THE RAPID TREATMENT OF FEAR, PANIC ANDPHOBIA DISORDERS USING HYPNOANALYSIS ...WITH ILLUSTRATIVE CASE HISTORY SUMMARIES.

INTRODUCTIONAn estimated 20 million Americans suffer

from phobias. "What schizophrenia was to the1960's, what depression and burnout were tothe 1970's, phobias are to the 1980's," accord-ing to Newsweek, April 23, 1986. This articlewill discuss, phobias since they are a timelysubject, Phobic Dirsorders, particularlyagorophobia, social phobia, simple phobia andthe panic disorder of anxiety neuroses.

Medical Hypnoanalysis can uncover theunconscious forces that are responsible for aparticular symptom complex. Once theunderlying root cause - the Initial Sensitiz-ing Event - and the Symptom ProducingEvent have been identified and resolved, theperson is then free to give up his or her par-ticular symptoms and reactions.

Case histories are included. These willdescribe the patient's symptomatology, theobject of the fear (phobic stimulus), and willdemonstrate the necessity of a careful, detailedand complete history - in the patient's ownwords. Specific hypnoanalytical techniquesinclude Word Association Test, Dreamanalysis and Age Regression. The casehistories demonstrate the removal of the highlycharged emotional negative beliefs that wereresponsible for the problem. They alsodemonstrate the usage of positive, healingsuggestions utilized to achieve the therapygoals, mutually established by the patient andthe hypnoanalyst. The importance of making

resistance in giving up the phobia can beexpected.

The PHOBIC DISORDERS are sub-divided into three types: Agoraphobia, SocialPhobia, and Simple Phobia. Simple Phobia isthe most common Phobic Disorder in thegeneral population. Agoraphobia is the mostcommon among people seeking treatment. Itis the most severe and pervasive of all. It canexist with or without panic attacks.I. AGORAPHOBIA has as its essentialfeature, a marked fear of being alone; it mayinclude the fear of being in public placeswhere escape might be difficult or where helpwould not be available in case of suddenincapacitation. The most common situationsagoraphobics avoid are ones that involve beingin crowds like on a busy street or in a crowdedstore, being in tunnels, on elevators, onbridges, or on public transportation. Veryoften, the patients will insist that a trustedfamily member or friend accompany themwhenever they leave home. Because the fearsor avoidance behavior dominate theindividual's life, normal activities becomeincreasingly restricted.

When Panic Attacks accompany theAgoraphobia, the individual developsanticipatory fear of having such an attack, andbecomes reluctant or refuses to enter a varietyof situations that are associated with theseattacks. Agoraphobia generally has its onsetin the late teens or early 20's, and it is morefrequently seen in women.

The term "Agoraphobia" was coined in1871 by a German psychologist, Dr. C.Westphal. He used the term to describe apeculiar syndrome he observed in some of hispatients. From the roots, "Agora," meaningmarket place, or a place of assembly, and"Phobia," meaning dread.

Avoidance is the benchmark of phobias,

a correct subconscious diagnosis cannot beover-emphasized, since this is the basis forsuccessful treatment.

In most cases of this type, less than 15sessions are necessary to complete therapy.

PHOBIC DISORDERSThe essential feature of a phobic disorder

is a persistent and irrational fear of a specificobject, activity, or situation that results in acompelling desire to avoid it (the phobicstimulus). The phobia is a special variety ofthe anxiety reaction. The person knows thatwhat he or she fears is silly, but feelspowerless to do anything about it and cannothelp himself. The root of the fear is in theperson's subconscious mind. It originatesduring an emotional turmoil and results fromunresolved problems and conflicts; these findtheir way to the consciousness, creating theclinical symptomatology. The value of thephobia to the person is the comfort resultingfrom denial or concealment of the real internalfear and danger.

In summary, some external threat("reality") is feared, and therefore must beavoided. The fear itself is beyond voluntarycontrol and cannot logically be explained bythe person. The person seeks professional helpwhen the symptoms become incapacitatingand grossly interfere with his/her life. In mostcases, while the person expresses a sinceredesire to get rid of the problem, marked

and elaborate habit patterns are developed toavoid the stimulus situation. This avoidancein turn, produces feeling of hopelessness andhelplessness.ll. SOCIAL PHOBIA has, as its essentialfeature, a persistent, irrational fear of, andcompelling desire to avoid, situations ofexposure to the scrutiny of others that mightlead to humiliation or embarassment.Therefore, the person attempts to avoid suchsituations, and this avoidance becomes asignificant source of distress. Social phobiasusually occur singularly. Examples would be:fears of public speaking, performing in public,using public lavatories, eating in public, andwriting in the presence of others. This disorderoften begins in late childhood or earlyadolescence.III. SIMPLE PHOBIA is a persistent,irrational fear of, and compelling desire toavoid an object or a situation. These are oftenreferred to as "specific" phobias. Thesephobics rarely seek treatment unless there isa specific need to confront the situation.

Most commonly, the Simple Phobiasinvolve animals, particularly dogs, cats,snakes, birds, insects, and mice. The simplePhobia is usually the easiest to treat and hasthe best prognosis.

PANIC DISORDER(of ANXIETY NEUROSIS)

The essential features involve recurrentpanic or anxiety attacks. These may occurunpredictably, in certain situations, e.g.,driving a car, flying, or being in water. In theDSM-III, the diagnostic criteria for panicattacks require at least four of the followingsymptoms during each attack:(1) dyspnea, (2) palpitations, (3) chest pain ordiscomfort, (4) choking or smothering sensa-

tions, (5) dizziness, vertigo, or unsteadyfeelings, (6) feelings of unreality,(7) paraesthesias (tingling in hands or feet),(8) hot and cold. flashes, (9) sweating,(10) faintness, (11) trembling or shaking,(12) fear of dying, going trazy, or doingsomething uncontrolled during an attack.

Attacks usually last a few minutes; rarelyan hour or more. A common complication ofthis disorder is the development of anticipatoryfear of helplessness or of loss of control duringa panic attack; the individual may then becomereluctant to be alone or to go into publicplaces. The individual may develop varyingdegrees of nervousness and apprehensionbetween attacks. The problem usually beginsin late adolescence or early adult life, but mayalso start in mid-adult life. It is seldomincapacitating unless the disorder is unusuallysevere and complicated by Agoraphobia. Itoccurs more frequently in women.

mSTORY TAKING IS OFUTMOST IMPORTANCE

To illustrate the importaQ,ce of taking acareful and complete history, the presentingcomplaint "fear of flying", can exemplify theprocedure;

When people present with the problem,fear of flying, it is crucial to obtain theirhistory in their own words and to record itverbatim, including notations of bod;language and how the words are said, as wellas notations on pauses and hesitations . . . andwhat the person does Naf say. At theappropriate time, ask the following question:"WHERE IS YOUR FEAR THEGREATESTI" The answer will often help thehypnoanalyst arrive at the correct diagnosis.

