Overcoming a fear of blood

There aren’t many people out there who feel totally OK at the sight of blood but, for some, just the description of it is enough to make them feel unwell or even faint. If this sounds like you, know that you’re not alone.

When we look at our evolutionary history a fear of blood, or hematophobia, was a useful reaction. Fainting at the sight of blood may have been helpful for our ancestors as it reduces blood loss (when we’re horizontal our heart doesn’t have to pump so hard to get blood around the body, which can be helpful if we’re injured).

Fainting may have even helped our ancestors when they were attacked by animals – playing dead as a defence mechanism. When we look at it like this, an aversion/fear of blood is quite normal.

For some people, however, the reaction is severe and, in our modern life, most of us are unlikely to be attacked by animals. This makes the reaction of feeling unwell and fainting at the mention of blood inconvenient at the very least.

This deep-seated aversion to blood can often be made worse from an experience in childhood. For example, you may have witnessed an accident or even had an accident yourself that involved blood. The memory of this can heighten reactions to create a full-blown phobia that holds you back. Often there is also anxiety surrounding the phobia (for example being anxious about fainting when you see blood).

Hypnotherapy is a tool being used more and more for anxiety and has been found very helpful for those with phobias. While each hypnotherapist will be different, often they will help you uncover the root of your phobia and help you reduce your emotional reaction to the event in question.

TV presenter Davina McCall is just one example of someone who has had success with hypnotherapy for a blood phobia. Earlier this year, Davina revealed that she had this phobia after witnessing her grandmother in a lawnmower accident. Before presenting A&E Live, she had hypnotherapy to help her overcome her fear.

In a twist of fate, she was called out to a similar lawn mowing accident during filming. When talking on This Morning, she explained how she got on:

“I was absolutely fine. I was very nervous. I just thought, ‘you’ve just got to keep it together’. I was able to talk to him and look at what they were doing and I was completely fine.”

Read more success stories from people who have tried hypnotherapy for phobias.

Fear of cancer treatment in children: Can hypnosis help?

Although the link between cancer treatment and mental health is yet to be fully explored, it is believed that anxiety is more prevalent in cancer patients than in otherwise healthy people – even more so than depression. It’s thought this is the case, even after treatment is over.

Additionally, previous studies have shown that the medical procedures involved in cancer treatment can often provoke more anxiety in children and young people than the cancer diagnosis itself.

But, new research has found promising evidence that hypnosis can reduce the distress associated with treatments such as injections, extracting bone marrow and giving chemotherapy.

The research, led by the University of Exeter, analysed all the available evidence on ways to reduce anxiety, without the use of drugs. The researchers analysed data from 15 studies – eight involving hypnosis and seven involving other non-hypnosis interventions, such as listening to music, virtual reality and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

What were the results?

The study found large, statistically significant reductions in anxiety and pain for those treated with hypnosis, particularly compared with treatment as usual. By contrast, evidence as to whether non-hypnosis interventions reduced children’s distress when faced with needle procedures was inconclusive.

Hypnotherapy is becoming a more recognised method for reducing feelings of anxiety. The treatment can help to boost confidence and self-belief, while also reducing feelings of fear and intense worry. It can help to develop the ability to access the calm state of mind needed to overcome the often-overwhelming emotions people are living with – particularly those that surround medical procedures, such as in cancer treatment.

Tamsin Ford, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “Getting treatment for cancer as a child is clearly extremely distressing for both the young person and their family. We must do all we can do to protect their mental health during this highly emotional time.”

It’s thought that children are especially receptive to being helped with hypnotherapy, as it relies on their ability to imagine and visualise themselves acting or thinking differently – something that many children can do very easily.

Tools such as stories, visualisation and role play may be used to help the child move forwards and overcome their anxiety.

Tamasin says, “Hypnosis is inexpensive to deliver, and our research found that it was the technique that was most studied, and showed promise in reducing children’s anxiety about the many medical procedures they have to endure. We now need high-quality trials to be sure whether hypnosis should be adopted in clinics.”

