The fear of heights, also called acrophobia, is an extremely common phobia experienced by men and women of all walks of life. In fact, studies suggest that to a certain extent, a fear of heights is natural for most humans and animals.
What changes an instinctive fear of heights into a phobia is that the feeling is so overwhelming that it is viewed as overblown, or it gets in the way of a person's day-to-day life. In an attempt to avoid heights, people with acrophobia are often forced to avoid balconies, tall buildings, and other frequently encountered areas and situations. In some people, the simple thought of heights can be enough to trigger a panic attack.
The fear of heights can be triggered in any high-up area that makes a person feel uneasy. This includes rooftops, ladders, bridges, staircases, roller coasters, and multiple other situations we encounter in our day-to-day lives. Some people with a phobia of heights may feel safe in some areas, like their own two-story home, but panic in other areas, such as when they are going up a ladder.
Acrophobia can trigger very intense symptoms, including dizziness, shaking, nausea, anxiety attacks, fainting, sweating, and many others. Unlike some common phobias, numerous people with acrophobia do not respond frantically but instead become frozen with fear or "petrified." For example, a person might climb up a ladder, but suddenly become too nervous to climb down and become stuck this way.
Acrophobia can be especially debilitating because sufferers may find themselves emotionally overwhelmed in situations where they must remain calm and collected in order to remain safe. People who find themselves in an elevated place, such as the top of a ladder or a staircase, may suffer a panic attack resulting in physical harm. Or, a person might start trembling so violently that they risk getting hurt. It is thus important for people whose acrophobia is potentially dangerous to get help for their condition.
In the past, treatments involved repeatedly exposing a person to heights so they could try to "confront their fear." This approach proves traumatic and unsuccessful for most. Other, more successful options include anti-anxiety medication and counseling. Hypnosis therapy is a particularly good treatment because it is safe, effective, and non-invasive.
Conventional hypnosis works through direct post-hypnotic suggestions. In our society, this approach is often ineffective. Today, people are very independent minded and will resist direct suggestions by unconsciously refusing their orders. Expert hypnotists now use more advanced Ericksonian hypnotherapy techniques to avoid this issue.
Ericksonian hypnosis, as formulated by Milton Erickson, MD, is a much more effective kind of hypnosis than conventional practices. It uses indirect suggestions hidden in stories, metaphors, and conversation to guide your unconscious mind into a different, phobia-free thought process. This is effective because it is far more difficult for the unconscious mind to resist suggestions set in a dialogue, than direct post-hypnotic suggestions that are apparent to the conscious mind.
A well-designed hypnosis therapy program will include a multitude of different techniques to guarantee its effectiveness for every individual. The combination of many Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques is perfect for nearly everybody trying to beat a phobia.
The combined program starts with relaxation hypnosis. When you feel calm and peaceful, NLP techniques can be applied to cure a phobia. All phobias arise from the same thought process, so all you need is a single hypnotherapy program with the correct formulation to beat any phobia, or even more than one phobia.
Summary: Many forms of therapy depend on conscious effort to resolve a phobia, but this often doesn't work because phobias are rooted the unconscious mind. The techniques in Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP are especially good at curing phobias because they function at the unconscious level of the mind. Phobias are triggered when the emotion of fear is unconsciously linked to mental imagery, such as looking down from a high position. By removing or disconnecting the emotion of fear from the image, certain hypnosis and NLP techniques can permanently cure a phobia very rapidly.
Hypnosis therapy sessions can help an individual quickly and effortlessly overcome a phobia of heights. Hypnosis therapy is among the safest types of phobia remedies available, with no negative side effects. For those looking to overcome the fear of heights or any other anxiety disorder, hypnosis provides a balanced form of stress-free phobia treatment.
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