The fear of cancer, carcinophobia, is one of the top ten most common phobias, and it's not hard to imagine why. No one wants to develop cancer or see a loved one suffering from it. Although it is normal to dread getting ill, people with cancer phobia experience an irrational amount of fear that often takes over their lives. Overcoming carcinophobia used to take months or even years, but with better knowledge of the phobia and treatment techniques, this is no longer the case. Proven hypnotherapy techniques can help sufferers reclaim their happiness and well-being.

It is easy to imagine what can cause carcinophobia. This fear is associated with a fear of illness, death, and loss of control. Many sufferers feel traumatized by a loved one's experience with cancer. People who have lost a friend or family member to cancer, or are at risk of developing the disease, live in fear of the day when they are diagnosed with cancer.

The uncontrollable anxiety brought on by the fear of cancer may lead people to make extreme life decisions. Some people constantly visit doctors to confirm they are not ill, while others avoid doctor visits entirely, afraid of being diagnosed with a disease. People with the phobia will become depressed if they feel the slightest symptoms of illness, such as a headache, and worry that it's cancer. They will often go to great lengths to avoid getting sick.

People with a fear of cancer often feel like they have a lot to be afraid of. It is a persistent fear that can strike both men and women. A person might worry, "Who will provide for the family if I get sick?" or agonize over other important issues. The phobia of cancer can be unbearable for sufferers and their families.

Many people can cope with their phobias by simply avoiding the source of their fear. People with arachnophobia can often get along by avoiding spiders, and people with claustrophobia are careful to avoid small, enclosed spaces such as elevators. Carcinophobia, however, is different. The phobia is primarily triggered by a person's innermost thoughts and fears. It can be debilitating for a person to suffer from a fear they just cannot avoid. This leaves many people with the phobia in a constant state of anxiety.

There are many different phobia treatments available. Common ones include talk therapy and anti-anxiety medication. Traditional counseling can produce lasting results, but it often takes a long time, up to several years for some. Medication works to lessen a person's anxiety, but it does not treat the underlying causes of a phobia. Hypnotherapy is another option that produces lasting results in a shorter period of time than other forms of treatment. It has become popular because it is a safe, non-invasive, and effective choice of treatment.

Hypnotherapy combines anxiety-relief techniques with fear dissociation to rapidly cure a phobia. A good program will begin with relaxation therapy to help alleviate the emotional stress caused by fear. Once a person feels relaxed and stress-free, hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques can guide the unconscious mind into adopting a new, phobia-free thought process.

Traditional hypnosis uses direct, post-hypnotic commands to eliminate a phobia. It can be very effective when a person is open to it. Unfortunately, these conventional techniques often prove ineffective because people tend to question what they are told and resist direct suggestions.

A deeply rooted phobia such as cancer phobia calls for a more sophisticated form of treatment such as Ericksonian hypnotherapy. This form of hypnosis works well for people who tend to be analytical, and who are suffering from chronic fear and anxiety. It uses indirect suggestions hidden in stories, metaphors, and conversations to help them overcome their fears.

NLP is a technology that doesn't rely upon suggestion at all, so it can be effective for everyone. A simplified explanation is that NLP offers tools to train the unconscious mind to use the same exact thought patterns that are creating a symptom or problem, to eliminate it.

Because both hypnosis and NLP work at the unconscious level of the mind, clients report feeling much more empowered and comfortable through this these types of treatment.

With Traditional Hypnosis, programs generally need to be phobia specific. An additional benefit of a properly designed Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP programs is that they are designed to be used on any phobia, or even multiple phobias. This can be a great benefit to some carcinophobia sufferers who also have other anxiety disorders, such as general hypochondria or germophobia.

The fear of cancer is a serious phobia, but one that can be tackled by well designed hypnotherapy techniques. NLP techniques have become a leading phobia treatment because of its effectiveness at addressing the root of all phobias as well as the symptoms. Sophisticated Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP techniques can help even the most anxious phobia sufferers overcome their fears once and for all.

A list of the common uses of hypnosis.

Alan B. Densky, CH is a certified consulting hypnotist and NLP Practitioner who has been in professional practice since 1978. He can be contacted through his Neuro-VISION Hypnosis website where he offers hypnosis CDs for phobias. Visit his hypnosis article index, or download a free MP3.