Different Therapeutic Approaches to Treat Fears vs. Phobias

 To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am temporarily suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, Skype and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on September 19, 2016)

 

 

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

Fears and phobias/anxiety may reflect similar feelings, but they are actually separate conditions that require different treatments. According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., when you have a fear of something, you can attribute the reaction to the memory of a specific incident—usually one that occurred during childhood. Conversely, the phobia is typically associated with a sudden drop in blood-sugar that triggers physiological symptoms including shaking, weakness, confusion, anxiety and even paranoia that have nothing to do with what a specific environmental trigger. However, the resulting subconscious fear of loss of control or even death becomes attributed to that trigger (e.g., fear of flying, insects) because that is the only explicable source of anxiety, according to the conscious mind.

Both therapies entail educating the individual about the role of nutrition in exacerbating or even triggering the initial fear/phobic response during the cognitive/alert portion of the session. Most important, the hypnotherapist must help the client realize and believe that the person is able to control this reaction. Having said that, each response (fear versus phobia) requires a different hypnotherapeutic approach to achieve this outcome.

Circle therapy enables the person to progressively experience more intense fear reactions during hypnosis and then “pass” through it (relax) to a deeper state of hypnosis. Post-hypnotic suggestions reinforce that the individual is able to control this fear in this way and that the fear response is no longer a necessary part of his or her life. The best way to face a fear is to face it down, Dr. Kappas advised. “Face it by realizing you yourself can create it. You’re not facing the fear, you’re facing the feeling,” he explained.

Conversely, phobias start from physiological feelings that the person fears will result in loss of control or even death. While this reaction can be triggered by dreams or stress, it’s generally an illogical fear response and not based on personal experience. The best way to treat a phobia is by using systematic desensitization and double-bind techniques that work together to gradually reduce the negative association/response while making the response increasingly difficult to experience. Circle therapy is not used to work through a phobia because the technique can reinforce or even exacerbate the negative response.

However, a long-held fear can also morph into agoraphobia, or a fear of open spaces, Dr. Kappas warned. It is possible to manage agoraphobia through diet/nutrition, a therapeutic approach that is recommended and effective to control other phobias. It is important to deal with any relapse of the original fear right away and then start dealing with anticipatory anxiety about experiencing that fear, which has likely developed through the agoraphobic response.

 

December Promotion: Quit Smoking with Hypnotherapy

Let hypnotherapy help you become a permanent ex-smoker! Package #1 is six sessions and helps you kick the habit gradually ($800 when paid in full, up front, including  the First/Intro session in the cost). Package #2 is one, two-hour session for people who smoke 5 or fewer cigarettes per day. Please go to the link below for prices and more details about each offer ($275, may be required to also do the First/Intro session if you have never been hypnotized before).

 

*These promotions may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash.

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 and in September 2020 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2020

 

Physical vs. Mental Homeostasis During Yoga

 To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am temporarily suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, Skype and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on September 20, 2016)

 

 

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

I noticed something very interesting during yoga this morning. As I stood tall and still in the “mountain” position with my feet flat on the floor, I could just detect the tiniest of swaying motion of my body as my muscles and tendons worked to maintain my balance. These movements were so miniscule as to almost go unnoticed. But they were there: constant adjustments of the various muscles, tendons and internal organs to keep the body completely balanced and ready for anything. I could imagine the lightning-fast neural (subconscious) communication between my brain, inner ears and the muscles in my legs and abdomen as I consciously worked to hold this position.

This experience was just one example of how my body strived to maintain physiological homeostasis (balance) during the class. Other examples were increased breathing and pulse/heart-rates or adjust my stance when transitioning between poses or when I had to work harder to maintain more intense positions. And then something really interesting happened. About halfway through the class, even with the more intense positions and exercise, my breathing and heart-rate seemed to return to a more normal rate for me.  Even though I was still working hard, it was like my body had become used to this work and was compensating for/working more efficiently to achieve those positions.

Achieving mental/emotional homeostasis during the class was more challenging for me. Once I made the initial observation about how my body was working to stay in balance, my mind started racing. Wow! This is so interesting! I know what I will write my blog about tonight! It took a few breaths to get focused on what I was doing, and supposed to be doing: practicing yoga, not writing about it! Unlike my physical body, which automatically made adjustments to achieve homeostasis, my conscious mind had to intervene and bring my thoughts, emotions and focus back to what I was supposed to be doing in class.

Ultimately I did learn a very important lesson today: Even when my body (and mind) is completely still, it is always moving.

 

 

December Promotion: Quit Smoking with Hypnotherapy

Let hypnotherapy help you become a permanent ex-smoker! Package #1 is six sessions and helps you kick the habit gradually ($800 when paid in full, up front, including  the First/Intro session in the cost). Package #2 is one, two-hour session for people who smoke 5 or fewer cigarettes per day. Please go to the link below for prices and more details about each offer ($275, may be required to also do the First/Intro session if you have never been hypnotized before).

*These promotions may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash.

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 and in September 2020 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2020

 

 

 

 

Thoughts of the Day

 To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am temporarily suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, Skype and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

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.

• “Don’t look back, you’re not going that way.” – Mary Engelbreit

• “Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.” – Paulo Coehlo

• “Time is what we want most…but what we use worst.” – William Penn

• “Don’t forget that you’re human. It’s okay to have a meltdown. Just don’t unpack and live there. Cry it out and then refocus on where you are headed.” – Unknown

• “We are not given a good life or a bad life. We are given a life. It’s up to us to make it good or bad.” – Devika Fernando

• “Life is so much brighter when we focus on what truly matters.” — Louise Armstrong

• “I am my problem, but also my solution.” – Craig Riviere

• “True strength is the ability to go through life each day accomplishing the impossible and doing what no one thought you could.” – Nishan Panwar

• “No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, you can still turn around.” – Lao Tzu

• “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow.” – Guatama Buddha

 

 

December Promotion: Quit Smoking with Hypnotherapy

Let hypnotherapy help you become a permanent ex-smoker! Package #1 is six sessions and helps you kick the habit gradually ($800 when paid in full, up front, including  the First/Intro session in the cost). Package #2 is one, two-hour session for people who smoke 5 or fewer cigarettes per day. Please go to the link below for prices and more details about each offer ($275, may be required to also do the First/Intro session if you have never been hypnotized before).

*These promotions may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash.

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 and in September 2020 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2020