In the FEAR OF FLYING, there are fivepossible areas for the person to be fearful.

DECEMBER, 1986

1.) ANTICIPATION OF A JOURNEY.Generally, the person has previously movedaway and is expecting to move away from asecure situation to an insecure one, or thatperson may expect something terrible willhappen while flying away. This causes the fearresponse, and, in these cases, the fear startssoon after the person begins to think of makingarrangements for a trip. 2.) ON ENTERINGAN AIRPLANE (or any other enclosure).This is really a "claustrophobic" reaction, andthe "danger" the person fears is that of beingtrapped inside an enclosed place. Often theInitial Sensitizing Event of this problem goesback to birth or even a pre-birth experience.The response to hormones, such as adrenalin,secreted during the birth experience, is similarto the response a person may experience whenentering an airplane. The fear of flying phobicusually remains reasonably calm until nearingthe gate of the terminal. 3.) ON TAKINGOFF. This is often a fear of "taking off'literally! It can be a fear of leaving home,leaving a marriage, or "running away." Oncethe underlying "real fear" is identified andresolved, the person is "free" to travel withoutthe fear of leaving and not returning. Thereturn flight is usually not nearly as traumaticfor this person. 4.) HIGH ALTITUDE.During this possible area of fear, the personmay remain fairly calm and relaxed until theairplane is already up in the air, and then heor she begins to have a fear reaction. This isNaf the fear of flying, but a fear of heights.Very often the root cause of this fear is fromearly childhood when the person was "taught"to be afraid of heights or of falling from them.Such "learning experiences" would includebeing tossed in the air as an infant, a scareyamusement park ride, being on the roof of atall building, and very often, the birthexperience itself. - especially when the

obstetrician held the infant upside down andslapped his bottom, resulting in the InitialSensitizing Event. 5.) ON LANDING. Thisarea of fear actually constitutes the true fearof flying. And a person with this true fear offlying rarely seeks help because he or she justWON'T fly! This is usually secondary to aprevious experience with an actual plane crash- either involving themselves or a friend orrelative. It is Naf a fear of flying as muchas a fear of crashing! During the past 6 years,I have had a number of patients because of thefatal crash of a commercial jet liner in aresidential neighborhood while on the finallanding approach into the San Diego airportin 1980: All aboard were killed as were manypeople in their homes. The crash became theSymptom Producing Event. These patientshad flown before, but were now afraid to flyand sought professional help.

As with all fears, the fear of flying has aroot cause, i.e. an underlying subconsciousstimulus. This root cause is WHAT IS INTHE MIND OF THE PERSON AT THETIME WHEN THE ORIGINAL INCIDENTOCCURED. It is the VOLTAGE of theEMafIONALLY LOADED NEGATIVESUGGESTION THAT WAS ACCEPfED.The problem is Naf later, as it is rememberedfrequently with the emotion repressed out ofawareness. The problem is a fear stimulus thatbrings up the MEMORY with the reverberat-ing emotion that produces the fear and panic.It is the FEAR ITSELF that is the problem... not the object or situation that is produc-ing the fear. Treatment can only be successfulwhen age regression is used to go back to theInitial Sensitizing Event and SymptomProducing Event. Each subsequent event thatproduces the same fear response is a SymptomIntensifying Event.

CASE HISTORIESIn each of the following illustrative case

histories, the conscious diagnosis is given atthe beginning, and the subconscious diagnosisis given in the text and discussion. Only themost pertinent information is given here, andthe reader needs to be aware that a completehistory, lasting as long as 11/2 hours, is takenon each patient. Only the more relevanthypnoanalytical material is presented here asa case summary.

CASE #1AGORAPHOBIA with PANIC ATTACKS

PANIC DISORDER - Fear of Driving

Elaine is a 37 year old married woman.When I asked her "WHAT IS YOURPROBLEM?" she answered, "I can't drivealone. If I am alone, it is not a pleasantexperience for me. It's a problem for 7 years.It all started when I was driving on anInterstate Highway in San Diego with my 8year old daughter. I thought I would pass outand had to pull over and stop the car. I sat onthe curb. The police had to get someone toget me and drive my car home. My familyphysician gave me pills to take, but I couldonly take a 'child's dose' of it. I am in a prisonand have lost my independence. I feelimpending doom all the time. I am alwaysprepared, on guard, and feel that somethingawful will happen to me or to someone else."

When asked: WHAT WOULD YOU DOIF YOU WERE CURED? she stated: "I'd beable to drive alone."PERTINENT HISTORY: Her parentsdivorced when she was 3 years old. Her fatherwas an alcoholic and was killed in anautomobile accident 3 years ago. Elaine's birthwas uneventful except that her mother had todrive herself to the hospital because her father

was out getting drunk.Elaine also reported "a neighbor boy, 18

years old, was killed before my very eyeswhile driving a farm tractor in circles. He wasfooling around to entertain me. I was 8 yearsold at the time." f

Also, "when I was 16, while on a hikingtrip with other kids, there was a set of twinswho wanted to go swimming. I didn't want togo swimming so they went alone. And theydrowned!"THERAPY GOAL: ,"Help me to overcome

;1" the fears I have of being alone. I don't know

II, . ~~i~uA~~~~~liI~u~IT~~~~elP you.""I!II

ImmatureI am stuck at theemotional age ofI will be well when I can get rid of this prisonMy problem goesback to The age of 8

The patient had NO DREAM&. An ageregression, using the calendar technique wasgiven, suggesting that she go back to the rootcause of her problem. She readily regressed backto the age of 8 and saw herself on her neighbor'sfarm watching the 18 year old neighbor boy"showing off' on his tractor.

She began to abreact with a lot of emotionand related the following: "He is fooling around,making me laugh. He is so happy. He is gettingmarried tomorrow. He is so funny driving histractor in circles and making it bounce and tipfrom side to side. All of a sudden it tips overand he is caught underneath. He is smashed. Heis crushed underneath it. I don't know what'swrong. I grab him and kiss him. Everyonecomes and says 'leave him alone! He's dead!'(NOTE: She subconsciously connects alone withdead.) It's all MY fault! If we weren't alonemaybe he wouldn't be dead. His fiancee blamed

DECEMBER, 1986

me for it. She was never the same again. I wantto say I am sorry. No one talks about it. Maybethey are angry with me and it IS my fault. Iwished he'd get up and be alive. I wish it neverhappened!"