To find out more about hypnotherapy for anxiety, visit our fact-sheet. 

How hypnotherapy can help with travel anxiety

Seeing different cultures and travelling is an enriching experience. It gives us perspective, helps us learn and allows us to grow as people. For some of us though, the idea of travelling is filled with anxiety.

Whether you have a fear of flying, struggle with driving anxiety or simply find new environments difficult – travel anxiety can hold many of us back. Often those with travel anxiety will struggle with anxiety in other areas of their life too, with the unpredictable nature of travelling making things worse.

If you can relate to this, but are desperate to travel (and enjoy it!) don’t worry, there are therapies that can help. Alongside talking therapies like counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy, hypnotherapy is an excellent tool many are turning to for travel anxiety.

Here are a fews ways hypnotherapy can help with travel anxiety:

Help you identify the cause

Together with your hypnotherapist you can take a closer look at what is causing your travel anxiety. For some it is the travelling itself that causes anxiety (flying, driving, taking public transport), while for others it is more to do with being in an unfamiliar environment or worrying about what could happen.

Use techniques to help reduce anxiety

Once you have figured out what’s at the root of your anxiety, your hypnotherapist can use different techniques, including suggestion techniques, to help reduce those feelings of anxiety when you travel. When you’re under hypnosis, you are in a very relaxed state and it’s believed that your subconscious is more open to suggestion. A hypnotherapist will be able to suggest things here to help convince your subconscious that travel doesn’t make you anxious.

While you’re away

Your hypnotherapist may also teach you self-hypnosis and/or relaxation techniques. These can be useful for when you are travelling (or are about to go travelling). This can reinforce the work done in your hypnotherapy session and help you remain calm.

As well as these hypnotherapy tools there are other things you can do to help reduce anxiety when travelling such as:

• avoid too much alcohol or caffeine (these can make anxiety worse)
• try and get enough sleep
• carve out some quiet time to yourself while you’re away
• create a routine once you arrive at a new destination
• journal about any worries, then tear up the page

Be kind to yourself and know that with support – nothing can hold you back.

Understanding food aversion and eating phobias

Food is a huge part of our life. Of course, we need it to survive and be physically healthy, but it also frames our day and social life. We gather round tables of food to connect with loved ones, we spend time in the kitchen cooking something delicious for someone special, some of our fondest memories involve a certain type of food.

So what happens when you find yourself unable to eat certain foods, because of an aversion or a phobia? First of all, let’s explore the two common types of eating phobias – food aversion and an inability to swallow.

Many of us dislike certain foods, but for those with a food aversion, the repulsion is strong and it can cause feelings of anxiety. If this affects a wide range of food, you may be limited to only eating a small variety of foods.

Food aversions like this are often triggered by something that’s happened in the past. It may be because of the type of food you were given as a child, you may have had a bad experience when you were younger (food poisoning perhaps) or you may find certain textures difficult to deal with.

A food phobia that involves an inability to swallow comes from an extreme fear of choking. This is often linked to a sensitive gag reflex and/or the tight throat response some people get with generalised anxiety. This phobia can lead to people avoiding solid food altogether and only eating soft or liquefied foods.

Note: It’s important to highlight that a food aversion or phobia is not the same as an eating disorder. Anorexia causes sufferers to restrict their diet in an attempt to gain control over their weight and cope with difficult emotions. It is not a phobia of food that stops them from eating, but more what effect eating the food will have on their body.

How eating phobias and food aversions can affect you

Eating a varied diet rich in fruits and vegetables is what our body needs to feel physically fit and well. Having enough vitamins and minerals builds up our immune system to keep us healthy. When a food aversion or phobia stops you from eating a varied diet, it can lead to nutrient deficiencies and illness.

It can also hold you back from any social activity that involves food. You may turn down invitations to events that involve food and end up withdrawing from friends and family.

If a food aversion or phobia is stopping you from feeling well, physically or mentally, know that support is available. There are a number of different therapies that can help, including psychotherapy and hypnotherapy.

