The Other Phobias

If any of you are participating in events this week, it stands to be a busier week than normal. Please feel free to share what you are doing (you can even use the comment section for advertising your events).

When I was tabulating the poll responses just a little while ago, I noticed three of you cited "other" as your response to your biggest fear. Would you consider sharing the phobia (you can even post anonymously if you would like)? When I posted the list of choices, I wet through the ones that first came to mind and those of my clients, so I am curious as to what bothers you.

Personally (it is only fair that I answer this), my biggest fears fluctuate depending upon the situation. Sometimes it is a fear of not having a stable income - what will happen to me if things do not work out, sometimes it is dealing with rude people in the bank or grocery store, sometimes it is fearing that my blood sugar will drop too low at an inconvenient time. But, I suspect these are not so much phobias, as certain neurosis. Last week I told you about my sudden issue with walking on rough terrain on the edge of a hill. My partner says he thinks it is more of a fear of turning my ankle because I obsess over ankle support. What strange creatures we are.

An Eye Opener

Happy Monday after the time change. Has it affected you?

A new day; a new week; a new cup of tea.

My meditation weekend was very nice, though a little chilly. And I discovered something awful - really awful. I have a phobia. I never really noticed it ever before, but it reared its ugly head at me this weekend and has played havoc.

As a hypnotist who practices what she preaches, I use a lot of self-hypnosis. It has helped me maintain my weight, be motivated for exercise, and be more relaxed when public speaking to just name a few. But I did not see this one coming and it totally blinded me.

I was happily walking along a trail, looking for a peaceful spot in the woods where the sun might shine down for a few moments and I came to a grouping of chaotic rocks. There were big rocks, small rocks, and gravel, all of which to be crossed over. I have decent hiking boots and was not carrying that much, so such a state in the landscape should not give me pause. But it did. I took a step onto the now very narrow trail and felt my foot slide. Mind you, on one side it was straight down. Yikes. I put the next foot in front of the other and it too did not seem stable. At that point, I looked around for another way around this pile and saw no trail. I would have gladly have gone an hour out of my way to not have to pass over this spot. I wobbled again on the next step and watched others pass me effortlessly. I felt myself growing warm even in the chill. My stomach began to ache. I tried to close my eyes and get a grip. No luck, pure fear.

It took quite awhile, but I did make it to the other side and past the rocks. But I began to wonder if this was not some way to help me have more compassion for my clients. I do not believe I have a "just get over it" attitude, but perhaps I have preached so much about hypnosis and phobias, it is now time to cut the crap and understand phobias a little better and what people go through.

And to top it all, when it was time to come back through that area, I had tried some self-hypnosis to get past it. It was not quite enough, thought it did help. I am now at the point where I need to make a recording and listen to it. I am sure I will keep you posted on the progress.

So, I think we will still keep the subject of phobias as a poll question. We had little response to last week's phobia question, so I will just rephrase and see what happens.

Flying Phobia

Terror lurks everywhere apparently. It comes from the monsters in the closet or under the bed, standing on the rooftop edge of a tall building, being alone on the streets in a bad section of town, or just getting on an airplane. Perhaps you have had clients who have a flying related phobia or maybe you yourself have one. Well, presto chango, hypnosis is a fine way to handle it. A relaxing session, a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and you are good to go.

But, what if you have a flying phobia, are in the hospital with a critical condition and have to be transported? One of my weight loss clients has a parent in this situation. They need to move his 87-year-old mother to a healthcare establishment closer to where he lives (the commute on weekends is getting to him, he has fly in to see her). He would like his mother’s care to be closer so he could see her during the week and he feels the medical care she would receive in his city would be better than what she is getting currently.

So, the phobia kicks in. She is absolutely terrified of being coptered out. The idea of spinning blades, the noise, the construction of the helicopter are all enough to send her under the covers. He asked if I could talk to her, which I have. I am not local to her, but he thought just a telephone call might convince her to try hypnosis. No go. Seems there is a phobia there as well. But what I did learn is that her phobia is focused on the helicopter idea. When asked if she would fly on a regular airplane, she said that would be fine, but she is too sick just now.

Not one to just let it go, I looked into having her flown and it is doable (that’s right Mrs. –can’t really mention her name – no more excuses!). I had no idea, but there are air ambulance services out there for just this sort of thing. Airambulance.net arranges medical flights internationally. They fly a variety of planes, not just puddle jumpers, and are equipped and are a licensed Medical Intensive Care unit. Nurses or paramedics travel with her or if a respiratory therapist or doctor is needed, they will also make the trip. Basically, an ambulance will take her from her current hospital to the airport runway where she will be put on her flight, and once she reaches her destination, she is taken off the flight and ambulanced to her new hospital.

Done, dealt with, over. Out.

In the News - High

Today the coffee maker was reset after a short power outage. This morning the brew is dark and heavy (serving of coffee beans ground was maxed at ten and water was only six cups).

And as I am awakening much more abruptly (thank you coffee maker), it seems like the concept of adding in the random "In the News" segment is perfect.

So, lets talk about heights. Last Sunday (October 21) at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, Ratho, in Scotland, there was a pretty exciting event. The center hosted mass hypnosis for people suffering with acrophobia. Edinburgh-based Brain Train, Dawn and Gary Flockhart, did the hypnosis and NLP work. Once that was done, participants were taken 100 feet off ground level to the arena's aerial assault course. Though harnessed, volunteers had to step off the platform (remember 100 feet off the ground level) into air, then face a twisted zip-slide, not to mention an obstacle course at the end.

There were 50 volunteers aged 11 to 56. Only three of the 50 did not attempt the aerial assault challenge after a thirty minute session. Using a method that involved imagining a picture of themselves in a frightened state, these volunteers were then told to focus on the fear that they experienced with this frightened state. Suggestions were given so that they would chant "sit and float" under their breath as a reminder to remain calm.

I had hoped a few of the participants would have blogged about the experience, but I have as yet to find them. The arena says that there were several success stories that came from that day. It also looked like a few people went through with it, but their phobias were not completely gone when they did the aerial Assault .

I invite any of the participants to comment and share their story (good or bad or if any of you have stumbled onto this blog). Also, if anyone else has any comments or knowledge of the event, please feel free to also post them as well.


Sources:
news.scotsman.com
www.adventurescotland.com