There is a cliché that says the safest form of travel in the world is flying. This is almost true, but not quite. In fact, riding in a lift is the safest form of transportation there is.
However, this knowledge doesn’t usually help because, as we all know, anxiety is not rational. People often say things like: ‘It’s not having the choice of whether I can get out or not!’, or: ‘I feel so enclosed!’ or ‘I just feel trapped’ or ‘I’m worried the doors won’t open.’There may be ways of getting around traveling in a lift but it’s always nice to have the choice and to be able to do so if you wish.
Helen had a severe fear of getting into and riding in lifts. She did not know where this fear stemmed from or why. What she did know that it was near impossible for her to ride in a lift without feeling extremely fearful. Just the thought of getting in a lift would make her feel quite anxious.
Helen works for a major Hotel in Perth in housekeeping, and as part of her employment agreement, she must use the lifts within the hotel to travel between floors (not use the stairs). You wouldn’t want to be carrying armfuls of bed linen between floors. As well as tiring, it could be dangerous.
Not being able to get into a lift without feeling anxious was having a real impact to the point that her employer told her that she must use the lifts, or her employment would be terminated.
The aim of the session was to gently re-train Helen’s unconscious mind to be so much more relaxed when thinking about or being in lifts or elevators.
Whilst in hypnosis, Helen visited a number of scenarios where she would be in a lift and being completely relaxed there. Immediately after this session, Helen was keen to try it out and see if the session worked for her. She went directly to the shopping center and successfully rode a lift for a while without feeling anxious or fearful! Helen sent me a text saying “lovely.”
