How Hypnotherapy Can Help Phobias
As we dive into October, and the days shorten, it’s clear that Autumn is definitely here, and our attention starts to focus on cozy nights, candles and casseroles! But one less welcome sign of autumn is the increase in spiders we often see at this time of year; apparently this is because they’re now adults, and what we’re seeing are the males who are out looking for females. Which I’m sure is no consolation if you experience Arachnophobia!
When I started training as a hypnotherapist, I still called my husband to move any spiders I saw in the house, but I realised that this couldn’t go on; if I was going to be able to help others, I needed first to deal with my own concerns! So I found the courage to ask for some help. I worked with a colleague over zoom and we did a couple of sessions which allowed her to practice her skills. Phobias usually follow a pattern of 4 sessions, and as I left the final one and left the room I’d been in, there on the wall was a (quite small) spider! I knew this was it – I had to do it, so I found a plastic cup and a piece of paper, and I relocated the spider to the garden, and I felt amazing! I honestly couldn’t remember ever having done that before.
Since then I’ve gone on to support clients with a wide variety of phobias, from blood to public speaking, ( and I’ve moved a few more spiders too) but helping people deal with their spider phobia always strikes a chord with me.
Part of that is because I remember exactly how it felt. A phobia isn't something you can simply talk yourself out of, however many times someone tells you the spider is more frightened of you than you are of it. The reaction happens before you've had a chance to think, and that can leave people feeling a little embarrassed, or frustrated with themselves for not being able to just get over it.
The good news is that you don't need to know where a phobia came from in order to move on from it. Solution focused hypnotherapy isn't about going back over old memories or trying to work out why you feel the way you do. Instead, we focus on how you'd like to feel the next time you see a spider, and what that would mean for you day to day. That might be staying calm enough to finish watching the television, or being able to open the shed door without checking every corner first.
There's no need to look at pictures of spiders or have one in the room with you during our sessions, either. Hypnosis is a natural, relaxed state that we all drift in and out of every day, whether we're lost in a good book or driving a familiar route without really thinking about it. In that calm, focused state, the mind is able to take on new ways of responding, and just as I found, the change can feel surprisingly easy when it comes.
It doesn't have to be spiders, of course. Phobias come in all shapes and sizes, and some of them other people might not understand at all. However small they might seem from the outside, they can quietly shape the choices we make, and it's worth knowing that things can be different.
So as the evenings draw in and the spiders make their way indoors, I hope you can enjoy the cosy side of autumn without keeping one eye on the skirting boards. And if you'd like to find out more about how I could help, I'd be happy to have a chat.
Candy x
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