Hypnosis treatment: what is hypnotherapy, the mechanism of formation of fears and phobias

Treatment of phobias comes down to a conscious search for an associative connection between a particular symptom and a traumatic event from the past. Therapy techniques erase, “demagnetize” the conditioned reflex, which in many cases acts as a hypnotic suggestion.

In the beginning was the word

Against the background of strong emotion, the child’s subconscious, like a sponge, easily absorbs random phrases and can make an incorrect conclusion about what is happening:

• Mom said she would pick up from kindergarten, but she doesn’t come - it means she doesn’t love;
• Dad bought a toy for his sick brother for the second time, it means being sick = being loved.

Through repeated reinforcements, the suggestion is “downloaded” into the body, that is, from the realm of an idea it passes into a symptom, on the basis of which a new habit is formed, or even a character trait.

Phobias: causes and consequences

Why is it so difficult to get rid of deep fears on your own? There are two obvious reasons for specialists.

First: most exhortations and convictions simply do not reach the subconscious. It's like writing on cigarette packs that smoking kills. The idea is, of course, correct - but it does not work not because it is poorly expressed, but because it is designed for the rational layer of the brain, that is, for the wrong "listener". And whether that "listener" understands the language of speech is far from certain.

A wedge is driven out with a wedge. Since at the time of the injury the person was in an altered state of consciousness, then the main computer should be reprogrammed in the experience editing mode. Hypnosis in this context serves as an emotional bridge between the upper and lower consciousness.

Second: the barrier to the onset of change is that feature of our mind that ultimately allows us to become different - the ability to adapt. If the psyche collapses under the onslaught of troubles, then the help of a psychiatrist is needed.

A psychologist, by definition, has the right and should correct only functional disorders, organic diseases are the prerogative of a doctor.

• As soon as a person finds the type of behavior that relieves discomfort, a new filter of incoming data is created. Thanks to the ingenuity of the mind, the facts that support the existing picture of the world are perceived predominantly, and all the rest are filtered out.
• Such a self-sustaining mechanism reinforces the original error, significantly narrowing the freedom of choice.

Recognize and defuse

It is quite simple to understand whether a person has deep fears or not. If an inadequate reaction occurs to an apparently safe stimulus, then the answer is yes.

• A guy wants to meet a pretty girl, takes a step towards her - and it is as if a stopcock is triggered in his head. Maybe there is enough willpower to squeeze out a couple of phrases, but the communication process is clearly going downhill. The situation is typical, although the representatives of the male fraternity will pick up a thousand excuses not to leave the comfort zone.
• The scientific literature describes many cases where female plumpness turned out to be a defense against male attention. Fear of sexual contact at the subconscious level can rebuild the hormonal background in order to protect the hostess, that is, to make her less attractive.

Treatment of phobias: the doctor's experience

So, as psychotherapists say, the patient has "matured" - accepted responsibility for his own life and realized the problem. Let's look at several examples from practice.

Subconscious stopcock

Hypnotherapy for tachophobia (fear of speed). The patient is 24 years old. Formally, the reason for the appeal was panic while driving fast. It is not the mark on the speedometer that is important, but the sharp turns and accelerations that caused fog in the eyes, nausea and almost insurmountable stiffness. In fact, as a result of the diagnosis, 4 fundamentally uncomfortable sensations were identified.

On average, one psychological trauma is hidden behind each feeling.

Dozens of situations where something went wrong were distributed according to this list of only four points. Accordingly, the criteria for the result immediately became obvious. Hypnotherapy sessions always go hand in hand with a field test. Each next step reinforces the previous one. There was persistent tension in the chest when talking to the boss, which means that a calm conversation will be a test for changes.

A specific patient had significantly increased feelings of shame and guilt in the first place. And only in the last sessions the problem of fear of speed was touched upon.

Contrary to popular belief, fear of fast driving did not arise because, for example, in childhood the child got into an accident or someone close to her died while driving, although such events occurred in the patient's life. Extreme moments can intensify the reaction, bringing the latter to a level disproportionate to stress.

The cause of tachophobia was a severe burn at the age of about 2 years - this incident laid the foundation for increased sensitivity to danger. And when the girl, returning home with her mother, saw a passerby get hit by a car, she reacted more emotionally than she could have. The death of an acquaintance a few weeks after the incident on the street added fuel to the fire: the guy crashed while overtaking a truck.

Moreover, if the memory of this fact was on a conscious level, then earlier injuries were revealed only during hypnoanalysis.

How a cat became a dog

Hypnotherapy for cynophobia (fear of dogs). A young man, 25 years old, came to see me. The problem became significant when, during a walk with his girlfriend, a dog appeared next to him and the guy became very nervous. Against the background of the girl's reaction to his behavior, a feeling of inferiority arose.

Diagnostics showed 3 feelings of discomfort - as expected, fear of dogs was in last place. Social fears interfered much more. Considering that the structure of the psyche resembles an onion, to get to the middle, you need to remove layer by layer. Therefore, the deep processing began with the fear of condemnation, expressed in strong tension when communicating with people. Someone's laughter was especially unsettling.

When the patient was able to speak more calmly in front of an audience (one of the tests after the hypnosis session), the next step was hypnoanalysis of the cynophobia itself. Again, the psychological trauma was not that the dog bit.

The brain of both a child and an adult generalizes the traumatic experience over time, so the connection between cause and effect is not always linear.

As in this example, a six-month-old baby was scratched by a cat, which caused almost a shock. It turned out that until the end of school the child had an allergy to cats, which eventually passed, but other symptoms emerged.

Check yourself: criteria for psychosomatics

Hypnotherapy identifies two criteria that the roots of the problem are in the head. Provided that a medical examination did not reveal organic disorders:

• if the level of stress affects the symptoms: troubles at work - a rash appeared on the face or anxiety increases the degree of stuttering;
• some symptoms can be replaced by others: got rid of obesity - a fear of heights opened up or quitting smoking provoked constant irritability.