Introduction of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
In
2007, research was performed which determined that anxiety was one of the most
common mental illnesses among 40 million adults in the United States. Meanwhile,
it also noted that approximately 19 million adults are influenced by phobias,
with women having a higher proportion of being influenced in comparison with
men. In accordance with the statistics of APA or American Psychological
Association, the levels of stress were identified to be increased in different
countries compared to the past year. There are a number of treatments which can
be considered for curing stress, phobias, and anxiety. In this essay,
hypnotherapeutic treatment along with other techniques will be discussed.
Hypnotherapeutic Treatment of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
Hypnosis
is actually a complementary alternative technique for addressing various
psychological problems such as phobia, anxiety, and stress. Hypnotherapy can be
used in the treatment of anxiety disorders which occur during certain
situations such as job interviews and meetings. In the research conducted by Alladin (2015), it produced
compelling results in the treatment of all disorders which result in headaches
and even stress. In addition to it, hypnotherapy can be used for managing
phobias like agoraphobia. In general, there are five stages in which
hypnotherapeutic treatments for phobias, anxiety, and stress are performed.
The
first stage for hypnotherapeutic treatment is an orientation where the
historical data of the patient is collected. The second stage is hypnotic
induction where the process hypnotic treatment is selected and is put into
utilisation. In the stage of in-depth analysis, different procedures are
utilisation. The last two stages include utilisation and hypnosis termination.
In these stages, hypnosis is terminated with the utilisation of various
techniques. There are three commonly utilised hypnotherapeutic treatments
including curative therapy, Ericksonian therapy, and cognitive-behaviour
therapy (Alladin, 2015).
Cognitive behaviour therapy of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
In general, cognitive behaviour
therapy is recognised to be a method of phobia, anxiety, and stress management.
In this method, it is not a specific situation which leads to anxiety, instead
of it, there are some feelings which result in anxiety. Behavioural and
cognitive techniques are the ones with the capability of modifying the feelings
of a patient and judgment of providing a method of managing different disorders
which may result from anxiety. Usually, such techniques include imagery,
two-column method, logging, and coping self-statements.
In the treatment of anxiety, coping
self-statements can be used. These statements are productive ideas which can be
utilised by patients for making themselves capable of facing any stressful or
demanding situation which they might encounter or face in their lives. Meanwhile,
with the utilisation of imagery, these statements are practiced by patients in
their minds while imagining how they can manage demanding situations (Edelman, 2012).
Phobia Treatment of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
In cognitive-behaviour therapy,
desensitisation is utilised for treating phobias. Actually, desensitisation is
developed by Wolpe for the management of terrors and uncertainties. Individual
patients are equipped by desensitisation by the means of offering opportunities
to them to face their issues and terrors, taking only a single step at a time. Different
procedures which allow the body to relax are commonly used in a case where the
situation’s moderation is important, especially if the situation serves to
terrify the patient. The fear or terror of patient is broken down into specific
and particular factors which increase the chances of patient being anxious.
Such factors are grouped at the top of pyramid.
Ericksonian Therapy (Singh, et al., 2012)
Generally, the Ericksonian
hypnotherapy is considered a moderate approach to different issues which
contribute to phobias, anxiety, and stress. Due to the utilisation of the
informal conversational approach by Erickson, this approach was referred to as
hypnosis. Techniques like rewind and self-hypnosis are utilised for treating
anxieties, phobias, and stress. In research which was aimed at assessing the
efficacy of this approach, several patients were assessed with varying levels
of stress and anxieties. It was identified by results that there was a
considerable decrease in the levels of anxieties and stress of patients.
Curative Hypnotherapy of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
David Lesser was the first person to
attempt curative hypnotherapy and wanted to identify the causes of anxieties
and stress of patients. This treatment is utilised in curing phobias, anxiety,
and stress. This method gives patients the capability of having access to
instinctive minds. The patient, during therapy, is able to determine the
reasons due to which their instinctive mind is specifically reacting in such
ways which are generating negative responses. This process is normally obtained
by having a peek at the event which was responsible for leading to such
responses from the instinctive mind. Then, the patient utilises the knowledge
which they gain due to the causes to change their responses.
