The fear of heights, known as acrophobia, is an extremely common phobia experienced by people of all ages. In fact, studies have shown that to some extent, a fear of heights is natural for many humans and mammals. What transforms a common fear of heights into a phobia is that the feeling is so severe that it is viewed as overblown, or it gets in the way of a person’s daily activities. In an attempt to evade heights, individuals with acrophobia often refuse to go near tall buildings, balconies, and other common areas and situations. In many people, just thinking about heights can be enough to trigger a panic attack.
Acrophobia can be triggered in any high-up location that makes a person feel anxious. This includes rooftops, ladders, bridges, staircases, roller coasters, and many other areas we encounter in day-to-day life. Some individuals with a phobia of heights feel comfortable in some areas, like their own two-story home, but get scared in other places, such as when they are climbing up a ladder.
The fear of heights can trigger very intense symptoms, including nausea, dizziness, anxiety attacks, fainting, shaking, sweating, and several others. Unlike many common phobias, many individuals with a fear of heights don’t respond by getting “hysterical,” but instead become “petrified” or frozen with fear. For example, a person might ascend a ladder, but suddenly become too scared to get down and become trapped in this manner.
Acrophobia can be especially debilitating because sufferers may find themselves panicking in situations where they need to keep calm and relaxed in order to keep safe. People who find themselves in an elevated place, such as the top of a staircase or a ladder, may suffer an anxiety attack which causes physical injury. Or, a sufferer might start trembling so violently that they risk falling and getting hurt. It is thus crucial for people whose fear of heights could be harmful to get treatment for their fear.
In the past, treatments included repeatedly exposing a patient to heights so they would to “confront their fear.” This method proves traumatic and unsuccessful for most people. Other, more functional options include medication and counseling. Hypnotherapy is an ideal option because it is safe, effective, and non-invasive.
Conventional hypnosis works through direct post-hypnotic suggestions. In modern times, this approach often proves ineffective. Today, people are very independent minded and will resist post-hypnotic suggestions by unconsciously refusing their orders. Skilled hypnotists now utilize more advanced Ericksonian hypnosis techniques to circumvent this problem.
Ericksonian hypnosis, as developed by Milton Erickson, MD, is a greatly more effective form of hypnotherapy than traditional methods. It uses indirect suggestions rooted in conversation, metaphors, and stories to direct the 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 mind.
A well-designed hypnotherapy program combines a multitude of techniques to ensure its effectiveness for every individual. The combination of many Ericksonian hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques is ideal for virtually everyone trying to rid him or herself of a phobia.
The combined program begins with a relaxation therapy session. Once your mind is calm and clear, NLP techniques can be used to cure a phobia. All phobias stem from the same thought process, so all it takes is a single hypnotherapy program with the right design to vanquish any phobia, or even more than one phobia.
Summary: Several types of therapy depend on conscious effort to treat a phobia, but this often does not work because phobias are rooted deep in the unconscious mind. The techniques found in Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP are especially effective at curing phobias because they operate at the unconscious level of the mind. Phobias are triggered when the emotion of fear is unconsciously connected to mental imagery, such as the view from a high position. By separating or disassociating the emotion of fear from the image, certain hypnotic and NLP techniques can permanently eliminate an anxiety disorder very rapidly.
Hypnotherapy sessions can help a person rapidly and easily defeat a fear of heights. Hypnosis therapy is one of the safest kinds of phobia remedies ever designed, with no side effects. For men and women trying to beat acrophobia or any other phobia, hypnotherapy provides a well-balanced form of stress-free phobia relief.
Alan B. Densky, CH has been eliminating phobias using Hypnotherapy since 1978. He offers effective panic attacks NLP & hypnosis CDs on his website. For those who speak Spanish, he offers Alivio a la Fobia MP3.
