How to Overcome Needle Phobia - Trypanophobia - with Hypnotherapy - By: Peter James Field

Needle phobia is an anxiety condition that can affect anyone

The correct medical name is trypanophobia - an irrational and often intense fear of hypodermic needles or injections - though it is often incorrectly called belonephobia, a name which simply denotes fear of pins or needles, without referring to the medical aspects.

Regardless of the label, for those suffering from needle phobia the very thought or sight of a syringe or hypodermic needle can provoke overwhelming feelings of anxiety and even panic.

At least 10% of all adults are believed to suffer from this truly inconvenient and potentially dangerous condition.

In fact, the real figure may well exceed this because the most severe cases are simply not recorded. Those suffering from intense needle phobia tend to do everything possible to avoid all medical treatment.

The cause of needle phobia usually lies in the individual's past and most often springs from two causes:

At some time in the past, most often in childhood, the needle phobic has experienced pain or trauma involving an injection or a hypodermic syringe. Because of this he or she has then subconsciously paired this experience with a fear of all such needles in what is called a 'conditioned response'.

The other main way in which this phobia can be acquired is simply because someone else has had a bad experience with hypodermic needles and this has been passed on to the individual, again, often in childhood.

It has also been suggested that there may be an inherited origin to trypanophobia since around 80% report having a relative who also exhibits the same phobia. In my own clinical experience, however, I have not found this to be the case.

The fact that such a large percentage of people suffering from needle phobia have family members who also suffer from the same condition seems to be an indication of the ability of the child to empathetically mimic the fears of the adult or of other children.

There can also be links to other phobias and fears, such as to the fear of bleeding or other elements that may serve to strengthen and complicate the phobia.

The affects and consequences of living life as a needle phobic can indeed be great. Some people simply avoid going to the doctor or dentist at all costs, even when they are experiencing terrible pain or are in urgent need of medical treatment.

However, real help is available.

With correctly applied advanced transformational hypnotherapy, even long standing, chronic cases of needle phobia can be cured.

Once the cause, the origin of the fear is uncovered, then the subconscious mind can be taught to get things back into perspective and release its fearful grip.

Often the needle phobic's conscious mind is only too well aware that this is a fear that is irrational, but it is simply unable to remove it.

With advanced transformational hypnotherapy techniques, we can quite easily re-align the subconscious mind's faulty perceptions and beliefs with those of the conscious, rational mind and free the individual from this truly restrictive and potentially damaging fear.

If you or someone you care about is a needle phobic, suffering from needle phobia - trypanophobia - then the valuable help that you need is available.

With advanced transformational hypnotherapy you can indeed set yourself free.

About the Author

Peter Field is a leading British hypno-psychotherapist with busy practices in London and Birmingham, England. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Health and Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. For hypnotherapy help with fear of needles and other useful information please visit his website: Peter Field Hypnotism

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