How to treat a Spider Phobia (Arachnophobia) with Hypnotherapy?

Posted by Nicola Preston Bell in General | 0 comments

How did that happen?

I have had clients who cannot remember how their spider phobia started, and others who have a clear memory of the times their big brother chased them with a daddy-long-legs round the house, or when a spider faced them in the bath, obviously ready to do battle.

If you don’t remember how your spider phobia started, we can still work together to dispel the fear and build your confidence.

How a phobia is set up

What we think happens when a real or imagined experience (listening to someone else screaming when they see a spider could be the catalyst), is that the brain registers a threat to your safety, so keeps that memory fresh for comparison with any new experience. If a new experience looks at all similar, then the “fight or flight response” is set off, alarm bells ring throughout the nervous system and you are feeling really uncomfortable. This can be every time you enter a new room – I have seen people look positively furtive, eyes darting from side to side, as they enter a new environment. What they are doing is scanning for spiders and any possible spidery hideouts. Any idea about enjoying the party and meeting old friends goes on the back burner until the room has been scanned and assessed as “safe”.

Hypnotherapy for the memory or imagined scenario

I use the Rewind Technique that allows your brain to reprocess the memories or beliefs that underly your phobia so that they are no longer so drenched in emotion. You find you can feel calm and in control about old situations, seeing them at a distance and time-limited.

Hypnotherapy to lay down a confident new future

Once your path is clear, you can begin to imagine how much better it will be to walk into a new space free of fear and full of confidence, just curious about who you might meet or what a great time you are going to have. When you have a clear idea of the benefits of being free of fear, and how that will feel and look, then you are well on the way to enjoying a sense of calm when you see a spider. You might not want to pick it up, but at least there is no compulsion to scream and run away!

So if you have a fear of spiders that is beginning to annoy you, then do give me a call and we can work together to rid you of the phobia. One or two sessions is usually enough to treat this condition.