That one place? You'd rather not go there. One particular situation? If at all possible, get the hell out of there. Agoraphobia is a kind of umbrella term for people with fears of spaces or environments. It's also known as agoraphobia, but that doesn't quite capture the fear.
What is agoraphobia?
With agoraphobia, you have a fear of certain situations or spaces. Some people with this fear find it exciting to go outside anyway. The other prefers not to go certain places, such as busy roads, squares, or spaces (such as a movie theater or sports halls or something similar).
It is a fear of open spaces.
Actually around bit the opposite of claustrophobia, although that fear also belongs to agoraphobia.
Agoraphobia symptoms
There are a number of symptoms you can recognize agoraphobia by. When you are in public places, you may experience anxiety (stomach aches, sweating, trembling, faster breathing). This can also make you feel sad and hopeless.
The situations where you can get these fears are often:
- Public spaces.
- Large plazas, halls or parking lots.
- Small spaces, such as elevators.
- Places where there are many people or where there is a crowd.
- You get anxious about traveling by public transportation or plane.
Agoraphobia driving
Because people with agoraphobia prefer not to travel by public transport, driving is often a solution. Unfortunately not always, because even in the car you can get into places with many other people, such as in traffic jams, on bridges, through tunnels or on the highway.
So unfortunately, if you have agoraphobia, you may also suffer from driving anxiety [1]. Terribly inconvenient, because this often leaves you with only a small circle from which to live.
Overcoming Agoraphobia
So overcoming agoraphobia is very important to still get everything you want out of life, but how do you do it?
There are multiple treatments for agoraphobia. Generally, a gradual confrontation with the anxiety, in order to reduce sensitivity, is important in treatment. However, exposing yourself to the fear until it is no longer scary can take 80 (!) hours[2].
So that takes a very long time.
Fortunately, if you combine exposure with cognitive behavioral therapy, it does go a little faster and anxiety is reduced. But then you still need to perform 12 sessions[3].
Fortunately, we already know from previous studies and our own experience that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) combines well with hypnosis and that results are achieved faster as a result.
The nice thing is that research shows that for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome who have developed agoraphobia as a result, they benefit from the combination of CBT and hypnosis[4].
Hypnosis and agoraphobia
Hypnosis has also been used for decades to help people with agoraphobia. Generally, attention is then paid to ego enhancement and analytical hypnosis techniques[5].
Another case study suggests that hypnosis can also be used to make people less sensitive to the situations that trigger their fears[6].
And in 2023, there was actually a pilot study of a larger group of people with agoraphobia and the effectiveness of hypnotherapy. I already knew it works and scientists now officially agree with me and think more research should be done on it[7].
Agoraphobia cause
In those analytic hypnosis techniques, finding the cause and "correcting" the beliefs that arise as a result is important. In fact, many beliefs about danger originate in childhood.
Perhaps one of your parents warned you about crowded places or you yourself experienced something as a child that made a big impression on you that now causes agoraphobia.
Find the cause of an impeding belief with the regression technique. This technique is taught to students during training at the Hypnosis Institute Netherlands. With regression you go back to the first moment when you began to suffer from agoraphobia. Perhaps the feeling was not as intense as it is now, but it was there.
Then a hypnotherapist helps to reinterpret that moment so that the impeding belief is `repaired'[8]. This replaces the limiting belief that causes agoraphobia with one that actually helps you to go to public places.
Reframing certain events is then incredibly important to help people see that something was scary only because you were a child. A similar situation while you are an adult doesn't really represent anything at all.
Empowering Ego
So another technique that helps people with agoraphobia is ego strengthening. You could say this is about improvingself-confidence. Finding the cause and encouraging helping beliefs is already a good way to boost self-confidence, but there are many other techniques for this.
For example, the magic mirror is a favorite with us in training. That technique stimulates imagination so that people unsuspectingly suddenly realize that they themselves are an amazing person. Someone who deserves to be happy, to be successful and to go where they want with confidence.
Enhancing the ego also does more than improve self-confidence. It also improves one's inner strength.
Post-hypnotic suggestions can also help with this. These are suggestions that affect a person's subconscious after treatment. For example, the suggestion may be:
"After this session, you'll notice that life actually just gets better and you feel free and safe, even on the street. You will suddenly notice that you go to the supermarket very relaxed and that you find it very normal to go to the movies or a concert once to enjoy the art you see there. You will suddenly notice in a few weeks that you actually feel simply wonderful and that you are enjoying the beautiful weather."
Depending on one's problems and what situations trigger agoraphobia, a person may receive a very different post-hypnotic suggestion than this one that helps to strengthen the ego.
Once successful in retrieving a strong sense of self-confidence, this feeling can also be anchored . This means that afterwards the strong feeling is retrieved by making a small movement. Giving yourself a tap on the wrist or squeezing your hands in a certain way for a moment can do this, for example.
This can help after therapy at times when you normally suffer from agoraphobia, you retrieve this very strong feeling, so that going to the market, for example, is no longer scary at all.
Ideal.
Hypnotic confrontation with anxiety
Speaking of which, the market is actually also confronting fear.
People with agoraphobia often find it difficult to embark on treatment because they know they are given as "homework" to expose themselves to certain situations from time to time.
The nice thing about the brain is that it cannot always distinguish well between reality and fantasy, and a hypnotherapist makes good use of that.
Because in the hypnotic state, you can visualize and retrieve feelings very well. You can use those visualizations to confront yourself with the fear, without actually being in such a fearful situation.
You may be suggested to imagine yourself standing at a busy train station and then give your anxiety a number. For example, 10 if you are really in total fear, or 1 if there is actually nothing more to worry about.
This can be requested from time to time during hypnotherapy, as it also gives an indication of how effective the techniques used by the therapist are.
At the same time, this can be used to experience how you yourself influence your anxiety response. How your muscle tension amplifies anxiety and in turn affects your thoughts.
This is also why progressive relaxation is an important technique, so that people with anxiety learn that many anxiety symptoms arise because you unconsciously tighten all kinds of muscles in your body and because you start breathing faster. If you can control just that, it has a lot of impact on your thoughts and emotions.
Learning self-hypnosis against anxiety
Finally, a person with agoraphobia can be given homework in the form of self-hypnosis. This can be a standard recording with suggestions against anxiety or the therapist can create a specific recording for the person that targets his or her form of agoraphobia.
You listen to that recording daily or three days a week to retain and reinforce the effects of treatment.
It can also help eliminate feelings of stress that arise throughout the day, giving anxiety no or very little chance to develop.
During therapy, a person can also learn to hypnotize themselves for times when needed.
Learning hypnosis to help people get rid of anxiety
Like me, do you want to help people stand in their power so they can live as carefree a life as possible? Then knowledge of hypnosis is invaluable.
Come to the free online master class for an introduction.
Or register directly for one of our events or trainings.
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