Phobia: Christian

Christian Weber (Flying)
Tea Salesman
Austin, TX

I've suffered from a fear of flying for the last twenty years, but didn't have a serious problem until I had a traumatic flight about three months ago. I got on the plane and it was really bumpy. I thought that everyone felt a certain amount of pressure when flying and I realize now that things weren't okay even before the difficult flight. Under normal circumstances I was able manage the anxiety, but I'd been going through a lot of pressure at work at the time and couldn't handle the combined stress of the flight and the tension that I had already been feeling.

There was a lot of turbulence on the flight and I became so anxious that I couldn't bring myself to board the connecting flight to my destination. I couldn't control my response to the environment around me, so I had remove myself from the situation. I wasn't able to just deal with what was going on and keep going and I felt disappointed and angry with myself. After that, I was so worried about that scary experience happening again that I couldn't imagine stepping onto a plane. That made me feel out of control. When I wasn't able to accomplish the mission once, I thought that I might not be able to do it again.

Not being able to fly was having a big impact on my life. It was affecting my work situation because I am required to travel for my job. We'd be sitting in meetings and someone would suggest that we go to California to meet with these guys and I would always say that I didn't think it was a good idea right now, I realized that I wouldn't be able to stall forever. It was also affecting my personal life because I have in-laws in Minnesota and my parents are in Germany; so flying is really essential in maintaining these relationships.

Laura was recommended to me by my doctor and I didn't have any concerns about hypnosis because I wasn't threatened by it. I started to notice changes right away. I became more aware of the anxiety that I'd been feeling within my life and looked at things differently. I started making changes and I feel more in control now.

I flew recently and noticed the difference in the way that I felt leading up to the flight and on the plane. I could even tell that I was doing better on the return flight compared to the departure. I was able to change the way I responded and that made me feel more confident. It was definitely a mental exercise, but I could do it. It's been a work in progress and I feel even better about flying now than I'd felt before I had the traumatic experience.

It feels good to know that in a relatively short period of time I can learn to do what I need to do. The biggest benefit for me has been the fact that I can fly now and keep getting better as I go. I've also noticed that I'm getting much better sleep. My wife noticed in the past that I'd started scratching my face in my sleep. It would wake her up because it was so loud. She said that I haven't done this since I went to A New Day Hypnosis. I feel calmer and less anxiety in general.

I'm confident that I'll be free of my problem permanently because I've gotten to this point already and I've seen so much progress. As I keep doing this, the suggestions that I'm giving myself are becoming more concrete and solid and the fears are just going away.

I would recommend Laura's services to anyone who wants to overcome their fear of flying. It's given me the realization of what's going on and the tools to help me overcome it. I would never tell somebody to go see Laura and she'll fix you because it's not that somebody else is going to fix you. You gain the tools to learn to make changes for yourself.

Phobia: Elisabeth

Elisabeth Henderson (Needles)
Receptionist
Austin, TX

I've been afraid of needles for as long as I can remember. My mom told me that when I was six months old I was getting my vaccinations and had a hysterical fit; I was sweating, panting, and screaming.

I absolutely could not deal with needles in any way. At the doctor's office, I would start breathing really hard and my heart rate would speed up, I'd have tunnel vision and all these horrible thoughts racing through my head. I would sweat, my hearing would go out and I would feel like I was going to throw up. I would kick like an infant and totally lose control. It had gotten to the point where I would refuse to get blood drawn or get any shots. My phobia about needles made me afraid to go to the doctor.

I started to realize that my problem was becoming more serious when I recently had a TB skin test. I thought that I'd psyched myself out enough that I wouldn't react and I made it through my appointment okay, but the feelings just came over me as soon as I got in the car to leave the doctor's office. My vision started going dim, I started sweating and breathing really hard and my heart was pounding. I had the radio blasting in my car and it was almost like someone was turning it down because I couldn't hear anything. I was in traffic on I35 and I pulled over into a Wendy's, I barely remember stumbling into the restaurant and passing out on the trash can.

People would see me react to these situations and think I was nuts. I was embarrassed because it was so small and silly and I knew that people did this all the time with no problem. I felt very out of control. I had this feeling of dread and knew that I would go into hysterics and wouldn't be able to control my reactions. I was afraid that later in life I would avoid necessary treatment that I might need.

