Among the primary reasons people seek therapy is the need to deal with fear reactions. The range of such problems is extensive - from simple, annoying "hang-ups", to specific (or non-specific) fears which affect the activities and enjoyment of life, to full-blown phobias which may be a part of serious mental illness. Fears can develop in adulthood through traumatic experience, but most prove to have originated in early, impressionable years.

The usual apprehensions that may exist in relative degrees of severity include fears of flying, high places, rejection, failure (or even success), pain, exposure, poor performance (sports, scholastic, job, theatrical, sexual), death, the unknown, contamination, blood, animals (including spiders, shards, etc.), water, impending danger, darkness, open spaces, closed spaces, loss of control and many others. Fears are not necessarily bad. They can be highly valuable if they serve useful purposes, such as creating caution in driving, locking doors, being prepared for emergencies, etc. But when a fear causes alteration of a normal lifestyle, creating intense and irrational behaviors, becoming a threat to a person's well-being, it merits attention. Frequent occurrence is a strong warning signal that needs to be heeded.

Specific fears often emanate from apprehension of impending danger. Feelings of anxiety and panic tend to evolve into forebodings of approaching disaster, the source of which is not understood. The fear of loss of control is primitive and is likely to be a common element and basic cause in all phobia cases. It is not uncommon in relationship break-ups.

The progressive development of fear and phobic reactions often proceeds through four phases: Unrealistic self-statements create a state of alarm; Fear of the fear itself develops; Personal feeling and reason are rejected as the fear escalates; Avoidance begins of any person, place, thing or situation which generates feelings of arousal or anxiety.

In mild cases reprogramming through hypnosis can prove effective. Hypnotic suggestion can replace catastrophic thought with truthful statements explaining the nature of the symptoms and the realization that the physical sensations can cause no harm. Hypnosis can slow the heartbeat, achieve a sense of balance, generate relaxation through deep breathing, free the throat to swallow, overcome sensations of temperature change and promote clear-headedness.

Another hypnotic technique, once causal factors are revealed, is the circle technique. This is a well-recognized desensitization procedure to bring the psyche back into balance, eliminating the fears by hypnotic confrontation. The fears are met and faced through the subconscious mind. Repeated confrontation causes deterioration of the fear symptoms and increases the ability to face and deal with past traumatic experiences without apprehension, which the conscious mind then accepts.

In more severe cases, symptoms are usually apparent, but true causes likely are unknown. Hypnosis can be used to discover unresolved issues, thus removing the fear of the unknown so that rational suggestion can be used to alleviate symptoms. In addition to hypnosis, a psychotherapist and/or psychiatrist may be indicated for a complete therapeutic team approach.