Phobic Response versus Anticipatory Anxiety

According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., a phobia is caused by a physiological reaction to a stimulus. In most cases, a drop in the person’s blood-sugar level triggers the phobic response. Physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate, shallow breathing, dizziness and confusion are just a few examples of the sensations that induce the perception that the person has no control over him- or herself or the environment. These symptoms may ultimately become so debilitating that the individual becomes restricted to his or her home (agoraphobia).

To treat this or any other phobia, the hypnotherapist should explain how nutrition affects the phobic response and encourage the person to change his or her eating habits. For example, encourage the client to eliminate sugar and caffeine from the diet and increase protein intake. Next, the hypnotherapist would use hypnosis to systematically desensitize the client to the events or stimuli that trigger the phobic reaction.

Conversely, anticipatory anxiety is about worrying that the phobic reaction will happen in the first place. “You’ve had the panic [and] you start worrying it will recur. You’re more affected by what you think will happen,” Dr. Kappas explained. This reaction is a behavioral example of the fight/flight response, whereby the individual prepares him- or herself to face a potential threat based on previous experience or a belief that the threat exists.

Anticipatory anxiety is an entirely different condition from a phobia and should be handled differently. In this case, the hypnotherapist must “break” the association between the phobia and any stimuli that trigger the anxiety response about the phobia. In most cases there are no common denominators in the phobic reaction, although anticipatory anxiety will follow, Dr. Kappas said. “You can’t remove the anticipatory anxiety until you remove the phobia.”

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/.

© 2016