When I asked her: "HOW COULD YOUMAKE IT NEVER HAVE HAPPENED?" shereplied: "I could turn back the clock to the daybefore and pretend that it never happened. That'swhat I did! to avoid the guilt of being responsiblefor his death. I'm nothing more than an 8 yearold . . . THAT'S MY PROBLEM! I removedher guilty feelings explaining that she did notkill him. There was no intent. It was a veryunfortunate accident but certainly not her fault.I said to her it is now safe to mature beyond thatage and that incident.AGE REGRESSION TO 7 YEARS AGO TOTHE SYMPTOM PRODUCING EVENT:Immediately following this regression, she wastaken forward to the Symptom Producing Event,and she said: "I am driving with my 8 year olddaughter. I swerve to avoid hitting another carthat is changing lanes in front of me, and it feelslike my car is going to tip over. Suppose I DIE?Just like the neighbor boy did. My daughter is8 years old, just like I was. I feel the samefeelings as I did when I was in his yard. AfterI pull over and I am sitting on the curb I amafraid. I feel like I was then, sitting and watchingeveryone trying to help him. As I watched thetraffic going by, it's like watching him drivingthe tractor, and I am getting more frightened andpanickey."DISCUSSION: The DIAGNOSIS is PONCEDE LEON SYNDROME. This woman remain-ed subconsciously, a child, in order to avoidhaving to deal with the guilt she felt over theneighbor's untimely death. By staying 8 yearsold emotionally, the incident never has tohappen, and she does not have to encounter theemotional pain of it.

Being alone represented impending doom,disaster or death for her or for someone else.This was further brought out by the twins'drowning - they were alone. And her father'sdeath occured when he was driving alone.These latter incidents are all SymptomIntensifying Events.

Eight year old children are not old enoughto drive; neither are they old enough to betraveling alone ... hence Elaine's need to havesomeone with her when she leaves the house.Once these subconscious beliefs wereexposed, resolved and neutralized, Elaine wasable to resume normal driving by herselfwithout panic or fear.

So many Initial Sensitizing Eventsoriginate with the birth process. In Elaine'scase, an age regression back to birth wasindicated by her history. She, however, stoppedtherapy after the fifth session, reporting thatshe was perfectly fine, and no longer neededany additional sessions. A one year follow upconfirmed she is symptom-free and remainscured of her problem.

CASE #2

AGORAPHOBIA with PANIC ATTACKS

Mary is a 32 year old, 5 month pregnantwoman. She is married to a Navy officer.Mary was referred by her obstetrician andcame to the office accompanied by herhusband.

When I asked her: WHAT IS YOURPROBLEM? She stated: "I am falling apartat the seams. It all started with a fear ofdriving. I just don't like to be alone. I panicand go to pieces. My husband has to be withme or I cannot go anywhere. It all startedabout a year ago just before moving from myhome state of Ohio to San Diego. I'm afraid

I will have a heart attack and die if I am alone.There will be no one there to help me. I can'tbe out of my security zone of safety. My chestgets tight, my heart beats fast, I can't breathe.I feel like I am a WALKING ZOMBIE. I haveno energy. I sleep like the dead. I am a 'down'person all of the time. I feel like I am in a holeand I don't even want to dig myself out of it.

My husband can't go and do things that heenjoys, like camping, because of me. I amterrified of death and heights, too, I've beenvery depressed for about 2 years. I can't goanywhere without him. Luckily, his Navyduties involve work that can only be done onland. He would never get orders for sea duty."

When I asked her: WHAT IS THEWORST THING THAT EVER HAPPENEDill YOU? She said: "When I turned 16 andrealized that I was an ugly duckling and thatI was stuck with ME. Oh, my grandfather, myfavorite, died on my sweet sixteen birthday.He had leukemia."

When I asked Mary WHY DID YOU GETMARRIED? She responded: "I was ready tohave someone around for security to be withme that I could trust. And no one else askedme and I was afraid that no one else wouldeither."

When asked to describe her husband, shesaid: '~Trustworthy and dependable."

On the question: WHAT WOULD YOUDO IF CURED OF THIS PROBLEM? Sheresponded: "I'd drive home to my home statewhere I belong!"FIRST AGE REGRESSION: Withappropriate suggestions, she was able toregress back in time to the age of 4 andreported: "I was the oldest of 5 children.When my sister was born, she was really cute.I was the ugly duckling and lost it all. WhenI was younger, I was cute, too, and I got ALLof the attention."

The subconscious diagnosis of the Poncede Leon Syndrome was made and explainedto her at this point. She fully agreed that manyof her ways of thinking and behaving werevery immature. She began a maturing processfollowing her analysis. IAGE REGRESSION TO BIRTH: Shereported the following: "I was premature. Myweight was about 3 pounds. I thought I wasgoing to die. I needed constant attention andI could not be left alone even a minute, evenafter I got home. I had a specialized doctortaking care of me, and because of him Isurvived."

Since she belived she was not going tosurvive her birth, she had accepted a deathsuggestion, and the subconscious diagnosis ofthe Walking Zombie Syndrome was explainedto her. She realized that she had been "dead-like" all of her life, and this helped herunderstand the origins of so many of herdifficulties in living. What "saved" her life,according to her own belief system', was thatsomeone was available and she was not leftalone. For her then being left .•alone, equateswith the fear of dying and that's what shefeared the most.AN AGE REGRESSION TO ANOTHERDEATH EXPERIENCE: She related: "I am5 years old. We are living in Europe. Myfather is a Navy chief. Mother got very ill withpneumonia and had a collap~ed lung. Theywill not let me see her. I was left alone a lot.I was afraid she would die. I wanted to die,too, so I wouldn't have to be left alone. Theytake her away to a hospital and I thought sheand I would die."HER SECOND AGE REGRESSION TOBIRTH: "They keep poking me to see if I willmove - to see if I am still alive. It hurts! Leaveme alone. I'd rather be dead. I woke up withpain and they keep hurting me when they poke

me. I've been angry all of my life that Isurvived."

"When I got pregnant, I was worried thatmy baby would die. When the baby is born,I won't be alone. But, I don't want to bedependent on the baby for my survival."DISCUSSION: Through multiple ageregressions, subs conscious diagnoses ofWalking Zombie Syndrome, Ponce de LeonSyndrome, Birth Anoxia Syndrome andIdentity Problem were made. These negativelycharged complexes were resolved over acourse of therapy of 24 sessions. Thepresenting symptomatology was that of thetypical agoraphobia/panic attack victim. Theunderlying root causes of her difficulties werehowever from varied traumatic experiences ofthe past, the most poignant one equating beingalone with death. Subsequent to the abovetreatment, Mary had a relaxed uneventful andnormal delivery. In addition to the resolutionof her subconscious conflicts, she also hadreceived suggestions to prepare her for thedelivery. She was taught to visualize herpregnancy and the childbirth as a natural, easy,normal process. She became quite proficientin self-hypnosis and hypnoanalgesia. Shereturned for further therapy about 6 weekspost-partum. She complained of havingdifficulty taking care of her baby. She felt thatshe was unable to "bond" with her baby boyand actually felt resentful of his presence inthe family, since he took all of the attentionaway from herself. . . just like when her sisterwas born when she was 4 years old. Her babyhad colic, seemed nervous, was fussy most ofthe time, and was not sleeping very well.

