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Sufferers of claustrophobia have fears associated with enclosed spaces or areas where it can be hard to leave quickly, for example, airplanes, elevators or trains. Some sufferers even feel claustrophobic inside MRI scanners. Due to their fear, claustrophobic people tend to avoid enclosed areas. They also tend to linger near exitways or along the walls of a room, versus being in the center. Claustrophobia sufferers frequently suffer panic attacks when they begin to feel "stuck" or closed in. For many sufferers, being in a confined place is as scary as being buried alive.

Having an anxiety attack in a crowded area can be a scary time for claustrophobic people and people surrounding them. At the moment a person's claustrophobia is triggered, they will often experience panic attacks, trouble breathing, nausea, fainting, and other, often dramatic, responses. A person can develop claustrophobia at any age or because of a traumatic incident, but it often starts during childhood.

The condition is triggered by various situations, which can vary between individuals. For example, some sufferers may only feel nervous while on an elevator, while others find that crowds trigger their condition. Regardless of the particular situation, claustrophobia and other phobias tend to negatively affect people's day-to-day lives and personal satisfaction. People with phobias may develop avoidant behaviors and suffer a lower quality of life as they manage their activities around their fears.

For numerous people, the fear of humiliation over their phobia is as bad as the the fear itself. Some sufferers know that their fears are overblown and illogical, but cannot seem to stop themselves from losing self-control. This is because phobias are rooted deep within the unconscious mind, which no amount of conscious effort can fully control. This makes controlling phobias particularly challenging.

Claustrophobia is relieved by anti-anxiety drugs or therapy. Hypnotic therapy is an ideal, safe and non-invasive form of therapy with no side effects. It works by pinpointing the deeply-rooted causes of fear in the unconscious mind to rapidly cure a phobia. A system that utilizes Ericksonian hypnosis therapy techniques and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can be used to cure a phobia. This revolutionary program uses a variety of techniques to help people beat their fears.

The initial phase in curing a phobia is helping the phobia sufferer become relaxed and anxiety-free. Hypnosis therapy has long been used as a form of stress-relief therapy, to help people clear their minds and feel peaceful.

Traditional hypnosis has made use of direct, post-hypnotic suggestions to help cure phobias. The disadvantage of the direct suggestion is that the mind tends to reject being merely "told" how to respond. Many people throw up barriers ignore suggestions. In today's society, people of all ages are particularly likely to resist direct suggestions because we tend to be independent people who question everything.

The essence of hypnotherapy is relaxation. In the relaxed state, instead of using post-hypnotic suggestions, an alternate approach called systematic desensitization can help cure a phobia through visual images.

Ericksonian hypnosis techniques use a more refined approach than traditional hypnosis therapy. It utilizies indirect suggestions embedded in fascinating metaphors and stories to engage the unconscious mind and persuade it to follow a desirable, phobia-free line of thinking. Because indirect suggestions do not need to be specifically tailored for a specific phobia like direct suggestions do, a single good Ericksonian hypnotherapy program will work to successfully eliminate any phobia or even several phobias.

NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is an innovative form of therapy that several expert hypnotherapists have adopted. The best NLP technique for curing a phobia is called the Visual - Kinesthetic Disassociation, or V/K. The V/K is recognized as the one session phobia cure, and with good reason. Phobic or anxiety reactions (attacks) occur because traumatic emotions are associated with and triggered by mental imagery. With the V/K, the stressful emotions are disconnected from the mental imagery - often in one quick session, and the fear is essentially eliminated.

Those battling claustrophobia can find rapid relief with hypnosis. The combination of Ericksonian hypnotherapy with NLP techniques will help anyone escape their phobias. Hypnotic therapy has helped countless people feel safe and confident in situations where before, they would have suffered a breakdown. Hypnotherapy has provided incredible benefits for sufferers of phobias and continues to enhance lives every day.