People with claustrophobia experience fears associated with small spaces or areas where it could be hard to escape quickly, such as trains, elevators or airplanes. Some people even feel claustrophobic in MRI scanners. Due to their fear, people with claustrophobia often try to avoid small areas. They also try to stay near entrances or along the sides of a room, versus approaching the center. Claustrophobia sufferers frequently have anxiety attacks when they start to feel "stuck" or closed in. For many sufferers, being in a confined area is as alarming as the thought of being buried alive.

Experiencing an anxiety attack in a confining area can be a shocking experience for claustrophobic people and those near them. When a person's claustrophobia is triggered, they may suffer anxiety attacks, difficulty breathing, nausea, passing out, and other, often dramatic, reactions. One can get claustrophobia at any age or in response to a traumatic incident, but its onset often occurs during childhood.

The disorder can be activated by many different situations, which could be different from person to person. For example, some claustrophobic people may only feel panicky while riding a lift, while others find that crowds trigger their condition. In any event, claustrophobia and similar phobias often have a negative impact on people's daily lives and personal satisfaction. People with phobias frequently become avoidant and enjoy a lower quality of life as they focus their lives around their fears.

For several people, the fear of embarrassment over their fears is as bad as the the fear itself. Often times, sufferers realize that their fears are exaggerated and irrational, but can't seem to stay in control. This is because phobias come from deep within the unconscious, which no amount of conscious willpower can be fully effective in controlling. This makes controlling phobias especially challenging.

Claustrophobia is often relieved by anti-anxiety drugs or counseling. Hypnosis is an excellent, safe and non-invasive type of therapy with no negative side effects. It works by targeting the deeper causes of fear in the unconscious to quickly eliminate a phobia. A program that utilizes Ericksonian hypnotherapy techniques and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can be used to treat a phobia. This revolutionary program uses numerous techniques to help people beat their anxieties.

The first stage in the cure process is helping the phobia sufferer become at ease and anxiety-free. Hypnosis has traditionally been used as a type of stress-relief therapy, to help people focus deeply and clear their minds.

Traditional hypnotic techniques have used direct, post-hypnotic suggestions to help cure phobias. The disadvantage of the direct approach is that the conscious mind tends to resist being merely "told" how to act. Many people put up mental blocks and disregard suggestions. In today's society, people are particularly likely to reject direct suggestions because we are independent people who question authority.

The foundation of hypnosis is relaxation. Once set the relaxed state, instead of using direct post-hypnotic suggestions, a different approach called systematic desensitization can often help eliminate a phobia using visual cues.

Ericksonian hypnosis techniques use a more refined approach than traditional hypnosis therapy. It uses indirect suggestions embedded in interesting metaphors and stories to engage the unconscious and convince it to adopt a better, phobia-free line of thought. Due to the fact that indirect suggestions aren't required to be adapted to a single phobia like direct suggestions do, a single good Ericksonian hypnosis program can work to successfully eliminate any phobia or even more than one phobia.

NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is a unique type 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 called the one session phobia cure, and with good reason. Phobic or panic reactions (attacks) take place because traumatic feelings are associated with and triggered by mental images. With the V/K, the traumatic feelings are disassociated from the mental images - often in one session, and the phobia is virtually eliminated.

Those battling claustrophobia can attain relief by using hypnosis. The use of Ericksonian hypnosis therapy and NLP techniques can help all people fight their fears. Hypnosis therapy has helped many users feel confident and secure in situations where before, they would've had a complete break down. Hypnotherapy has provided incredible benefits for people afflicted with phobias and continues to enhance lives every day.