In our hypnoanalytic work together, it wasdiscovered that she actually had wished thebaby dead. She felt extremely guilty aboutthis. Mary was unable to share these thoughtswith her husband or anyone else. She felt very

"left out" and would become very angry withher husband for paying more attention to thebaby than to herself. She was angry at the babyfor being so cute and getting all of the attentionand love. Several sessions were needed to helpher resolve the underlying causes of herinability to love herself, and to further resolveher Love-Identity Problem. Once Mary wasmore able to accept and love herself, she wasable to change her negative self-destructiveways of thinking and behavior patterns. Shelearned to share her love with her baby andher husband, and others in the world. Eventhe baby calmed down and is doing muchbetter.

After a few more sessions she started tocome to the office by herself, leaving the babyat home with a baby sitter. Therapy wascompleted in 42 sessions over a period of 10months.

PANIC DISORDERHenry is a 24 year old college graduate,

manager of a convenience store. At the timeof his consultation visit he was engaged to bemarried in five months.

When asked: WHAT IS YOURPROBLEM? He stated: "It's a neurosis I'mhaving. Started during college classes. It leftwhen I left the classroom. I always sat nearthe door. I thought it would stop when Igraduated. Waves of fear go through my body.I'd get nauseous. I graduated one year ago andI am the manager of a store I worked at forseveral years. I become overwhelmed by fear.Attacks of flight or fight. My body fills withnervous tension. I feel overwhelmed. My neckgets stiff and painful and I get fears of fainting.I was referred by a customer with a similar

problem that you cured in 5 session." (SeeCase #1)PERTINENT HISTORY: Henry was rearedas, and still is a practicing Catholic. He isabsolutely terrified of the prospect of themarriage ceremony and fears he might havean attack in front of all these people. Hismother had a massive stroke 4 years ago anddied after being in a coma for 7 days. Hestated: "I had to decide with my father to 'pullthe plug' and let her die. I still dream of heras not being dead - still alive." Henry's parentswere going through a divorce at the time ofhis mother's cerebral hemorrhage.

When he was 18years old, his friend Jackhad a nervous breakdown and was hospitaliz-ed. He said: "I helped him through it by beingsupportive. Afterwards, Jack developedagoraphobia and he still suffers from it."WORD ASSOCIATION TEST:

ProblemFearPleaseI need most

MeLifeHelp me LordTo get my life backtogether again

I thought I died When mother diedPunishment FearMy punishment is My neurosis of

fearMother's deathWhen mother died

My burdenIt all startedAll would be OKif not forTo resolve myproblem, I'dhave to remove My fear of resolv-

ing itI can let go of whatis eating me up ininside

AGE REGRESSION TO MOTHER'SSTROKE AND DEATH: "She is my rock,my support, she is my best friend! My survivalis threatened. What will I do without her? Thedoctors need MY - I meaI}OUR permissionto turn off the machines. She was in a comafor 7 days and had brain death for sure. I donot want to let her go. (Henry' starts cryingand sobbing) . . . I KILLED HER! IMURDERED HER! I AM GUILTY OF HERDEATH!"THERAPEUTIC SUGGESTIONS: Thenegative suggestion that he caused her deathwas removed. He then was able to accept theidea that God gave her death and that he, thepatient, did not kill her. Therapeuticsuggestions included: "Her body may be dead,but the person who was your mother, the soul,the energy, the personality that lived withinher body - that part of her - is still very muchalive within the hearts and memories ofeveryone who knew her. Let her: body go, andkeep her memory alive."

Henry also came to realize that if he wereguilty of her death, he would somehow, at apsychological level, have to DENY her deathand thus keep her alive. Otherwise he'd haveto be executed as a murderer. He was takenthrough the entire death experience, thefuneral and the burial in order to facilitate hismore complete acceptance of her death so thathe then could mourn and do the necessarygrief work.

Because he had judged himself guilty forher death, he had to punish himself. When his18 year old friend, Jack, developed the panicand fears following his nervous breakdown,the worst punishment Henry could come upwith for himself was similar kinds of panic andfear Jack had. Henry took on the symptomsand some of the behavior patterns of his friendas being the BEST punishment for himself.

His panic symptoms served a doublefunction for Henry's psychic economy. Theynot only served as self-punishment, they alsoproved to him that he was indeed alive!DISCUSSION: While his presentingcomplaint was fear and panic reactions, hisSubconscious Diagnosis included both (1) Aproblem of Guilt and Self-punishment, and(2) Spiritual Walking Zombie Syndrome. Hishypnoanalysis was completed in elevensessions. He is now happily married and freeof symptoms. Anytime he experiences a slightfear coming on, he is now able to quickly useself-hypnosis to relax himself completely andremove the negative thoughts that triggeredthat response. I am glad to report that Henry'swedding went well.

AGORAPHOBIA with PANIC ATTACKSEllen is a 31 year old housewife, mother

of three. Her husband accompanies her to theoffice on every visit.When asked: WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?She stated: "I have what is called agoraphobia,I can't be alone. I want to be free to go. Ithappens in a store, if I am driving alone, orin a shopping center. I am always OK ifsomeone is with me - but not a child. All ofthe symptoms stop after I get out or leave thesituation."

Her symptoms of the panic attack includ-ed: shortness of breath, inside trembling,panic and fear, a dry nervous cough, and nasalcongestion and drainage. When asked howlong she had the problem, she reported: "Thefirst time was when I was 14 in a departmentstore, when I smelled the odor of new clothes.And there were two episodes before. At 8, Ifainted in the doctor's office when I was

treated there for bleeding, the evening aftermy tonsillectomy. And at age 12 when Ipanicked and fainted in the Catholic Churchon a very hot, muggy day. It's always worsewhen it's hot and stuffy and I cannot breathe."When asked: WHAT WOULD YOU DO IFYOU WERE CURED? She said: ''I'd be ableto go to places and be alone!"PERTINENT HISTORY: Ellen had an over-protective mother who always warned her ofwhat Nar to do, for fear she might get hurt.As a child, she was not allowed to goanywhere without her mother or someone elsebeing with her at all times to watch her.

