Help with Fears & Phobias
Fear and phobias can interfere with sleep and make everyday situations feel much harder than they need to be.
You might notice it before bed — your mind going over what’s coming up tomorrow.
Or lying awake, unable to switch off because something is sitting in the background.
Common fears and phobias include:
- Flying
- Heights
- Dentists
- Exams
- Enclosed spaces
- Public speaking
- The dark
These are more common than people often realise.
How fears affect sleep
When something feels threatening, even slightly, the mind stays alert.
That alertness can carry into the night:
- difficulty falling asleep
- waking in the early hours
- restless or unsettled sleep
Even if the fear is about something happening the next day, the body can react as if it’s happening now.
How I work with fears and phobias
I use hypnotherapy and NLP to help change how your mind responds to what feels threatening.
This includes approaches such as:
- the NLP Rewind technique
- Core Transformation
- and work developed within NLP, including demonstrations by Steve Andreas working with trauma, including war veterans
- These approaches show how the mind can change its response without needing to go back through the fear in detail.
These methods allow us to work with fears without you having to go into them or re-experience them.
Everything is done in a calm, contained way, with the mind working at a distance from the fear.
Most people find this a relief.
My experience
During my Clinical Hypnotherapy, NLP and Life Coaching training, these approaches were used extensively in practice sessions.
By the end of the course, the fears and phobias people had started with had been resolved.
A real example
For my final assessment, I worked with a young neighbour who had a strong fear of spiders.
She couldn’t even look at a picture of one.
After about 30 minutes, she was able to sit at the computer and look at images of spiders with interest rather than fear.
Fifteen years later, she is a teacher living in Canada and has no fear of spiders.
I still have the written assessment from that session — and it was awarded an A+.
Another example
When I was later supporting students on the course, they needed someone to practise the Rewind technique on.
By then, I didn’t have any fears or phobias left to work on.
So we used it on a persistent discomfort in my leg.
After the session, the discomfort settled — and it hasn’t returned in over 14 years.
What this means for you
Fears and phobias can change more quickly than people expect.
And they can be worked with in a way that feels:
- calm
- manageable
- contained
You don’t have to push yourself into the fear to change it.
How I work
1. Steve Andreas – work with trauma (including veterans)
You can link to:
👉 Steve Andreas – Releasing PTSD (client sessions)
Steve Andreas developed and demonstrated NLP approaches for trauma, including filmed sessions working with an Iraq war veteran with complex PTSD.
These show how strong emotional responses, including flashbacks and fear, can change without needing to relive the experience.
2. Fast phobia / trauma approaches (clinical trials background)
Variations of these approaches have also been used in clinical trials with veterans, showing positive results in reducing trauma responses using structured methods based on the same principles.
3. Core Transformation – Connirae & Mark Andreas
Core Transformation – Introduction and resources
Core Transformation, developed by Connirae Andreas and further taught and demonstrated by Mark Andreas, works with how the mind organises emotional responses, allowing them to shift without needing to focus directly on the fear.
4. Real session demonstrations (Mark Andreas)
There are also filmed client sessions, including work by Mark Andreas, showing how both emotional responses and even physical discomfort can change within a single session using these approaches.
Next step
If a fear or phobia is affecting your sleep or your day-to-day life, it can be worked with.
You’re very welcome to get in touch to talk it through.