How hypnotherapy can help

Hypnotherapy can be a helpful tool in overcoming food aversions and phobias. Depending on your personal circumstances it can help to both uncover the root cause and ease anxiety.

As mentioned above, food aversions and phobias can often be traced back to something in our early years. If you can’t place where the phobia comes from, hypnotherapy can be used to help uncover this. Having a greater understanding of your phobia can be a helpful first step in overcoming it.

Reducing the anxiety that comes with food phobias and aversions is key. Combined with gentle exposure therapy (when you are encouraged to imagine, smell and eventually taste the food you avoid), hypnotherapy can help you feel calm and able to cope.

To find out more, we recommend booking an initial consultation with a hypnotherapist who can talk you through the process and any questions you may have. You can use our search tool to find a hypnotherapist in your area.

Why is positive thinking so important?

Written by Silvia Boric Oakes-Wilson Despite often being told that it is beneficial to think positively, many of us struggle to do so. It is also often argued that it is what we do that counts, not what we think. What you think about, you bring about Being able to act differently to how we ... Read moreWhy is positive thinking so important?

Hypnotherapy and mindfulness

How present and in the moment do you feel in your life? If the answer is ‘not much’, you may benefit from mindfulness. You’ve no doubt heard of the practice before – a type of meditation that encourages you to be aware of the moment you are in now, allowing you to become more aware of your thoughts (and more able to let them drift by, like leaves on a stream).

Helping countless people cope with stress, anxiety and even depression, mindfulness is becoming a go-to practice for many. Today we are speaking to Suzanne Shenderey who combines mindfulness with her hypnotherapy services to explore how the two work together.

Hi Suzanne, can you start by telling us how you came across mindfulness and how it’s helped you?

I first became interested in mindfulness when I was running a relaxation group and looking for guided meditations to use. I began to read about mindfulness and it felt as though a light bulb had been switched on. I was shocked to realise how much of my life I was spending on autopilot. I recognised that so many of us have similar worries, pressures and anxieties and was impressed by the amount of scientific research behind mindfulness.

The thing that really resonated with me was the use of self compassion – I use this a lot myself and when working with clients. I was so fascinated by mindfulness I began reading more about it and started to practise daily meditation.

I took part in a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme and then undertook teacher training. If you’re a mindfulness teacher, I think it’s vital that you practice mindfulness yourself. I now see one-to-one clients, run mindfulness workshops and programmes and use mindfulness techniques with most of my hypnotherapy clients. I have also trained teachers to use mindfulness in the classroom.

How do you use this within your hypnotherapy work?

Mindfulness can work really well alongside hypnotherapy. Practising meditation can be a big help when it comes to alleviate anxiety. Developing an awareness of one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours using mindfulness techniques can help to break negative habits and improve self-esteem.

I use breathing exercises in both hypnotherapy and mindfulness. I find children and adults alike respond well to the use of mindfulness techniques.  

Why do you think mindfulness and hypnotherapy goes well together?

Hypnotherapy and mindfulness are both ways of empowering people to help themselves. I often use a combination of the two when working with my clients.

In both cases we are rewiring the neural connections that keep us trapped in unhelpful feelings, thoughts and behaviours. Both mindfulness and hypnotherapy enable people to develop new healthy habits for themselves.

How can our readers get started with their own mindfulness practice?

Modern life is stressful and busy. People often feel that they just don’t have time to pause, let alone meditate. There are many misconceptions about mediation, one being that it has to take a long time. Another is that you have to sit cross legged on a cushion chanting.

Whilst it’s true that the more you practise mindfulness techniques, the more benefit you’ll get from them, any practice is beneficial. Even a minute a day is better than nothing. There are lots of short mindfulness practices, from one-minute breathing space meditations, to paying attention while taking your shower in the morning.  

Mindfulness can be practised in any situation, for example while walking, doing yoga or writing a gratitude journal. A good way to get started is to use an app like Head Space or Insight Timer. You may like to join an eight-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme or even train as a mindfulness teacher. There are some great books out there too, a good one to start with would be “Mindfulness, Finding Peace in a Frantic World” by Mark Williams.