Fears, Frights and Phobias: How Your Mind is Trying to Protect You (and How Hypnotherapy Can Help)

Let’s talk about fear.

Not the kind of fear that keeps you from running into traffic or makes you double-check the locks before heading out the door. That’s a healthy kind of fear. It’s your mind doing its job to keep you safe and sound. But what about the kind of fear that doesn’t quite make sense? The fear of flying when you’ve never had a bad flight or the panic at the sight of a spider, even though it’s smaller than your fingernail. The dread of public speaking, even in front of supportive people can freeze you. The fear is helpful if you are being chased by a bear, not so much for most other areas of our life.

These are the kinds of fears that can creep in quietly and then suddenly take hold of your everyday life. And if you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “This is irrational. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I can’t stop the fear; you are absolutely not alone. In fact, you’re completely normal.

What many people don’t realize is that these irrational fears almost always come from a very rational place within the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind that’s always on, always watching, always working in the background to keep you safe and alive.

And here’s the good news: Once we understand why those fears are there, we can begin to shift them. That’s where hypnotherapy comes in.

Your Subconscious Mind: The Ultimate Protector

Your subconscious mind is your most loyal bodyguard. It’s been with you since the very beginning, storing every experience, every emotion, every moment; especially the ones that felt overwhelming, scary, or unsafe. It’s always learning. Always connecting dots. Always trying to protect you from anything that might hurt you.

But here’s the thing. Your subconscious doesn’t always get the full story. It doesn’t reason or analyze the way your conscious mind does. It just takes in information and forms associations. And if it thinks something is dangerous (even if it’s not) it will do everything in its power to keep you away from it.

So when you suddenly find yourself panicking at the thought of flying or jumping onto a chair at the sight of a spider, it’s not that you’re broken or irrational. It’s that your subconscious mind is trying to help you. It believes it’s keeping you safe from something it once perceived as a threat.

Let’s look at some examples.

Fear of Spiders: It Might Not Even Be Yours

Picture this: You’re five years old, playing quietly in the living room. Out of the corner of your eye, you see something small and quick scurry across the carpet. You point to it. A spider.

Before you even have a chance to react, the older person with you, jumps up, maybe even yells, “Get it away!” Suddenly the room is filled with fear and urgency. Your little brain doesn’t have the experience to understand what’s going on, but your subconscious does something important: it links spider with danger. It creates the new rule that “Spiders are scary and dangerous. Avoid them.”

Even though the spider never touched you, never hurt you, never even came close, that moment left a strong imprint. Not because the spider was actually dangerous, but because your brain perceived it to be, based on someone else's reaction.

From that moment on, you might feel that same sense of fear bubble up whenever you see one without knowing exactly why. That’s your subconscious, doing its job, following the rule it created to protect you.

Fear of Flying: Stories Can Be Just as Powerful

Let’s take another example: fear of flying. Many people who have this fear have never actually had a traumatic experience on a plane themselves. So where does the fear come from?

It could be something as simple as hearing a friend talk about a bumpy flight. Or watching a dramatic scene in a movie as a child where a plane crashes. Or hearing a parent say, “I hate flying. I always get so nervous.”

Again, the subconscious takes in these signals and connects the dots. It doesn’t differentiate between actual experience and imagined or witnessed experience. It just remembers the emotions of fear, tension, panic and relates it to flying.

Later in life, you book a trip and suddenly feel a tight chest, sweaty palms, racing thoughts. Consciously, you know flying is statistically one of the safest ways to travel. But your subconscious already created that association long ago, and it’s now working to “protect” you by sounding the alarm.

The Power of Hypnotherapy: Changing the Story

This is where hypnotherapy comes in.

Hypnotherapy helps us work with the subconscious directly. Not by “tricking” it or “erasing” memories, but by understanding the original message it’s holding on to and gently updating it.

Through hypnotherapy, we create a calm, focused state where you can access those early subconscious beliefs. This relaxed state (called a trance, though it's really just a heightened state of concentration) allows you to observe these patterns without judgment. You don’t have to relive the fear or trauma, just understand it from a new perspective.

You might discover that the fear of spiders was never really yours to begin with. Or that the fear of flying is based on a story that doesn’t match your adult understanding. And once your subconscious mind recognizes that you are safe, that those old fear responses are no longer needed  it can start to let them go.

And the results? They can be life-changing.

Rewriting the Story — Together

I’ve worked with clients who’ve come to me saying, “I know this fear isn’t rational, but I just can’t stop it.” They’ve tried reasoning, logic, even avoidance but nothing sticks. That’s because we can’t think our way out of something that was emotionally imprinted in the subconscious.

Hypnotherapy works by helping you gently rewrite the story. Together, we find the original imprint. We listen to what your subconscious has been trying to protect you from. And then we update the message based on who you are now, not who you were when the fear first appeared.

If a client reaches out because they have a deep fear of dogs and has no idea why. They can’t even walk down the street if they saw one nearby. Through our sessions, we can often uncover a memory of an interaction or someone panicking about a dog. No one got hurt. But the sudden reaction and panic from a nearby adult told their little mind: Dogs are dangerous. We can work with that memory and create a new, safe association and begin to walk past dogs confidently, maybe even pet a few.

If a client has avoided flying for years. Every time a trip came up, they might cancel or drive long distances instead. Through hypnotherapy, we will discover where the fear came not. It may not even come from a flight experience, but from a schoolteacher who once told the class a terrifying story about turbulence. Your young mind absorbed that story as a warning. After just a few sessions, they may not only be able to get on a plane but actually enjoy the flight.

You're Not Broken — You're Wired for Safety

If you take one thing away from this post, let it be this:

You are not broken. You are not irrational. You are not weak.

You’re human. And your subconscious mind has been doing its absolute best to keep you safe using the tools and information it had at the time.

But now, as an adult, you have new tools. New understanding. And hypnotherapy can help you bring your subconscious mind up to date with your present-day reality.

You don’t have to live your life avoiding the things you fear. You don’t have to miss out on travel, nature, new experiences, or relationships because of an old emotional imprint. Your story can change and I’m here to help you do just that.

Ready to Let It Go?

If there’s a fear that’s been holding you back (big or small) know that it doesn’t have to stay with you forever. Whether it’s fear of flying, fear of spiders, fear of public speaking, or something more personal, hypnotherapy can help you understand why it’s there and how to let it go.

Imagine what life could feel like without that constant tension. Imagine walking into a situation that once scared you and now feeling calm, confident, and in control.

That future is possible. And it starts with a conversation.

If you’re curious about how hypnotherapy might help you release your fears, I’d love to chat. No pressure, no judgment; just an open, supportive space to explore what’s possible for you.

Let’s work together to rewrite your story — one belief at a time.

💬 Send me a message if you’d like to know more or book a complimentary consultation.

You deserve a life that feels free, calm, and safe. And I’m here to help you get there.

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