3 Tips to Minimize Phobias

Fear is actually a common human response. Scientists believe that everyone has the capacity to produce a flight-or-flight reply to any situation or stimuli we are in. For example, if you are faced with a dog, you have two options: it is either you show compassion or you run away from it.

Fear therefore is something really not bad. In fact, you can take it as a challenge. It is only something to worry about if it begins to take over your life. It leaves you immobile. There are a lot of activities that you can no longer do.

Fortunately, there are steps to reduce your phobias or fears:

Desensitization

Desensitization has been used by psychologists and counselors in dealing with the fears of their clients. The process is very simple. The sufferer has to be exposed to the ultimate source of the fear. However, it should be done in a gradual basis. For instance, if you are scared of heights, you will be asked to sit down or stand at different height levels. This is to change your flight response to fight.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is also another technique that is being employed. In hypnosis, you are made to go into a trance. Your mind is then fed with subliminal messages that can ultimately change your thinking pattern. The psychologist may use the following subliminal messages to help you deal with your phobia:

I am not afraid of (source of fear).
I am braver than my fear.
I am not controlled by my fear.
I do not dwell in my fear.
I can feel my fear subsiding.

Your subconscious does not have full control over the information it receives. Hence, these subliminal messages do not get removed from your mind but can be tapped when you can feel your phobia creeping in.

Visualization

Usually, fear does not just happen randomly. There is a much deeper reason to it. If you are scared of getting sick, then there is a huge chance you have been traumatized by a serious illness experienced by one of your friends or family members. You may have fallen from a higher ground and suffered injuries. Thus, you do not like to be in elevated grounds.

Visualization can help you face your root cause. During visualization, you can picture yourself going into the time when the fear started. Then you are given subliminal messages, such as the following:

I am currently dealing with my past.
This past does not define my future.
My future does not resemble this scenario.
I forgive myself over what happened.

You can also use some symbols. You may let the stones represent your sources of phobias. Then you imagine yourself burying them into the ground or throwing them into the water. This means you are finally letting go of them.

You do not have to suffer from your phobias far too long. You can get past it through a great support system from friends and family, use of subliminal messages, as well as time-and-tested techniques used by experts in the field.