Traditional Hypnotherapy of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
This treatment method of phobia,
anxiety, and stress, is generally the most utilised form of hypnotherapy and it
involves making suggestions to the instinctive method. Actually, this treatment
work on only those patients who tend to accept what they are told without
doubting it and questioning it.
Although these methods and
techniques are effective in producing results, they have some limitations. It
is quite important to comprehend that hypnosis:
·
Is not capable of
repairing genetic problems and congenital damage.
·
Is not capable of
preventing the process of ageing, and making a person live longer.
·
Is not capable of
making a patient achieve which is physically not possible.
In
addition to it, the very first limitation of cognitive behaviour treatment is
that it is not suitable for every person. It requires the patient to be devoted
to improving himself with the help of psychotherapist. Curative therapy also
has some limitations. If the patient has doubts in his mind about his ability
of making a recovery, it is possible that he might develop the same issue
again. The main limitation of traditional therapy is that if a person is too
sceptic and doubts the statements of the therapist, he will be unable to make a
recovery. Another limitation of hypnotherapeutic treatment is that not every
case requires this type of treatment. There are some patients who require
serious consultation and even medicine. Application of this therapy to such
patients is useless and it only serves to waste time (Heap, 2012).
Different Treatments for Clients with
Phobias, Anxiety, and Stress
In
general, there are various treatments which can be considered for the treatment
of phobias, anxiety, and stress. There are simple self-based therapies and
there are professional or sophisticated therapies. In this section, both of
these therapies will be discussed.
Self-Based Therapies of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
Self-based therapies are all those ways and methods which
can be performed by the client himself for the management of phobias, stress,
and anxiety. These methods are less time-consuming and they are cost-effective
as well. It would not be wrong to say that they do not require the assistance
or supervision of an expert.
Meditation Therapy of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
One of the most common frequently
used self-based therapy is meditation. In fact, numerous people consider this
therapy when experience anxiety, stress, and even phobias. It is an ancient
practice which aids a client in feeling relaxed by focusing on awareness and
breathing slowly. This technique is performed the best when a person performs
it when he is sitting near greenery or a place where there are many plants and
trees. The feeling and presence of nature great enhances the effectiveness of
meditation. Nature provides a person with relaxation which is often not
achieved without it. It also offers this freshening and avid feeling that helps
in reducing anxiety and stress.
Many researches have also been
conducted which indicate the effectiveness of medication therapy in relieving
stress. Moreover, performing this exercise and therapy has become easier for
people with all the researches and guides published about it.
MBSR or Meditation and
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
MSBR is actually a programme which
draws on different principles of meditations for helping clients in becoming
more aware of how physical feelings are influenced by thoughts. It has been
determined by research that MSBR results in improved focus and memory, reduced
worrying and stress, greater resilience, and fewer emotional fluctuations. It
is one of the most effective self-based therapies as it enables people to
consider how different feelings influence their actions and how they can avoid
acting in a stiff manner by controlling their feelings. Actually, the power and
effectiveness of this technique are improved when it is performed somewhere
near nature and greenery (Marchand, 2012).
Expert-Based Therapies of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
Cognitive behaviour therapy of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
As it has been explained above,
cognitive behaviour therapy is recognised to be a method of phobia, anxiety,
and stress management. In this method, it is not a specific situation which
leads to anxiety, instead of it, there are some feelings which result in
anxiety. Both behavioural and cognitive methods have the ability of changing
and modifying the feelings of a client. There are a number of techniques which
are involved in this category and they have proven to be effective in the
management of anxiety, stress, and phobias. It has also been explained that
coping self-statements are utilised in anxiety treatment. In general, these
statements are innovative ideas and thoughts which are used in making clients
believe that they are capable of experiencing and facing any demanding
situation. Imagery helps people in thinking about how they can manage different
situations.
