Strong Emotion and Belief

Our beliefs are formed in many ways throughout our lives. We have been influenced by our caretakers, teachers, religious leaders, peers and have made our own decisions about what we believe in different circumstances.

What we may not realise is that beliefs can be laid down in the presence of strong emotion. For example, we go on a plane and there is severe turbulence such that we are terrified about what may happen. We decide that air travel is to be avoided at all costs. We have a panic attack on the underground and resolve to never use that mode of transport again.

The experience of strong emotion has in effect opened us up. Our usual defences are in abeyance. It has created a narrowed down focus of attention, in effect a hypnotic state, which is perfect for new learnings and, in cases such as described above, the learning that these situations are best avoided in the future.

Logically, we know that air travel is safe and that having a panic attack on the underground doesn’t mean we will have one again. Emotionally however, the perception is different.

The amygdala is the part of the brain that houses emotional learning for the purpose of keeping us safe. This is very necessary of course. There are most certainly situations in which we need to apply caution. If you have an emotional learning such as described above then your amygdala is truly working for you.

However, when the particular fear is hampering us in our lives and the situation is not a threat to our lives, we are better off without that fear. Hypnotherapy can help here. There are a number of tools we can use to eradicate unhelpful fears so that you can engage in that activity without anxiety yet with a suitable level of caution if necessary.