When asked what her THERAPY GOALwas, she responded: "Take away my fear; giveme a positive outlook, and be able to handleany situation and be alone."WORD ASSOCIATION TEST:

MotherProblemFearThere must be

Being alonemeans

Smell of newclothesWhen I panic-ed in the store

Dry, nervouscough

If I let goTo resolve myproblem

Nasal conges-tion

FearFearDrivingA way to be rid of thisand be free

Having to rely onmyself

I needed room to getout; it was hot

A reminder that I canstill breatheI'm afraid I'll die

I must remove thereason for my fear

DREAM: Ellen brought in the followingdream on her visit after her Word AssociationTest: "I was on the balcony, waving at peoplebelow, and then we were filtering through adoorway. It was the feeling of being in church,but the man at the podium was telling jokesand stories. The people were bored and notlistening. A large table was reserved for myfamily. I couldn't decide where to sit - on theend or the side. I remember myself as a childwhen we came in, but became an adult afterI sat down. The chair became a sofa whichcould recline, like a sofa sleeper. I had aconversation with a little girl regarding the useof the mattress, but said it was too old and tornand didn't have a plastic cover on it. The lastthing I remember was trying to get comfor-table and situated, and I couldn't."DREAM ANALYSIS: At first she thought thechurch scene had to do with some guilt feel-ings, but she realized it was that hot andmuggy day and fainting that was the problem.(She did have guilt conflicts, but as it turnedout in further analysis, they had very little todo with the panic and fears.) I proceeded withage regressing her back to the age of 12 andthe fainting incident in the church.AGE REGRESSION: "It's hot and sticky. Iam 12 years old, and am in church with mymother. I can feel the other people's heavybreathing. I am standing, and it gets hotter.I start getting weak, faint, and can't breathe.I faint and black out. Mother is scolding mefor fooling around and tells me to 'stop it.' Ibreathe heavier (she abreacts as in a panicattack) and I pass out. I lose consciousnessand fall down. Mother yells at me andeveryone stopped singing to see what's goingon."

FEELING REMIND YOU OF? She began totalk like a little child, crying, "Mommy,

. i Mommy, let me out." I asked her: What isI happening? and she said: "I am locked in a

car, the windows are shut, ll}ommy left mealone in the car. I am scared. A man looksin the window at me and scares me. It's hotand stuffy and I can't breathe. I want to getout, but I can't because mommy will punishme. She went into a store for just a minuteand I have to wait in the car . . ."

I told her to go to' another time she felt thesame feelings, and she responded: "We are inthe doctor's office. I am bleeding. I had mytonsils out that day. I'm coughing up lots ofblood. I'm choking and can't breathe. Hisoffice smells . . . like the hospital . . .mediciney. He opens my mouth and putssomething in it so I can't close it. I am reallyscared now. I am crying and choking. He putssomething down my throat and gags me. Ittastes awful ... I choke some more. He saidto stop crying and hold my breath for aminute. I can't. I just breathe faster and faster."(Patient abreacts and hyperv~ntilates)

I told her to go back to the tonsillectomyand she screams: "That mask! That mask!They are going to suffocate me. I can'tbreathe. The smell is awful. I'm choking. Ifight them. I am gonna die. They are goingto put me to sleep and they tell me I am a badgirl for not cooperating. The.y hold me down.I hold my breath and then I pass out ... I'mdead." (At this point a reference was made tothe idea that being put to sleep reminded herof a nightime prayer she always had to say:"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lordmy soul to keep, if I should die before I wake. . . etc.") Her death suggestion was removedat this point, and the Walking ZombieSyndrome was explained to her. Since thepatient remained very emotional, I continued

and asked her to go back to the incident at theage of 14 in the department store.

She immediately began to abreact, saying,:"The smell hurts my throat. We are going intothe store and I start choking on something Ismell. New clothes?" When I questioned herfurther to determine what the odor was, sherealized it was a strong-smelling detergent ofsome sort - like ammonia - that was used towash the floor or windows near the entranceof the store. She was going to the store to buynew school clothes.

After she had become aware of thesesympathetic emotional reverberations, I askedher to reject the fear and panic associated withall of these experiences. She now understoodhow it was the memory of the originalemotion that was being "remembered" and"relived" each time she found herself insimilar circumstances. With this understand-ing, she could perceive how the inability tobreathe, to start choking (the "dry, nervouscough") and the nasal drainage, was a self-protection against traumas similar to those thathad scared her in earlier situations. Followingthat session, she related feeling a tremendoussense of relief, and now the terrified feelingswere gone. She said she was now looking for-ward to a life without the panic and fear.

On the next visit, three days later, sherelated to me that she had gone, alone, to alarge shopping center and department store,and "FORGaf" to get afraid. She didn'trealize it until she was standing in line waitingto pay for her purchases. She just felt goodat having done this without her old fearpatterns.AGE REGRESSION ro THE INITIALSENSmZING EVENT: She went back to herbirth experience, she experienced greatdifficulty getting through the birth canal, with

oxygen deprivation due to compression of thetangled umbilical cord between her body andthe wall of the birth canal. She experiencedtremendous fear that she would die fromsuffocation, and it was at that moment in hertreatment that she began to cough and choke.When I asked her: "what is happening?" Shestated: "I can't breathe and they are puttingsomething down my throat to make mebreathe. I have a lot of mucus in my throatand they are sucking it out. I am gagging.Finally, I do breathe and then they take meaway from mother and put me in a box witha plastic lid on it. (At this point, I remindedher of the mattress and plastic cover in herdream). I am all alone in this glass cage. Andit's warm and stuffy. I can't get comfortablebecause I cannot breathe. Then they give mesome air, (Oxygen was pumped in) and I canbreathe OK. I fall asleep and the next thingI know, mother is holding me, trying to breastfeed me. She smothers me with her breast soI can't breathe." She makes reference to thefact that mother always "smothered" her bybeing over-protective.DISCUSSION: The subconscious diagnosisis Birth Anoxia Syndrome because sheexperienced oxygen deprivation during thebirth process. The fear associated with thebirth process was intensified with thesmothering feelings she experienced duringbreast feeding as well as from mother's"smothering and over-protective nature," andagain when she was left inside the car. It wasfurther intensified with the tonsillectomy whenshe could not breathe. Again, she could notget her breath in the church where it was hotand muggy, and then finally, in the store,feeling smothered by the chemical odors. Allof these experiences were associated and thecommon emotional reverberations weredesensitized.

Earlier, she reported how she would alwayspanic when going into and being in a situa-tion, and how she would then feel safe andasymptomatic AFTER SHE GETS OUT. Thisrefers to the Birth Anoxia Syndrome, and itserves in her case as the Initial SensitizingEvent. The problem here with this syndromeis the MEMORY of the emotion itself; thatis, how a video camera would record it or howthe mother or the attending physician saw thesituation is actually beside the point. What isto the point is what the patient experiencedand her emotionally charged memory of thatexperience. The cure - to "get out" - involvedthe release of and the neutralization of anxietyvoltage along with a replacement of negativeself-talk with positive cognitions and imagery.

