Fear of Being Alone

(This blog was originally posted on October 28, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

If there is no specific cause for being afraid of being alone—for example, a specific traumatic incident that threatened the person, such as a physical attack—the individual may be agoraphobia. The late Dr. Ron Hodges, a psychiatrist and colleague of Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., and former director of the Atlanta, Georgia branch of HMI, contended that fear of being alone is many people’s Number One Fear. Since this reaction is often associated with low blood-sugar levels, it is imperative for the hypnotherapist to address this issue before working with the client to alleviate the actual fear or phobia.

“[Fear of being alone] is an irrational fear based on physical sensations,” Dr. Kappas explained. “You think something will happen to you.” These include irregular heartbeat, dizziness, shaking, confusion, increased suggestibility and anxiety or panic. But the related anxiety of losing control, which is triggered by these physiological sensations, forms the basis of this fear. Once better nutrition is established and the person’s blood-sugar levels are stabilized, the hypnotherapist must teach the client face the fear of being alone. This is accomplished by demonstrating how to induce and ameliorate the physical symptoms that come up whenever he or she thinks about situations that typically trigger fear.

“Desensitize the physical feelings for every situation you feel the fear. It’s got nothing to do with the event,” he said. Remember that it can take some time—months or even years—until the person can completely overcome this fear, Dr. Kappas warned.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2018

Thoughts of the Day

Photo by Sara Fogan

Every now and then I like (and need) to take a few moments and remind myself about what is really important to me, in my life. If you follow me on my Calminsense Hypnotherapy Facebook page you may have seen some of these quotes before on this page, or will in the future. Many of these Quotes of the Day are beautiful examples and illustrations of the work I do as a hypnotherapist, so I will probably draw on them in future essays.

• “Hey, Little Fighter. Soon things will be brighter.” – HealthyPlace.com

• “Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.” – Hans Christian Anderson

• “We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.” – Dalai Lama

• “The worst thing: to give yourself away in exchange for not enough love.” – Joyce Carol Oates

• “All suffering is a doorway, all pain is an entrance, and all loss is a gate.” – Lolly Daskal

• “When you see the world through the eyes of your soul, you witness the greatness of all people and you love them and respect them.” – Ilchi Lee

• “Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.” – Anthony J D'Angelo

• “Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… but how much love we put into action.” – Mother Teresa

• “The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.” Deepak Chopra

• “You may delay, but time will not.” – Benjamin Franklin

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2018

The Pattern Interrupt

(This blog was previously posted on March 13, 2014)

Image courtesy of Microsoft

The subconscious mind controls almost all of our beliefs and behavior. Therefore, the subconscious mental script for an entrenched habit will trump the conscious mind’s logic, will-power, decision-making and reasoning faculties that want to change this habit every time. When I help a client to change a behavior in hypnotherapy, I utilize a technique called “pattern interrupt.” The purpose of the pattern interrupt is to give the SCM a time out while the individual engages in something completely different for a little while. Through this exercise, the client experiences how it feels to have the power and control to choose whether to engage in an activity that has been controlling his or her life. 

When I work with someone to change a behavior, such as to quit smoking or lose weight, I first ask what specifically triggers the undesired behavior, and how he or she handles this kind of temptation. Next, we discuss options for dealing with the trigger without engaging in the unwanted behavior. It is important that the person comes up with these alternative behaviors in order for the client to remain motivated and enthusiastic about working to achieve his or her goal. The pattern interrupt should be simple and easy to do, whether it is taking ten slow, deep breaths instead of lighting a cigarette; drinking a glass of water instead of a can of soda; take the dog for a walk instead of playing a computer game. I will also reinforce these options as hypnotic suggestions so the subconscious mind will also start to recognize these new activities as “known” behaviors. 

Every time you choose to do the replacement activity, even for just a couple of seconds, you are reinforcing a new behavior and creating a new known in the SCM. The great thing about the pattern interrupt is that anyone can do this. You don’t need to be in hypnosis or to have received a post-hypnotic suggestion to substitute an unwanted behavior. When temptation strikes, you just need to do something else for a little while… just long enough for the craving to subside and your subconscious mind to forget, for a little while, that this behavior ever existed, at all.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2018