After my experience at Wendy's, I realized that I needed help. I did an internet search for hypnotherapists in Austin and I found A New Day Hypnosis. I decided to meet with Laura because she seemed so confident that it would work. I overcame my fear after the first session. The change was effortless; I didn't even know that it had stopped until I was at my appointment in the doctor's office. I hoped that it would work for me, but I still wasn't sure. I took the recording of my hypnosis session into my appointment and just closed my eyes and listened to my CD while I waited. When the doctor put the needle in my arm it was like I didn't feel it. He held my arm up to my face so that I could see the needle in my arm and I didn't think anything of it. It almost seemed microscopic to me. I'm just shocked at the way that I can see needles and not have any reaction at all now.

Phobia: Brian

Brian Wise (Travel)
Bookseller
Austin, TX

I began having problems with anxiety in 1980 and it's been on and off since then. It's kept me from going places and doing things that I wanted to do. I had been able to make progress, but recently it was getting to the point where I noticed that things were started to slide back. I was having panic attacks related to different driving situations and things were getting out of control; I was constantly worried about nothing specific and felt a tense feeling, but couldn't really identify the source.

Anything that involved going outside of a certain geographic range would become a big problem for me. My stomach was in knots and I had a real sense of edginess, which wasn't a comfortable way to live. I've tried medication and generalized talk therapy to fix my problem. The outcome was pretty good, but I hadn't been able to overcome that final hurdle. I'd already begun work on my problem, but I needed something to speed it along.

I saw a flyer for A New Day Hypnosis at Bookpeople. I'd used hypnosis in the past and had good results, so I didn't have any concerns about trying it again. After meeting with Laura, I began to notice less anxiety and fewer unwanted thoughts. As time has gone on, it's gotten easier and easier. I feel more relaxed and making changes hasn't been too difficult for me.

I definitely feel more in control now. I'm going more places that I haven't gone and it's getting easier each time. I have my personal CDs and I can listen to them anytime, which is a very powerful tool for me. I feel good and have a sense of normalcy again. The general anxiety is gone and I feel more confident because I can go places and know that it's not a big deal. A long-time friend is getting married in Arlington this year and the best benefit of this experience for me is the fact that I'll be able to fly there and not feel panicked about it or worried that it will be a huge ordeal.

I would recommend A New Day Hypnosis because I've found it effective. I like the fact that I can listen to my CDs whenever I want to. I am confident that I'll be able to explore more of Austin and go farther without worrying about it and it's such a relief for me.

Phobia: M.

M. Frizzell (Thunderstorms)
Round Rock, TX

I've suffered from a fear of thunderstorms for the last three years. It made me agoraphobic and I didn't want to leave the house because I was afraid that there might be a thunderstorm. It made me panicky and insecure. It could be a sunny day and all I would have to do was think about rain and I'd immediately have a panic attack. I felt like I was hopeless.

I couldn't function or control anything. I went to the hospital twice; once they admitted me and another time I just drove there and sat in the waiting room. I figured that if I really freaked out that they would help me. It was awful because I'm pregnant and I was out of control not only for myself, but for another life too. I felt like I was going crazy and I needed to be committed. If I had a panic attack I knew that I wouldn't be able to control it. I would have really irrational thoughts and was afraid that I was going to lose consciousness or die.

It affected my relationships with friends because I would opt out of activities if there was bad weather. It also had an impact on my relationship with my husband who would have to pick up the slack every time there was a panic attack, and they had become really frequent. He would have to sit up with me all night long if it was raining and take care of all of my responsibilities.

I've tried going to a therapist to solve my problem and it got worse because I was talking and thinking about it so much. When I took medication I always felt like it was just the medicine that was making me okay and I'm really opposed to taking it, so I just quit. I did desensitization listening to thunderstorm CDs which did help, but not 100%.

I heard about Laura on yahoo local. I read the reviews and thought she had the most professional website, so I felt confident about doing it. After meeting with Laura, I noticed that the triggers started to decrease. I began to feel more confident that this would work. I felt like I could gain control of the problem without medication and that gave me a real sense of relief.

I generally feel better because I'm more relaxed. I definitely have more focus with changing my behaviors. I've been happy with the success that I've had and feel like I can control the problem. I feel so much more in control. Even if I have a twinge of panic, I can talk myself out of it and control my thoughts. I feel self-confident and know that I can conquer it. I feel like I can do it myself now and that's what I'm most happy about. I don't think that I could have gotten that with any other method.

I would absolutely recommend A New Day Hypnosis to anyone who is suffering from panic attacks because it's a healthy alternative to other things. It's a way to equip yourself with a personal tool rather than becoming dependent on a counselor or a drug. I'm confident that if I were ever faced with it again I could handle it and I've never had that belief before. I've already recommended Laura to lots of people and I've been really happy with my success.