A six month follow-up revealed that sheis doing very well, is able to go wherever shewants to with minimal difficulty, and that shecontinues to be "in control."

PANIC DISORDER

George is a 35 year old professional actor.When asked WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM hestated: "I am having a classical fear responseto having reconstructive surgery on my nose.A great deal of fear and apprehension. Theright airway is obstructed due to an injuryfrom when I was a child. And also,cosmetically, I want my nose put back in it'snormal position. There is also some cartilageimbedded in my upper lip. I could FORCE ITTHROUGH or BITE THE BULLET, butthere must be a more civilized way to deal withthis instead of forcing it through.

I don't remember what really happened.My mother, father and sister all have conflic-ting stories. Whatever it was, it was a severe

lnJury to my face and nose. Very, verytraumatic. I was 2-3 years old, playing, andsomehow got severe cuts on my face and nose.Has something to do with gardening with myfather. I went into shock and almost died from

Jthe blood loss. Apparently, my nose wasalmost cut off, and they had to sew it back on.My parents drove me to the hospital, 45minutes away. I am not afraid of anything, it'sjust not my temperament. Only if it concernsmy nose and face. I have an unconsciousresponse to fear and there is no logic to itwhatsoever.

My acting agent said to have the surgerydone because it will enhance my career. Threeyears ago, I was in the hospital to have thisdone and 2:00 a.m. the night before thesurgery I had the classical autonomic/sympa-thetic reaction of fear of the surgery. I signedmyself out. I BACKED OUT OF IT.

Doctor, it's Nor the procedure . . . it'shaving my nose plugged! I can't stand that. Ihave great anxiety when I get a cold and mynose is stuffed up. I also have some suppressedanger and I get a physio~ogical reaction to it,and when I do, MY FACE BLISTERS UPwithin an hour or two."

When I asked him: "WHAT IS THEWORST THING THAT EVER HAPPENEDm YOU?" he said: "I grew up in a veryrough neighborhood and was forced to be asurvivor. I had to act tOlJghreal fast to survivethe other kids on the street.

I said: "TELL ME ABOUT YOURBIRTH" (His body language at this pointincluded: picking at the ear, touching thethroat and then grabbing his throat, chokingand clasping his hands over the umbilicalarea). He said, "Mother was told the babywould not live because of a fibrous growth.(Was this fibrous growth uterine fibroids ofmother or some fibrous growth on the child?

I never found out which - either from thehistory or subconscious analysis). She wasprepared for the death of the child - ME! Itwas a very traumatic birth with an extendedlabor. Maybe I was a breech. I don't reallyknow. Mother was hospitalized for 10 daysafter I was born."

I asked him: "WAS ANYONE'S DEATHA PROBLEM m YOU?" and he said: "yes,my grandmother's when I was 5 or 6 years old.My father was hysterical at the funeral. Therewas an 'extended wake' for several weeks, withfrequent visits to her grave for years. At thefuneral he picked me up to see her and saygood-bye. He shoved my face into her deadface!"

When I asked him: "WHAT IS YOURTHERAPY GOAL?" he stated: "Deconditionthe fear response to . . . the nose thing.Whatever the hell it is. "Smells' like aclassically conditioned fear. Pavlovian?"

He brought in the following DREAM:"Left hand side. Cover the face. Someonepulled something off my face. I woke up veryanxious and fearful. I woke up in a sweat."AGE REGRESSION m THE CHILDHOODINCIDENT:

"Father is trimming the bushes. I'm 2years old. Summer-time, very hot. I am play-ing on the fence and our neighbor is there andhe has a bucket of minnows for fishing andI want to see them. I fall off the fence into thisstuff. It hurts. My foot gets caught in themand I can't get away. The neighbor man isupset and yelling at me. I fell into his prizedrose bushes. I get scared and try to get awayand I FORCE MY FACE into the bushes toget away. He's coming after me and tries toget me.

He calls my father and now I am reallycaught in the thorns. My face and foot are

caught. I tore my face and it's bleeding all overthe place. Father gets me out and holds meclose, too close, I can't breathe. He's squeez-ing me against his chest. I'm bleeding andchoking. Father says: 'He's gonna die, Oh, myGod. Get a rag to put over his face.' They puta rag over my face. I can't breathe. I must bedying. I can't say anything. I go unconscious.I must be dead. I hear someone say, you'vekilled him!"

He continued: "Father drives me to thehospital, which is 45 minutes away. Mymother is holding me with a rag over my face.She is yelling at my father. 'He's gonna die,he's gonna die.' At the hospital, the doctorsays: 'Oh, God, he'll lose it. There is a bighole there where his nose is supposed to be."(When asked, "WHAT DOES THE 'IT'REFER m?" He responded. "IT means thatI lost the ability to breathe and I'd die."

"They stuff something into my nose. Theyinject it; it hurts. I can't breathe again. Theyanesthetize me; I feel I am dying again. WhenI wake up my face is all numb. Everyone isin white. I must be in heaven. (He is in theoperating room and awakens as they arepreparing for surgery). I can't breathe. Thereis something in my throat. I try to breathe andI can't. (Patient was intubated with anendotracheal tube for anesthesia). Someoneelse is breathing for me. I pass out again, asI hear the doctor say: 'do something quick,he's waking up.' They give me moreanesthetic. Then later I wake up again. I'm ina bed. I am tied down and I cannot move.Mother hugs me and smothers me. 1'111 think-ing, I don't want anyone to ever mess with myface again, or I'll die for sure."

The following revelations were made bythe patient during this age regression: "I donot trust anyone, and especially to have thembreathe for me. THAT'S WHAT I'M

AFRAID OF ... someone else breathing forme! Like the anestheologist in surgery! I amalways watching myself breathing - my chestmoving, in a mirror, etc. I often make a sortof noise when I try to breathe through mynose. And I sniff a lot. It's proof. that I amalive. I have to see or hear myself breathing.

I am walking through life - like an actorplaying a role on the stage of life. I am atechnical actor. I cannot show any emotion.My teachers and directors say so. I feel likeI've been dead all of these years. Now it allmakes sense to me!"DISCCUSSION: The subconscious diagnosisof Walking Zombie syndrome was made andexplained to the patient; he agreed 100% withit. He realized that he had come to think ofhimself as dead several times during theincident at age 2. In hypnotherapy he wasassured that he was free to be alive and didnot have to be afraid of anyone doing anythingto his face or nose, and he did not have to beafraid of the anesthesia since he could trustthe expertise of the anesthesiologist and feelsafe while "someone else breathed for him."He was FREE to decide whether or not Hewanted to have the surgery; but he coulddecide without fear.

