Considered to be one of the most common mental disorders, phobias are about as common as the common cold. To avoid anxiety, fear, phobia, most people avoid the root cause in its entirety. One of the root causes of complete avoidance is because there are some people who become completely consumed by their phobias.

 When lives become consumed, this is when fear no longer exists as rational, but irrational. Fear is a natural, normal response to different situations, but when it prevents people from living their lives and being comfortable, this is a serious problem. If gone unaddressed, these extreme fears can induce panic attacks, tramautizing experiences, and uncontrollable outbursts.

 What Are Phobias?

Phobia is a word which gets its origin from the Greek word, phobos, which means fear. Phobias are described as an overreaction to fears or sever anxiety inducing situations. When individuals with phobias are exposed to their phobia-inducing element, they often experience trembling, shortness of breath, increased heartrate, sweaty palms, and dry throats. The majority of people who admit to having phobias admit that while their phobia may seem ridiculous or miniscule, the fear they experience is real. Even if someone has Lepidopterophobia, the fear of butterflies.

 Fear and anxiety (link to meditation for anxiety post) are natural feelings that we all experience. It’s our ability to make decisions without being distracted by our internal thoughts and feelings. When these natural feelings bubble over and become phobias, our pre-frontalcortex (PFC) is no longer able to reduce our rational thought processing and our fight or flight instincts kick in. 

Treatment of Phobias

Unfortunately, far too many people do not seek help for their phobias until they can no longer function in their daily life without the fear of encountering their phobia. And more common than not, prescription drugs are used to treat these phobias to decrease anxiety and help calm the indivdual’s nerves. But one of the more uncommon treatments of phobias is meditation. 

 Meditation helps naturally reduce anxiety caused by phobias so you can live a more relaxed, at ease life. You will never be able to completely rid yourself of your phobia, but, meditating before and after your phobia experience can severely reduce the symptoms you would otherwise face.

 Quickly Address Your Phobia

To help yourself understand where your phobia stems from and how your body reacts, briefly think about your phobia-inducing element. For instance, if you are scared of heights, only picture yourself standing atop a high building looking down. Notice how you feel. Notice how your body is reacting to this visualization technique (link to visualization post). 

 This detachment from reality into a fictional setting will allow you to see and understand where and what your feelings are towards your phobia. With this technique, you will be able to utilize meditative practices to reduce your phobia-induced symptoms.

 Using Meditation for Phobias

Meditation for phobias will reprogram and retrain your mind so you live in the present. It’s noted that phobias often stem from a past or traumatic experience and when relived, it creates a panicked reaction and anxiety skyrockets. By becoming more mindful of yourself and where your phobia stems from, your mind will no longer have the opportunity to stray and wander to create panic-inducing thoughts. You’ll have self-control and your new reaction to phobias will include deep breaths, visualization, and letting your phobia pass by like headlights in the night.

By calming your mind and being more mindful, you’ll train your mind to observe and practice uncomfortable, scary, thoughts and feelings without any ramifications. If fear or your phobia enters your mind, you’ll be able to handle the situation more calmly and clearly than ever before.

Meditative Techniques to Overcome Phobias

Before you take the first step towards overcoming your phobia, you first need to address it. If you aren’t able to open yourself up and accept what your phobia induces in you, getting started will be very, very difficult. 

 As you practiced earlier, visualizing yourself experiencing your phobia is the first step towards letting it go. Meditation for phobias is all about altering your perception and reaction to your phobia to instill peacefulness and calmness.

Another technique to overcome your phobia is to utilize guided meditation so you can become more present and self-aware. This will help you get more comfortable and stay grounded when fight or flight situations arise. At Theta, we specialize in GMS (Guided Meditation and Suggestion) so you can begin living a life without fear…within a reasonable amount of truth.

 Getting Started With Meditation

One of the most important meditative techniques we use is relaxation. Confronting something that fills you with anxiety and fear isn’t easy, but you’ve already taken the first step by addressing it and confronting it.

 While our GMS therapy is highly effective, it does require you to make minor changes in your life to become a better you. This includes your exercise habits, your diet, your sleep patterns, any stimulants you may take. To improve your life is easy in theory. It’s when it’s put into actual practice that it becomes difficult.

 Start taking control of your phobias today so you can begin living a more relaxed, enriching life today.