HYPNOSIS AND PHOBIA

Phobias are often formed by early childhood experiences. They can be caused by something that has happened to us as adults or from repeated negative associations. Phobias can also be caused by identification with a parent or a loved one.

Many phobias have been caused by a scary story told to us by someone else. We know that some individuals consistently react intensely and in a more persistent fashion to situations that others find not at all troubling or only a little bothersome. Phobias arise upon the base of a built in mechanism, designed to protect both animals and humans from adverse aspects of the environment.

Phobias are characterized by dry mouth, dizziness, sweaty palms, stomach cramps, nausea, muscle tension, heart palpitations and rapid breathing. Phobias are a learned behavior and whatever is learned can be unlearned!

Phobics tend to be people who are very suggestible. It seems important to note that it’s not the incident which is the source of the fear but how the person experiences it. The phobic, if approached with hypnosis in a way that reassures them that they are safe, can create a wonderful avenue for change. It is based on clear suggestions given and powerfully accepted by these sensitive people. We can give the subconscious choices, which include alternative ways to deal with the situation and still feel protected.

Phobias are quite often formed by early childhood experiences. They, of course, can be caused by something that has happened to us as adults or from repeated negative associations. Phobias can also be caused by identification with a parent or a loved one.

I had one student who had a terrible fear of mice and rodents. As we explored her history we could find no direct negative experience which may have set her up for it except for one.

In regressive hypnosis she recalled an incident at the age of 5 when she was with her mother who was doing the housecleaning. All of a sudden her mom jumped on the coffee table screaming at the top of her lungs. My student very clearly remembered the expression of terror on her mother’s face as she pointed down at this cute little mouse. Now let’s put this incident into a 5 year old’s perspective. If her mother (who is like God to a young child. After all her very safety and ability to survive depends on Mom) is completely helpless and in terror over this little animal it surely is something pretty terrible and certainly to be avoided at all costs. She then learned this fear from Mom.

Many a phobia has been simply caused by a scary story told to us by someone else. How often has a person heard dental terror stories from someone that they trusted? Now, you might say just hearing a story from someone certainly couldn’t cause a fear as severe as a phobia but I have many examples of just such a thing causing problems. An example of this had to do with an adult woman of 35 who had suffered from insomnia since she was a child. She had the habit of looking under her bed and in the closet every night before she went to sleep. She also admitted to me she slept with the closet light on every night. The cause was traced back to a bedtime story told to her by her father when she was very young. Guess which one it was? It was Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf story.

Remember when the wolf got to grandma’s house? Grandma was in bed. He ran straight to the bed, and without even saying good morning, he ate up the poor old grandmother in one gulp. He then dressed up like grandma and waited for Little Red Riding Hood in bed. One of the most remembered lines goes, "Grandma, why do you have such big sharp teeth?" "Those are to eat you up with my dear," at which point the wolf sprang out of bed and swallowed up poor Little Red Riding Hood!

This is a pretty terrifying story when we think about it. Enough that bed became a dangerous place to her subconscious. This, however, explained why she had to look in the closet and under the bed to make sure nothing (like a wolf) was hiding there.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO PHOBIA

So far we have discussed some of the general causal phobias, negative anticipations, thoughts of pain and bad memories to name a few. Let’s now talk about what happens physiologically when a person experiences these feelings.

One thing it does is trigger off the "fight–or&–flight mechanism," which is there to protect us. One of the things that happens to a person physically when this happens is that they receive a very strong dose of natural adrenaline. This then can cause the physical complaints often associated with phobias. I feel it is very important for you to instruct your phobic patient that the symptoms they sometimes feel are not all in their head. They are real physical symptoms of this extra adrenaline surging through their bodies. These may include dry mouth, dizziness, sweaty palms, stomach cramps, nausea, muscle tension, heart palpitations and rapid breathing. Rapid breathing often leads to hyperventilation. Hyperventilation is also often accompanied by tetany and tingling hands. When a person experiences these symptoms they then tend to become more fearful. The symptoms increase their anxiety level.

Hyperventilation is when the carbon dioxide level falls below normal. A very simple remedy for this is to have your patient just breathe into a plain brown paper bag until the carbon dioxide level rebalances. A simple yet effective cure. Keep some bags available in your office.