He had a completely successful surgery 6weeks after completing his therapy. Heexperienced no anxiety or fears with the entireprocedure. He had excellent results bothphysiologically and cosmetically. The surgeontold him afterwards how he had been one ofthe most cooperative and relaxed patients hehad treated.

Some months after the surgery, and follow-ing this hypnotherapy, I received a letter fromhim. The following is a excerpt from it:

". . . I want to express my deepest apprecia-tion for the therapeutic help you gave me.

Because of the hypnoanalysis andhypnotherapy, I was able to overcome andresolve a longstanding fear of surgery. Yourcompetent and gentle approach allowed me toundergo the necessary surgery without anxietythat I had avoided for yead. I commend yourtherapeutic techniques and scholarly dedica-tion to this most important field of MedicalHypnoanalysis .

PANIC DISORDERJoe is a 26 year old married man. No

children. When asked: WHAT IS YOURPROBLEM? He stated: "Fear of throwing,catching and hitting a baseball, since I was hitin the face by a pitched ball thrown by apitcher who I taught how to throw a curve ball.I play in a minor league now, and my team-mates are getting fed up with me. I'll pull awayand miss too many pitches. I strjke out a lot.I miss pop flies, or let the ball go through melike on grounders. I make too many errors.I turn my face away for fear,.I'll get hit. I alsohave a fear of scuba diving, even though Idecided to take a scuba diving course andpassed it. I get nauseous thinking about goingdiving unless I am with a trained instructor.

Several years ago I was in the United StatesAir Force being trained as a navigation officer.I wanted to be a pilot which was why Ienlisted. However, since I was not acceptedfor pilot training, I was able to get discharged,since those were the terms of my enlistment.I have an opportunity to rejoin the UnitedStates Air Force and be in flight training. Yousee, I just recently got my pilot's license, butI am afraid to fly alone. I can only fly witha trained pilot with me in case something goeswrong. I had no problem with the navigator's

training since there was always a pilot flyingthe airplane. I get the same tightness in mychest and nauseous feeling as with scubadiving".

"And I had asthma since childhood, whichended the day my father died. I was 16. Hedrowned at the beach ... in my arms. I triedto do CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation)and failed. He barfed, inhaled it into his lungsand suffocated. If I had known CPR orsomeone trained had been there, he'd probablystill be alive today. But I hated my father andwas happy when he died. He was mean to me.Too strict. I had wished him dead for years.I didn't even want to go to the beach that day,but he made me go."

After suggesting he would have a signifi-cant dream, he brought in the followingDREAM:

"I was showing some guys how to playbaseball and pitch, but it was from a stairwellinto a grass area, and the ball kept fallingshort."DREAM INTERPRETATION: "I can't makeit in life; I'm always falling short in reachingmy goals." Patient went on to relate how he'dget a tight feeling in his stomach and chest andstart to wheeze. When he did, his father wouldalways feel sorry for him and leave him alonewhen he began to wheeze. Patient had tosuppress his anger and choke back the feel-ings toward his father whom he hated. Therewere many trips to the doctor and emergencyrooms, and his father would always leave himalone when he was sick. He realized how theasthma was indeed a "suppressed cry forhelp." One time he wanted to hit his father,and at that moment an image of Jesus appearedwho said "NO!" It's a sin to hit your father!"This incident happened just three monthsbefore his father drowned.AGE REGRESSION: Patient when to 6th

grade when he was playing baseball and hisfather was nearby watching. "I was the leader,I was the best of them all and they knew it.I would spend time teaching the other kidshow to throw, to catch and to hit better. Fathersaid, 'You're always making a fool of yourselfby showing others how to throw and hit.' I gotmad at him. I thought being a leader wouldimpress him, and instead he resented it."

I told him to take that feeling and go toanother time and he reported: "About Phyears ago I was teaching this guy how to pitcha curve ball. He did throw a good one and ithit me in the face. I felt like a fool, stupid ...just like father had said. I've had problemsplaying ball ever since."AGE REGRESSION 1D FATHER'S DEATH:"My younger brother was having trouble inthe water and my father went in to rescue him.He saved him, but my father got caught in thecurrent. Eventually someone was able to getto him and pull him out. He had swalloweda lot of water. He was unconscious when theygot him to the beach. I was in the car whileall of this was going on. I was mad becauseI did not want to go to the beach to begin with.I heard all the commotion and went down tothe beach to see what was going on. I realiz-ed, "It's my Dad." My first thought wasFREEDOM AT LAST! It was like a ton ofbricks and been lifted off my back. God gaveme my wish!

"But my second thought was: I can't lethim die. It would be my fault because I wishedit. I really do love him even though I don't likehim. I just hate the way he is, and what hedoes to me. I try to do CPR on him, but I don'treally know what I'm doing. I fail to save him.It's my fault. I'm a murderer, and I have topunish myself. I've been doing that by notletting myself succeed in life. But the best partwas that all of the anger and asthma was gone

immediately."DISCUSSION: Joe's therapy was

completed in 9 sessions. Once the underlyingcauses of his fears were resolved, he was ableagain to be the star of his minor leaguebaseball team, he also has been able to scubadive without anxiety. He applied for and hasbeen accepted back into the USAF andscheduled for flight training. Joe is able to flyalone now.

SIMPLE PHOBIA - Fear of BirdsRose is a 16 year old female, who

successfully, had undergone hypnoanalysis andhypnotherapy at the age of 11at my office toimprove her skill and ability in show horseriding competition.

When asked: "WHAT IS THEPROBLEM?" she stated: "I have an amazingfear of birds. I don't remember when it started,but it was when I was very little. It's NOT afear of being attacked. I break out in a sweatand panic. If a pigeon crosses my path I haveto avoid it. I cannot sit outside and eat, go toa park or a zoo. I am going to school inEurope, and there are a lot of birds, so Icannot travel and sight-see because of it. If Isee a bird that is caged, I'm OK. It's wildbirds. It's a problem when a bird flies towardsme. I remember having a dream 6f seeing deadbirds."FIRST AGE REGRESSION: "I am 5 yearsold, and at a farm, where I am learning to ridehorses. There are some ducks following me,they are chasing me. They don't want methere, and they scare me. I am afraid they willhurt me. I want to pet them, and they peckat me. The riding teacher comes over to meand says 'Don't go near the ducks, they may

HURT YOU! or you could HURT THEM!"SECOND AGE REGRESSION: (2nd officevisit): "I am about 7-8 years old and drivingin a car with mother. It was raining heavilyand it was dark. Something hit the windshieldvery hard and scared me., Afterwards mymother said it was some kind of bird. It tookme a long time to get over the shock!"