One of the major benefits of CBT is
that it has no adverse effects and side-effects on the client (Donovan, et al., 2015).
Phobia Treatment of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
This technique has been explained
above in the category of hypnotherapeutic therapy. CBT is also utilised for the
treatment of phobias. As it has been said before, desensitisation is utilised
for treating phobias. This technique has proven to be effective because it
provides clients with opportunities to face their terrors and issues without
actually facing them. It is possible that the therapist might involve real-life
experiences to make the therapy more effective. Usually, the therapist
determines which factors serve to initiate the fear of the client and rank
these factors in the form of a pyramid.
Ericksonian Therapy of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
Generally,
the Ericksonian hypnotherapy is considered a moderate approach to different
issues which contribute to phobias, anxiety, and stress. Due to the utilisation
of informal conversational approach by Erickson, this approach was referred to
as hypnosis. Techniques like rewind and self-hypnosis are utilised for treating
anxieties, phobias, and stress. In research which was aimed at assessing the
efficacy of this approach, several patients were assessed with varying levels
of stress and anxieties. It was identified by results that there was a
considerable decrease in the levels of anxieties and stress of patients.
Curative Hypnotherapy of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
Curative therapy has also been
explained above in the category of hypnotherapeutic treatment. David Lesser was
the first person to attempt curative hypnotherapy and wanted to identify the
causes of anxieties and stress of patients. This treatment is utilised in
curing phobias, anxiety, and stress. Actually, this therapy explores the
instinctive mind and determines the reasons which are responsible for causing a
person to experience stress and anxiety. Although this therapy is supervised by
a therapist, the person or client is the person responsible for actually
relieving anxiety. For instance, the person finds all the reasons why he
experiences stress and anxiety, and makes up his mind to either avoid these
triggers or manage to cope up with them (Brown & Fromm, 2013).
Traditional Hypnotherapy of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
This has been one of the most
frequently utilised therapies for helping clients in the management of stress
and phobias. In this therapy as well, the therapist guides the person to
identify the triggers and find the reasons or underlying causes of stress.
Conclusion of
Treatments of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
Overall, it can be said that there
are a number of methods and therapies which are utilised for the management of
anxiety, stress, and phobia. Hypnotherapeutic therapies are some of the most
utilised techniques which are considered for treating clients and patients. It
is, however, important to note that these methods have some limitations. One of
the common limitations of these methods is that they do not work effectively on
some patients who require medications or have serious mental issues which
cannot be treated without prolonged treatments and medications. In addition to
it, another limitation is that they do not work on clients who are not serious
about treatments.
References of Treatments
of Phobia, Stress, and Anxiety
Alladin, A., 2015. Integrative CBT
for anxiety disorders: An evidence-based approach to enhancing cognitive
behavioural therapy with mindfulness and hypnotherapy. s.l.:John Wiley
& Sons.
Brown, D. P. & Fromm, E., 2013. Hypnotherapy and
hypnoanalysis. s.l.:Routledge.
Donovan, C. L., Cobham, V., Waters, A. M. &
Occhipinti, S., 2015. Intensive group-based CBT for child social phobia: A
pilot study. Behavior therapy, 46(3), pp. 350-364.
Edelman, S., 2012. Change Your Thinking with CBT:
Overcome stress, combat anxiety and improve your life. s.l.:Random House.
Heap, M., 2012. Hypnotherapy: A Handbook: A
handbook. s.l.:McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Marchand, W. R., 2012. Mindfulness-based stress reduction,
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and Zen meditation for depression,
anxiety, pain, and psychological distress. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 18(4),
pp. 233-252.
Singh, Y., Sharma, R. & Talwar, A., 2012. Immediate
and long-term effects of meditation on acute stress reactivity, cognitive
functions, and intelligence. Alternative therapies in health and medicine, 18(6).