How to cope with your phobia

By MiNDFOOD

How to cope with your phobia
Clover Institute hypnotherapist Rhondda Stewart discusses how you can manage your phobias effectively.

WHAT IS A PHOBIA?

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that causes an individual to experience extreme, irrational fear about a situation.

The fear of something happening is constantly thought about and over time this fear becomes a real belief.  Once it reaches this belief phase it has blown out of proportion, and to the person suffering the phobia it can feel as if it is real and the feeling is overwhelming.

IS THERE A TREATMENT THAT WORKS FOR PHOBIA?

Specific phobias are among the most common anxiety disorders, and not all phobias need treatment. But if a specific phobia affects your daily life, several therapies are available that can help you work through and overcome your fears — often permanently.  These include CBT Mindfulness techniques and Clinical Hypnotherapy.

IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP MYSELF?

Yes, you can help yourself and the following exercise will be valuable to support that change:

Breathing

It starts with your breathing, take a slow deep breathe in and very slowly exhale in one slow exhalation to the count of 12.  Repeat this breathing style three times. Then repeat intermittently through the day and especially if your thoughts wander to the phobia.

Overlapping submodalities

Everything we feel is stored in the way it looks, sounds and feels. Settle into a comfortable place and imagine your phobia – see it in black and white.

Now imagine putting on top of that image of your phobia…

  1. Your favourite colour, like a beautiful colourful veil on top
  2. Imagine on top of the phobia your favourite artist singing their songs and dancing
  3. Imagine a cartoon character, like SpongeBob, dancing with your favourite artist

Now you have changed the way you imagine it; how do you feel? Repeat this exercise daily for a week and notice how much better you can feel.

www.cloverinstitute.com.au

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