I've been suffering from a terrifying fear of spiders for years and years now, and I assumed that I would have it forever. I wasn't interested in going through psychotherapy, and I figured that none of the quick cure-alls for phobias worked. Then one of my friends told me to go to a phobia hypnotist. She did not actually know anything about phobia hypnosis, but she had read an article about it in the local newspaper. Apparently, hypnosis for phobias was gaining a lot of attention recently because of some celebrities who had endorsed it.
Of course, I was definitely skeptical at first. The whole field of hypnotherapy has a long and somewhat controversial history. There is no single central accrediting board for a therapeutic hypnotist to go through, and it is difficult to understand how valuable someone's qualifications are just because they call themselves a hypnotist. For a long time, very few people in the therapeutic community accepted phobia hypnosis at all, claiming that it was merely a temporary measure that wouldn't have any long-lasting effects.
All of that has started to change in the last couple of years. Clinical trials have shown that therapeutic hypnosis really does work for a lot of things. People have now undergone hypnosis as a way to help deal with chronic pain, memory problems, and even some serious depression issues. The news about phobia hypnosis is only the latest in a growing number of successes that the field is gone through. Although there is still some disagreement about how effective hypnosis for phobias is, the article pointed to a lot of experts who have now started to endorse it. At the very least, there was enough there to get me interested.
When I went into the first appointment for phobia hypnosis, I expected something pretty elaborate and strange. I figured that a hypnotherapist office would have spirals on the walls, spooky lighting, and all the rest. To my surprise, it was a very ordinary looking, tastefully decorated room. The hypnotist was a very personable guy, and he took great pains to make sure that I understood what I was getting into. He explained every step of the procedure to me, told me what to expect, and did a few tests to make sure that I was someone who could be hypnotized. Apparently, I was about moderately susceptible – quite suggestible enough for the treatment.
The phobia hypnosis was actually pretty quick. As a matter of fact, the initial interview and explanation probably took more time than the hypnotherapy did. He had me come back to have a few more treatments, but I already felt it working. From the very first time, I stopped being afraid of spiders and I haven't had a phobia relapse since.