"Mother went on explaining whatprobably happened to reassure me. She saidthat the bird got hurt by the car and is probablydead. I feel GUILTY! It's my fault. It wascoming at me and got hurt and killed. THAT'SIT! That's my problem! I'm afraid that the birdwill get hurt flying toward me. It's not MYsafety I am concerned about, it's the bird'ssafety . . . we would both get injured. I'msmart to stay away from the birds. The birdscan't think. I avoid birds to protect them."

When asked to go to any other event thatwas important for the complete understandingand resolution of this problem, she immediate-ly age regressed back to the age of 4 andstated: "I lost my first animal then. I had abird in a cage. I had come home from a carride with my father, and my-mother told methat the bird had died! I cried. I felt guilty.It was my fault. The bird had been left in adraft and died. It was "OUT IN THE AIR"and died, and it was my fault."DISCUSSION: This analysis and therapytook only 5 sessions to complete. Four weekslater I received a letter from her telling methat she had gone on an "outdoor survivalcamping/mountain climbing/canoeing trip" inEngland, and suffered no panic or fearconcerning birds whatsoever. She related thatshe had no further out of control feelings thatbirds in their natural setting has always givenher.

FEAR OF FLYINGHelen is a 35 year old married woman,

who has two children.When asked WHAT IS YOUR ROBLEM?

She stated: "A fear of flying. Where do I start?I am frightened thinking what if the planecrashes? What about my children if I die? Ihate the turbulence. I fly with my husband onbusiness a lot, every couple of months at leastaround California or the United States. I panicand watch out the window to relax."

I asked her WHEN WAS YOUR FIRSTFLIGHT? And she said: "The day my fatherdied! We were supposed to fly from New Yorkto Florida for a vacation in December. I was4 years old. He had a sudden massive heartattack at the age of TI. I was daddy's little girl!The fears have become worse in the pastseveral years now that we have kids."

She brought in the following dream: "Weare getting ready to go to the beach to havefun. Our whole family is packing things andfood. Everyone is happy and excited."AGE REGRESSING TO FATHER'S DEATH:"We were to meet daddy at the airport, buthe never arrived. We were getting ready to geton the plane when mommie got a call to returnhome, and when we got there we are tolddaddy is dead! He went to work that day andhad the heart attack at work and was rushedto the hospital and died."WHEN ASKED HOW THIS AFFECTEDHER, she answered: "I felt like my life wasover, too. I don't want daddy to die." And withappropriate questioning, she was able torealize that what she had done was to turnback the clock of time to the day before herfather's death, and pretended that it never hadhappened. Her dream confirmed this and her

realization is clear when she stated: "I stayeda little 4 year old girl to keep my daddy alive.I denied his death."WHEN ASKED WHAT SHE LEARNEDFROM THIS EXPERIENCE WHEN SHEWAS 4 YEARS OLD she responded with:"Don't go on a trip, or somebody close to youdies! I'm always afraid someone will die whenI am on an airplane."DISCUSSION: The death of her father, coin-ciding with being at the airport, waiting forhim to meet the family for a trip, is the InitialSensitizing Event. The Symptom ProducingEvent is the birth of each of her two childrenand the subsequent flights after her pregnan-cies. The subconscious problem underlyingthe Panic Disorder of the fear of flying is, ofcourse, the Ponce de Leon Syndrome. Sheremained a little girl in her mind in order todeny her father's untimely death. If she doesnot go forward in time, it never has to happen.She admitted to many immature behaviors thatalso improved after her subconscious age hadbeen brought up to her chronological age.Total therapy time: 9 sessions.

SUMMARYThe use of Medical Hypnoanalytical

techniques have been explained and illustratedin the treatment of fear, panic and phobicdisorders. These methods can bring about arapid identification and resolution of theunderlying (subconscious or unconscious)disorder, which is the true "root" cause of theproblem. In some of the cases presented,while the presenting symptom is similar, theunderlying subconscious cause is uniquelydifferent and individual for each person.

Research and clinical observations inmodern hypnoanalysis have shown, that panicattacks provoked by situations or objectscausing intense fear are reverberations ofemotions from forgotten events. These eventswere frightening things that the patient hasexperienced in the past, usually in childhood,and has forgotten or suppressed. Thesetraumatic incidents often occur during thepenatal, natal and post-natal times in a person'slife.

One can consider the patient to be suffer-ing from a conditioned reflex. Modernhypnoanalysis and hypnotherapy can rapidlydiscover the cause of the problem. In orderto establish a cure the "conditioned reflex"must be broken and the patient "recondition-ed" by repeated correct association of ideas.

A phobia is a special form of an anxietyreaction. The patient knows what he or shefears is silly, but feels powerless to do anythingabout. The root cause of the fear is in thepatient's subconscious mind. It originates inan emotional turmoil from unresolvedproblems and conflicts that find-their-wayconsciousness, creating the symptoms. Thevalue of the phobia to the patient is the denialor concealment of the internal or original fear.The external subject or situation is feared andmust be avoided.

The patient seeks professional help whenthe symptoms become incapacitating andinterfere with his life.

Fear is a normal emotion that steers usaway from situations that are dangerous. Fearis normal and necessary for survival for allspecies. The patient with a panic or phobicdisorder is afraid when there is no real danger.The extreme fear of a particular object,activity or situation cannot be explainedlogically by the patient. The real problem isthat the patient is AFRAID OF A MEMORY.

In hypnosis the patient can let go of the fearof that memory since it represents an event,that has ALREADY HAPPENED. The sug-gestion they need is: "The past is past andwhat you have suffered belongs to the past.

IIt does not trouble you anymore, you haveforgotten all your suffering and even if youremember it, it will not distress you." It isTHE MEMORY that is the real problem. Theobject of the fear, the phobic stimulus, triggersthe MEMORY of the original fear and pro-duces the panic/fear/anxiety attack.

By neutralizing the original emotionaltrauma and by removing the negative beliefsassociated with it, the patient is free NOT tohave to react to the phobic stimulus. In thisway the memory and the associated condition-ed reflex become inactivated.

Insight alone is not sufficient it requiresafter realization a thorough re-education and

proper reinforcement.Other treatment modalities, such as

cognitive therapy, behavior modifica-tion/desensitization, etc. while they may beeffective in learning how to better "cope" withthe problem, generally take much longer.

CONCLUSION:Medical Hypnoanalysis demonstrates its

effectiveness, in diagnosis, and treatment ofthe fear and anxiety of panic and phobicdisorders. More people can be helped in lesstime by a professional therapist who incorpor-ates these clinically proven techniques in hisor her practice. The feelings of hopelessnessand helplessness can be converted into feelingsof well-being, security and self-confidence.The patient can be freed to enjoy life withoutfear.

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