Carcinophobia and Hypnotism
The fear of cancer is one of the top ten most widespread phobias, and it isn’t hard to imagine why. Nobody wants to develop cancer or see a loved one suffering from it. Although it is normal to want to avoid getting ill, people with carcinophobia have an extreme amount of fear that frequently dominates their lives. Beating carcinophobia used to take months or even years, but with improved understanding of the phobia and improved treatments, this has changed. Proven hypnosis techniques can help people reclaim their health and well-being.
It isn’t hard to imagine what might cause carcinophobia. This phobia is associated with a fear of illness, death, and loss of control. Many people feel troubled by a family member’s experience with illness. Those who have lost a family member to cancer, or face the threat of cancer, live in fear of the day when they are diagnosed with the disease.
The anxiety created by the fear of cancer can lead people to make surprising decisions. Some sufferers constantly go to hospitals to make sure they are not ill, while others avoid hospitals entirely, in fear of being diagnosed with a disease. Phobia sufferers will worry if they feel the smallest signs of poor health, such as a headache, and wonder if it’s a sign of cancer. People will often do whatever it takes to avoid becoming sick.
Those with carcinophobia often believe they have much to be afraid of. It’s a chronic feeling that can affect both genders. An individual might think, “Who will care for the family if I get sick?” or dwell on other critical issues. The phobia can take a big toll on sufferers and their loved ones.
Many people can manage their fears by simply avoiding the object of their fear. Arachnophobes can often get along by staying away from spiders, and people with claustrophobia take care to avoid tight, enclosed spaces such as closets. Carcinophobia, however, is not the same. Carcinophobia is triggered by a person’s innermost ideas and concerns. It can be unbearable for a person to experience a fear they just cannot escape. This leaves many people with carcinophobia in a chronic state of alarm.
There are a number of phobia treatments in use. Frequently used ones include talk therapy and medication. Traditional counseling can generate good results, but it often takes a long time, up to many years for some people. Medication works to relieve a person’s anxiety, but it does not fix the underlying causes of a deep-rooted fear. Hypnotherapy is a choice that produces lasting results in less time than other treatments. Hypnosis is a popular choice because it is an effective, safe, and non-invasive choice of treatment.
Hypnotherapy combines stress-relief practices with fear relief to quickly cure a phobia. A well-designed program will begin with relaxation therapy to help alleviate the emotional distress caused by fear. Once a person feels calm and relaxed, hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques can guide the unconscious mind into following a phobia-free thought process.
Traditional hypnosis utilizes direct, post-hypnotic suggestions to cure a phobia. This method is highly helpful when an individual is receptive to it. Unfortunately, these conventional techniques are often futile because many people tend to question what they are told and reject direct commands.
A deeply rooted phobia such as the fear of cancer requires a more advanced form of treatment such as Ericksonian hypnosis. This form of hypnosis works well for those who are independent thinkers, and who are suffering from recurring anxiety and fear. It utilizes indirect suggestions embedded in metaphors, stories, and conversations to help them overcome their anxieties.
NLP is a technology that does not depend on suggestion at all, so it can be effective for anyone. In simple terms, NLP provides techniques to train the unconscious mind to use the same thought patterns that are causing a symptom or fear, to extinguish it.
Since hypnosis and NLP work at the unconscious level, clients describe feeling much more in control and comfortable with these forms of therapy.
With Traditional Hypnosis, programs generally must be specific to each phobia. An advantage of a properly designed Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP program is that both are suitable for use on any phobia, or even a number of phobias. This can be a great benefit to some carcinophobia sufferers who also have other anxiety disorders, such as general hypochondria or germophobia.
Carcinophobia is a significant condition, but it can be treated by suitable hypnosis techniques. NLP techniques have become a leading phobia remedy because of their ability to treat the underlying cause of all panic disorders and not just the symptoms. Revolutionary Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP techniques can help even the most severe phobia patients beat their anxieties once and for all.
Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified hypnotist and NLP Practitioner in practice since 1978. He can be reached through his fear phobia website where he offers panic attacks hypnosis CDs. Visit his hypnosis repository, or download a free MP3.
- Alan Densky
