenever. 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 home, church, or in a supermarket.

For many phobia sufferers, once their panic attacks have begun, they start to wait for them to take place. And this anticipation actually 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.

FORMS OF TREATMENT AVAILABLE

DRUGS: Some physicians care for their patients with sedatives, which can make the condition worse over extended usage. Sedatives do not work on the underlying root of a phobia; they only disguise some of the symptoms.

TALK THERAPY: Some therapists recommend “Talk Therapy.” Talk therapy is just talking about what is bothering you. Unfortunately, thinking about or talking about a situation or environment that causes a phobic attach can trigger a panic attack!

HYPNOSIS: Traditional hypnosis has been used to treat phobias, but with only meager success. Traditional hypnotic therapy is accomplished when the hypnotherapist guides the patient into a relaxed state of hypnosis and then gives the patient post-hypnotic suggestions or commands. Since most people of our generation question and resist direct suggestions, they also reject the notion that they will be more relaxed and at ease when they encounter the environment or situation that triggers their panic attacks.

SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION: Systematic Desensitization is the process of progressively desensitizing a phobic person to the environment or circumstances that causes a panic attack. For instance, if a woman 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 lowest step of the ladder going up to the diving board. Again, she dives in and realizes that nothing bad happened and that she is again safe and secure.

Over a period of time the person is asked to dive in from progressively higher steps on the ladder. Each time she dives in and realizes that she wasn’t hurt and that she is safe, she is able to move up to the next rung. If she experiences the sensation of 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. Eventually 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 virtually while in a hypnotic state with as good as or even better results. While in a relaxed hypnotized state, the woman would be asked to envision herself diving in from each rung of the ladder. She would be asked to picture herself feeling relaxed and confident as she dives in. Since she is in fact disassociated while picturing herself, she is unable to trigger a panic attack.

Next she is asked to associate, or put the camera inside of her head so she would see what she would see through her own eyes if she was actually diving in from each rung 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 terror she is asked to go back to the previous lower rung on the ladder and visualize diving in from that step. She might be taught to create a kinesthetic (feeling or touch) “anchor” for feelings of security and safety. She could then trigger 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 hypnosis can be exceptionally 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 basically the study 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 fear 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: Phobias are very common in our civilization. They are fears that aren’t based in reality. There are many methods for treating phobias, but thus far in my belief, the best finest are Systematic Desensitization while in the hypnotic state, and the Neuro-Linguistic Programming V/K Disassociation technique.

Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotist and NLP Practitioner who’s been in practice since 1978. He can be reached through his Neuro-VISION Self-Hypnosis site which offers hypnosis and NLP CDs for phobias. Visit his hypnosis article library, or download a free MP3.

- Alan B. Densky, CH