SECONDARY REACTION

This leads to what I call the "Secondary Reaction." The person who doesn’t understand what’s happening is now sure they are going to really embarrass themselves and FREAK OUT! This, of course, leads to a second dose of adrenaline, which really causes symptoms. I find when I explain this phenomenon to my phobic students they can begin by eliminating the 2nd shot of this natural chemical. This is one of the first places we can help them feel they are getting back in control! I use this example, "If I were to give you this big injection of something like cocaine we wouldn’t be a bit surprised that you were feeling squirmy and anxious. We certainly wouldn’t expect you to sit their calmly as if nothing had happened! so even before we begin desensitizing you from the cause of your phobic reaction we can begin now by eliminating the Secondary Reaction. So, if you begin by feeling anxious you now know those feelings are only chemical. All you need to do is take a nice comfortable breath, exhaling slowly. Then enjoy that sharp, keen feeling that one dose can bring you! Remember that this is the ‘Fight or Flight’ response, which is designed to allow you to think clearly and rapidly. As long as you no longer fear this chemical reaction but understand it you can actually use it instead. A lot of people who take recreational drugs pay good money to feel like that! From now on, now that you understand this you never need to give yourself that 2nd dose of adrenaline."

One of my favorite affirmations about phobias is–Phobias are a learned behavior and whatever is learned can be unlearned! I now choose to react in a new and comfortable way to this situation!

THE PHOBIC PATIENT AS HYPNOTIC SUBJECT

In my work as a clinical hypnotist I have had the challenge and opportunity to work with thousands of phobic students. During this time I have noticed a basic profile that often fits with the phobic personality. Being one myself I have a very personal experience of this as well!

First, a person with more than one phobia is more apt to fit this profile, but of course there are exceptions. I find that they tend to be people who are very suggestible. It is said that it is our suggestibility that allows us to learn, so obviously this can be an important quality. Yet it seems it can also be the seeds, which lead to the phobic response. As I have said, phobias are often caused by one experience, which then has been translated by the persons’ subconscious as a signal for the need to protect. I often refer to this as a limiting decision that is being held by the subconscious. Remember, the conscious can believe that the fear is silly yet hold on to the phobic reaction at the same time. It seems important to note that it’s not the incident that is the source of the fear but how the person experiences it. I have seen an example where the whole family has gone through the initial experience as well, like a hurricane for example, yet only one person ends up with a phobia of winds. Why? To me it seems that often that person has experienced the same storm more intently than the other siblings or family members. It seems we each organize our experiences in our own unique ways. This might be as easy as how a person uses his modalities (visual, auditory or kinesthetic), which also includes their Sub–modalities (brightness, volume, smell, and duration).

As I said in the beginning some of us are just very suggestible. If someone was to begin describing how they just cut into a large, yellow, juicy, sour lemon I would begin to salivate. I am a very suggestible person. This then seems to mean the experience leaves more of an emotional impact on the phobic subject. We have discussed that memories that are more involved with either a positive or negative emotion do seem to be more easily recalled. We use this technique in Memory & Test Taking. So it only stands to reason that years later anything which seems similar may elicit these profound memories and thus brings back a response. This can be positive or negative or, in this case, phobic.

Now for the good news. The phobic personality if approached in a way with hypnosis that reassures them they are safe can create a wonderful avenue for change since it is based on clear suggestions given and powerfully accepted by these sensitive people. They (the phobic) can be your very best subjects. I do find I spend a little more time with the preparation and pre–talk for the phobic. I find that having them recognize that they are the ones in control and not the hypnotist often works very well. Much of their life they have felt out of control and it is very reassuring to them to find a technique that returns to them a feeling of self capability.

I find it’s not unusual for the phobic personality to feel more comfortable dealing with smaller bits of information at a time. The idea of instant, sweeping changes may appeal to their conscious mind but is apt to get some internal resistance. Helping them proceed at their own comfortable rate actually allows faster change for them.

CLAUSTROPHOBIA

As a baby my older sister used to get stuck baby–sitting me. I think she didn’t care much for the job. I will say in her defense that she was only 11 or 12 years old. She used to tuck me into my bed by tucking in all four sides of my bed, which included the top of the covers over my head. I am sure it was much easier to take care of me that way, but it did cause me some feelings of claustrophobia.

I have since cured myself of this but it isn’t all that unusual to find that some of your patients do indeed suffer from claustrophobia. As an adult visiting the dentist, a person suffering with claustrophobia may feel uncomfortable in a tiny treatment room, especially if the door is closed and the room has no windows. They also may not respond well with your assistant and you both crowded around them.

Be sure and identify the claustrophobic ahead of time if possible. Give them more room. A fan with moving air often helps. A picture on the wall in front of them that is a nature scene or gives the image of open spaces can be psychologically comforting. As in other phobias you may wish to help them desensitize some of their phobia causes. Also, this kind of patient may not tolerate the mask if you use nitrous oxide. It may cause them to feel smothered. Let them hold the mask so they have the control. It allows them to feel more at ease with the procedure. By the way, nitrous oxide can be a big help with many phobic patients.

