Pat came for hypnosis because she was afraid of the dentist. She could only get dental work if she had a white knuckled grip on the chair after taking both a Valium, and gas. She told me that it all started when she was a child. A dentist had yelled at her, and scared her so much that she had needed drugs to sit in a dentist’s chair ever since.
Although that was interesting information, it was totally unnecessary in helping her get completely comfortable on her own while getting dental care. She has needed no drugs to get dental work done since her one and only hypnosis session.
As it turns out, Pat has a favorite spot on a Florida beach, which she calls her “paradise port”. All that was necessary was for her to go into hypnosis and remember her “paradise port” in vivid detail. It was then suggested that she could go to “paradise port” anytime that she wished, especially if she needed to get still and comfortable for a dental or medical procedure.
When Pat went to her dentist for her next visit, she sat with her hands in her lap, and took no drugs or gas while the dentist did his work. The dentist was amazed. And, Pat had a lovely time at the beach watching the waves, enjoying the sounds of the surf, and feeling the gentle caress of the sea breeze in her “paradise port”.
Of course, other types of fear may require one of several other different hypnotic approaches. Someone with a fear of spiders does not need to go on a mental vacation every time he of she sees a spider, for example. For an example of a different hypnotic technique for a fear, see my blog post on eliminating fear of public speaking.