The fear of heights, known as acrophobia, is a very common fear experienced by people of all walks of life. Researchers suggest that to some extent, a fear of heights is natural for most humans and mammals. What transforms a common fear of heights into a phobia is that the feeling is so extreme that it is seen as irrational, or it interferes with a person's daily activities. In an effort to evade heights, individuals with acrophobia may refuse to approach balconies, tall buildings, and other common situations and areas. In some individuals, merely thinking about heights can trigger an anxiety attack.

Acrophobia can be triggered in any high-up location that makes a person feel uneasy. This includes bridges, rooftops, ladders, staircases, roller coasters, and many other locations we visit in our daily lives. Many individuals with a fear of heights feel comfortable in some places, like their own two-story home, but breakdown in other areas, such as when they are climbing up a ladder.

Acrophobia can cause very severe symptoms, including fainting, shaking, dizziness, sweating, anxiety attacks, nausea, and several others. Unlike some other common phobias, numerous individuals with a phobia of heights don't respond frantically but instead become "petrified" or frozen with fear. For example, a person might climb up a ladder, but suddenly feel they are too high up to climb down and become trapped this way.

Acrophobia can be especially debilitating because sufferers often find themselves panicking in situations where they need to remain calm and relaxed in order to remain safe. People who find themselves in a high up place, such as the top of a ladder or a staircase, may suffer an anxiety attack resulting in physical harm. Or, a person might start shaking so hard that they risk falling and getting hurt. It is thus important for people whose phobia could be dangerous to get help for their phobia.

In the past, treatments included exposing a patient to heights so they would to "face their fear." This method proves distressing and ineffective for most people. Other, more successful options include medication and therapy. Hypnotherapy is an ideal option because it is safe, effective, and non-invasive.

Conventional hypnotism works by using post-hypnotic suggestions. In today's world, this approach often doesn't work. In the world today, people tend to be independent thinkers and will resist post-hypnotic suggestions by unconsciously rejecting their instructions. Knowledgeable hypnosis practitioners now use more advanced Ericksonian hypnotherapy techniques to avoid this problem.

Ericksonian hypnosis therapy, as developed by Milton Erickson, MD, is a greatly enhanced form of hypnosis than conventional methods. It uses indirect suggestions embedded in stories, conversation, and metaphors to guide the unconscious into a different, phobia-free thought process. This is effective because it is much more difficult for the unconscious to resist suggestions hidden in a dialogue, than direct post-hypnotic suggestions that are apparent to the conscious mind.

A good hypnotherapy program includes a multitude of different techniques to guarantee it will work for every person. The combination of numerous Ericksonian hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques is perfect for virtually everyone trying to overcome a phobia.

The combined program opens with a relaxation therapy session. When you feel calm and clear, NLP techniques can be applied to cure a phobia. All phobias arise from the same type of thought process, so all that is required is one hypnosis program with the correct design to cure any fear, or even multiple phobias.

Summary: Many types of therapy depend on conscious effort to resolve a phobia, but this frequently does not work because phobias are rooted deep in the unconscious mind. The techniques of Ericksonian hypnosis therapy and NLP are especially good at treating phobias because they operate at this unconscious level. Phobias are triggered when the feeling of fear is unconsciously connected to a vivid mental image, such as the view from a high place. By separating or disconnecting the emotion of anxiety from the image, certain hypnotic and NLP techniques can permanently cure a phobia very quickly.

Hypnotherapy sessions can help a person quickly and effortlessly vanquish a phobia of heights. It is among the safest types of phobia therapies ever designed, with no negative side effects. For individuals trying to beat acrophobia or any other anxiety disorder, hypnosis offers a balanced form of anxiety-free phobia relief.

Alan B. Densky, CH has been treating phobias using NLP since 1978. He offers phobia treatment hypnotherapy CDs plus a broad range of Hypnotherapy CDs for stress & depression related symptoms. Visit his website for free hypnosis MP3's.