DO YOU FEEL CONTROLLED BY FEAR?

Do you avoid specific things, situations or places, such as elevators, airplanes or public speaking, because they produce a fear so intense it is almost crippling?
If you find yourself in the feared situation, do you have distressing bodily symptoms, such as shortness of breath, pounding heart, sweating, trembling, nausea and/or a fear of going crazy or dying?
Has this phobia caused your relationships to suffer?
Are you limited as to where you will go on vacation because you have a fear of flying?
Would you rather take the stairs than ride in an elevator, even if you are going many floors up?
Do you feel paralyzed at the thought of driving across a bridge?
Do you wish that you could learn how to come out of fear and live life the way you want?

Struggling with a phobia can severely limit what you do in life. You may really want or even need to confront the thing that causes you so much distress, but the feelings of terror and panic are just too great. These overwhelming fears — of an enclosed space, giving a speech, a particular animal, having a dental or medical procedure, flying or something else –— can interfere tremendously with living your life. The automatic and uncontrollable emotions may feel so strong and debilitating that no matter how hard you try, you can’t stop them. You may even fear that you are going to die in the situation, which makes you feel that you must do everything in your power to avoid it.

Maybe you realize that your fear is irrational and that you are overacting. But, the physical phobia symptoms—rapid heartbeat, trembling, sweating, churning stomach, difficulty breathing and even panic attacks—are very real indeed. It might be difficult to concentrate on anything else, and you find that you are powerless to stop your fear. To add to all of this, you may have people in your life who are telling you to just face your fear and get over it. You may have lost friends, been stagnated at work or severed social connections all because of your phobia. It may seem as though most others in your life don’t really understand what you are going through. Perhaps all you really want is to learn how to overcome fear and live your life without the limits the phobia has placed on it.

many people suffer from phobias.

The National Institute for Mental Health estimates that almost nine percent of the US adult population, or 19 million people, suffer with a specific phobia. You are certainly not alone. For a person who suffers with a specific phobia, the fear is paralyzing. The person usually knows the fear is irrational and out of proportion to the object or experience itself but is unable to stop it. Phobias often interfere with life, impacting family, social and work environments.

It is quite normal to feel fear in a threatening situation. Actually, fear is a very good response. If faced with a truly frightening situation, such as a wild animal threatening your safety, you want the fear or fight/flight response to kick in to prepare your body to fight or flee. However, there is a huge difference between being threatened by a wild animal and seeing a mouse.

Phobias can develop for a variety of reasons. You may have grown up in a house where you learned your fearful response as the result of a family member’s phobia. Or, you may have experienced a frightening event that left lingering effects. Sometimes, people do not know the cause of their phobia and think it just came out of the blue. Thankfully, with help, you can learn the source of your phobia and develop ways to let go of fear so you can live a satisfying life.

WITH PHOBIA TREATMENT, YOU CAN FIND RELIEF AND LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT.

Regardless of the cause of your fear, I can help you regain control in your life. I have helped many people to do the things that once caused them so much anguish. My treatment approach is individually tailored for each person, as no two people are the same. Each person comes in with a unique history and circumstances, and I will treat you like a person, not a diagnosis.

Many people who come to see me initially feel skeptical that they can actually be free of their phobia. They may think that this cannot be changed. A phobia is a conditioned response to an object or situation. Our minds are very powerful. I help people to use the power of their own mind to un-pair the response from the feared object or situation. Unlike other forms of phobia treatment, in which a person is exposed to the feared event in order to get used to it, and could possibly be re-traumatized, I work with you in the office in a safe and respectful way to get relief.

One client I helped had a phobia of water and as a result, she was not able to go into a lake, pool or ocean. She thought that this phobia came out of the blue. Using my own effective approach, which includes Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Ericksonian Hypnosis, I helped her to get to the root of her phobia. I assisted her in going back to the root cause by using a light trance state where she was awake and aware as we worked together. We discovered that her phobia was formed when she was about five years old. The first time that she saw a large body of water, she was with her mother who was feeling very anxious about something that she was experiencing in her life. My client felt her mother’s anxiety and connected it to water. In this situation, her mind connected two unrelated things, water and fear. At this point, we were able to do the healing work and “un-paired” the two.

Your mind is very powerful. A phobia is a learned response, and the good news is that it can be unlearned. This therapeutic approach is a gentle, yet powerful way to help you to use your mind in a way that works for you. You can begin to gain freedom from this fear.

You may believe that phobia treatment can help you find relief, but still have questions or concerns...

I’VE TRIED THERAPY BEFORE AND IT DID NOT WORK. HOW IS THIS PHOBIA TREATMENT DIFFERENT?

We will not just talk about your phobia over and over. Many people have come to me after having tried other kinds of therapy. What they found is that the approach I use is very different. At our first session, I gather your history and we set goals for treatment. While the treatment is very effective and powerful, therapy is a partnership, with both of us working together. I have a very high success rate helping people in overcoming phobias.

DOES TREATMENT INVOLVE TAKING MEDICATION?

I have had people come to me after they have tried medication without success. Some told me that they did not like the way medication made them feel. Some told that they actually felt worse on it. And most agreed that while medication took the edge off, they still had the phobia. Medication is like putting on a band-aid. Unlike phobia therapy, it does not get to the root cause of the phobia.

I have worked with people who were already taking medication. Many found that after doing our work together (and consulting with their physicians), they did not need it anymore. You can enjoy relief without feeling reliant on medication.

ISN’T THERAPY EXPENSIVE AND TIME-CONSUMING?

I encourage you to think of how much this phobia has limited your life. Think of the things that you are not able to do because of it. Phobia therapy is an investment in yourself. Only you can decide how important it is to be released from your phobia. Now think about how different your life will be when you have freedom to do the things you want.

THE TIME IS NOW TO LET GO OF YOUR PHOBIA.

Are you tired of planning your life around your fears? It is time for you to get help and find relief. Take the first step now and call me at 856.238.5036 or email me at tish@calmpathwayscounseling.com for a free 15-minute consultation. You can ask me questions about the phobia treatment and how I work. You deserve to live your life being free to do the things that you want to do!

CONTACT TISH

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