Many patients in the 1950’s were given ether for surgeries. Commonly used for tonsillectomies, it was applied with an ether cone mask. It had an unpleasant smell and often caused a spinning sensation that also included a visual that looked like the image you see here.

I occasionally come across a beginning student that has associated hypnosis with this ether feeling. I think we have all seen in the movies and even cartoons that old revolving circle image that is either supposed to induce hypnosis or is what a person would be experiencing. As we know hypnosis is nothing like that–UNLESS the person thinks it is! So, as is always appropriate, watch your hypnotized patient. If they show any indication that they are experiencing something uncomfortable by facial expressions and so on don’t hesitate to ask them if they are feeling comfortable. If they say they feel like they’re spinning give them a positive suggestion that "they have stopped spinning and that hypnosis isn’t anything like that. State clearly that there is no association to hypnosis or ether." You may wish to describe to them a pleasant landscape scene. It will help to ground them in a more positive imagery.

In your initial questionnaire ask if they have had surgery during the 1950’s. You may wish specifically to ask if they had ether and reassure them hypnosis is nothing like that, nor is it like any spinning wheel image.

CHANGING HISTORY

One of my favorite approaches is called "Changing History." With this technique we use hypnosis to go back to the original situation and picture in as much detail as possible how we would change the experience for the better. It is an interesting phenomena that a clearly visualized experience which includes as many of the 5 senses as possible (modalities) can so impress the subconscious that it doesn’t differentiate it from a real experience. And if done properly it can now be used as a positive resource. An example might go like this

DESENSITIZATION

Once we have helped the subject to rethink the original causal situation we then would want to proceed with a series of positive suggestions toward upcoming or future dental visits. This is really the desensitization process which is used in behavior therapy.

We might begin by having them picture, while in a relaxed stage of hypnosis, every step of the procedure starting from the first call to make their appointment. As they begin to accustom themselves to the different procedures and picture themselves doing and feeling well in all stages of their dental appointment they do tend to feel more at ease.

An example of this might go like this:

You may wish to break down the phobic situation into its different parts and have your patient give a number value to each stage. This number value represents the amount of emotional discomfort that each stage elicits in them. For instance, calling for an appointment might be a "2" while getting the injection might be a "10," which represents complete terror. This number system will help you, the dentist, understand which procedures elicit the most negative emotion. A chart of possible procedures can be given to your phobic patient and they can fill it out with your other questionnaires. This number system may pinpoint at the very first which issues need the most help.

USE SELF–HYPNOSIS IMAGERY FOR PATIENT

Once your patient has mastered their fear in their imagination it’s time to desensitize them by dealing with the real world. Remember that familiarity does seem to breed comfort if it’s not forced. This is a good point to remind yourself and your patient about the "Law of Reversed Effect." Remember the rebel in us. We don’t word our goal or suggestions in a command but put it in a positive, non–pressure way. Instead of them saying to themselves, "I just have to get my teeth filled," they may wish to say, "I choose to get my teeth fixed and now that I am feeling more confident about it I look forward to getting it accomplished. I can see myself after it’s completed and I am smiling with self confidence."

When talking to your patients about the different facets of the dental procedures you may wish to watch them for kinesthetic responses. These may include flushing of the skin, or turning pale, body movements, muscular tension, vocal tremors and obvious tears. You might also ask them if they have physical sensations that they can share with you about the different procedures. Do they feel nauseated, have heart palpitations, etc., and which procedure brings this on. Sometimes their body is more in touch with their fear than their conscious mind is. An example of this comes to mind.

PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS MAY TELL SECRETS

I was working with one of my students who was having some sexual blocks in her marriage. While questioning her about any previous situations that might have been connected to this block I asked if a family member had ever molested her. She admitted to having been molested by her brother. When I asked if she had ever had any problem with an adult she wasn’t aware of any. When I asked if her uncle or neighbor might have done something she said, that she was not aware of anything. Then I asked her about her father, at which point she shared with me her hands started sweating and her face became flushed. In a later session we did discover her father had indeed molested her at the age of 7. Consciously she had blocked it out but her body gave us hints long before the information came into the conscious.

Remember, when you have your patient in hypnosis and you are giving suggestions please pay attention to any physical hints as well. If you ever have any doubt about their physical or emotional comfort don’t hesitate to ask!

HYPNOSIS  SERVICES  PRODUCTS  ABOUT US  CONTACT US